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Former CBS News correspondent Eric Engberg, who spent two decades covering Washington for the network, has passed along his analysis of the lessons of the Libby trial. Below, in question and answer form, he takes us through his conclusions. Think of this as an "Outside Voices" column, and bear in mind that the opinions expressed are Engberg's, not Public Eye's.

QUESTION #1 – Why did Vice President Cheney order Scooter Libby to conduct the smear campaign against the Wilsons when he could have easily picked up the phone and called a few Administration-friendly reporters, like Bob Novak and Judy Miller, and do the leaking himself?

ANSWER – Cheney knew he needed what in intelligence work is called a “cutout,” because he understood perfectly well that revealing the identity of a CIA undercover agent was morally wrong and almost certainly illegal. The juror who said Scooter was a “fall guy” had it right. But doesn’t that make Cheney both a shameless manipulator and a terrible coward?

The premeditated nature of the attack on Joe Wilson can be assessed further by the fact that Libby, given Cheney’s direction, did not peddle the Plame outing to an obvious Administration fugleman such as Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. The carefully conceived plot called for a Wilson-Plame revelation that looked like real journalism, not propaganda.

QUESTION #2 – Is there any group that stands lower in public esteem than professional journalists?

ANSWER – Yes, defense lawyers for indicted government officials. Attempts by Scooter’s legal beagles to belittle the memories and honesty of journalists such as Tim Russert and Matt Cooper to influence the jury blew up in their faces. But the fact that reporters forget dates, lose notebooks and can’t decipher their own notes, all well established by the trial testimony, is not going to put any kind of sheen on the Washington press. They looked pathetic, as Cheney might say, “Big time.”

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Each week we invite someone from the outside to weigh in with their thoughts about CBS News and the media at large. This week, we asked Eric Engberg, who spent two decades covering and uncovering Washington for CBS News. His reporting led to the only criminal conviction the government made stick on Oliver North and Engberg headed the reporting team that revealed to the country that the Vietnam veteran honored at the Tomb of the Unknowns was not unknown, but an Air Force pilot from Missouri named Michael Joseph Blassie. For most of the 1990's, Engberg did the "Reality Check" feature on "The CBS Evening News." He was known as one of the most dogged and irreverent reporters in Washington, with one of the great b.s. detectors in the business. Engberg retired from CBS in 2002. When he's not protecting his boat from hurricanes on Florida's West Coast, he continues to obsess over various news stories and contribute to CBSNews.com. A piece he wrote headlined "Blogs As Typing, Not Journalism" stirred up a great argument in the blogging kingdom. Expect to see more of him on Public Eye. As always, the opinions expressed in “Outside Voices” are those of the author, not ours, and we seek a wide variety of voices.



Why Fitz Shouldn’t Scare Reporters



The actions of special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the Plame leak case have caused me to do some reflecting, from my retirement sanctuary, on the practice of anonymous sourcing, journalism ethics and First Amendment law.



As a result -- even though I haven’t gotten a subpoena or a Fitz-shove into those cement-floored government quarters with the tasteful barred windows -- I wish to unmask two ”highly placed” sources who leaked information to me during my years in Washington.



Shallow Throat #1 -- In 1986, a C-123 airplane carrying supplies to the Contra guerillas in Nicaragua was shot down in the jungle. Unfortunately for Lt. Col. Oliver North of the National Security Council, who was running the secret Contra-aid program, the plane was quickly traced to his operatives and the jig was up.



But before the truth dribbled out, as we in the press tried to uncover who was behind the doomed mission, I got call from someone who might know, Elliott Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American affairs. After the usual pro forma stipulation that he was speaking “on background” -- has name couldn’t be revealed -- Abrams regaled me for 15 minutes with absolute assurances the downed plane was “not part of any U.S. government operation.”



It was hogwash, of course, and I never found out whether he purposely misled me or was just a dupe reading an Ollie-prepared script. Abrams’s talents at misdirection and concealment did not go unrewarded, and he is now a senior staffer at Ollie’s old outfit, the NSC.

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