Libby Case–CIPA Update
Jeff sent me the latest filing from the Plame case, in which Fitz updates Judge Walton about where the discrepancies are wrt classified information. It doesn’t look like any graymail attempt is going to fly–there just don’t seem to be that many outstanding issues (then again, the whole graymail thing might just be an attempt to plant a cause for appeal, so they can keep Scooter out of the clink long enough for Bush to pardon him).
That said, there are ongoing disagreements about the material relating to Wilson and his trip to Niger. Fitzgerald addresses 17 documents relating to "Wilson/Niger." Five of them are unclassified, so Libby will of course be able to use those (I wonder whether this is material that showed up in the SSCI report?) One involves handwritten notes. And Exhibit 71, I’m guessing, is the INR memo (Libby’s team will get "Attachment 1" but no other attachments, which in the case of the INR memo would be Rohn’s notes). But there are five exhibits for which Libby’s team has not yet accepted the government’s redactions.
Oh to be a fly in the next CIPA hearing, assuming these don’t get worked out. Walton, of course, is Read more →
About that Pardon Article
Just a quick post to check in and comment on an Elizabeth de la Vega article several of you have mentioned. I was in SF working with the book editor this weekend. We finalized the direction for the book (oooh, it’s going to be good!) Then today I get back on a plane (to Bangkok this time) and when I come back we really hit crash and burn on the book.
We actually talked a lot about pardon this weekend–Jane, Swopa, Jen Nix, and Safir (the editor) and I. And I gotta say, I was in a distinct minority, in simply not knowing whether Bush will pardon Libby before the trial or in January 2009. I understand the need, for the Administration, at least as well as anyone. But I am not convinced that, as de la Vega states,
Because Scooter Libby’s trial strategy is not to have a trial.
At least at the beginning, back when they set up a $5 million fund and hired Ted Wells, they fully intended to have a trial. You hire Ted Wells to go to trial, not to await a presidential pardon. There’s a part of me, too, that thinks the reason Libby’s lies were so bad were to have a nice tidy trial–they were designed to minimize the importance of his machinations with their absurdity. After all, if you were really trying to protect Dick, wouldn’t you have developed some better lies? The crappy quality of Libby’s lies has already minimized the gravity of the obstruction charge in this case.
Libby's PowerPoint Defense
Thanks to Jeralyn for posting the most recent Libby filing, in which his team explains they want to show a PowerPoint to exonerate Libby for outing a NOC.
No, seriously, the filing is a list of classified documents they want to introduce at trial, including:
- The PowerPoint
- A range of classified documents (including Libby’s notes and Morning Daily Briefings–MDBs) for the periods June 9 to June 14, and July 5 to July 12
- A "representative sample" (other wise known as cherry picked) of classified documents (again, Libby’s notes and MDBs) from other periods to corroborate Libby’s memory defense
- "Wilson/Niger" documents–including documents Libby created and documents others created
Keep reading for my take on how they plan to use these.
