Woodward A Boon To Libby Defense?

Washington Post Scribe's Version Contradicts Prosecution Contention

(CBS/AP) 
Legal experts said Wednesday the disclosure that Woodward had a source — who was not Libby — could be used by Libby's lawyers to bolster their claim that Plame's identity was common knowledge among government officials and reporters.

"Much was made of the fact that Libby set all of this in motion, that he was the first government official to reveal this," said former Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., now a defense attorney in Washington.

"As a defense attorney, I'd try to make as much of this as I possibly could to call into question the completeness of the investigation and raise concerns about a rush to judgment." However, he said, "I'm not sure at the end of the day that it hurts the trial of this case."

But CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen doesn't think Woodward's disclosure will help Libby that much.

"This news would have made much more of a legal splash had Libby been charged with disclosing the name of the CIA agent. But he wasn't charged with that. He was charged with obstruction of justice and perjury and those charges shouldn't be affected much by the timing of the initial disclosure," Cohen said.

The Washington Post said Wednesday that Woodward had given a sworn deposition to Fitzgerald on Monday. According to the Post, Woodward's source told Fitzgerald after Libby's indictment that the source had talked to Woodward in mid-June 2003. Woodward also talked to Libby and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at about the same time in connection with his book. But Woodward said in a statement printed in the Post that he didn't recall talking about Plame with Card or Libby.

Card, Libby and the remaining source — still unidentified — released Woodward from promises of confidentiality so he could answer Fitzgerald's questions. But the remaining source — at least as of Wednesday — refused to allow Woodward or the Post to identify him or her publicly.

Fitzgerald's investigation was bogged down for months while he sought testimony from reporters who had gathered information about Plame, whose husband was sent to Africa by the CIA in early 2002 to check out allegations that Iraq had tried to buy uranium "yellowcake."

Judith Miller, a former New York Times reporter, spent 85 days in jail last summer after refusing to testify before a grand jury about her conversations with Libby in June and July of 2003.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Libby spent several hours at the federal courthouse in an area designated for lawyers to review classified or sensitive government evidence.

Accompanied by his legal team, Libby walked into the courthouse without the crutches that he'd been using during a court appearance two weeks ago when he pleaded not guilty.

Other top Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, have testified before the grand jury.

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Rove's legal team, said Rove was not the official who talked to Woodward. Rove was referred to, but not by name, in Libby's indictment as having discussed Plame's identity with reporters.

Woodward is now assistant managing editor of the Post. In October, he was dismissive of the Plame revelation, telling CNN's Larry King that the damage from her exposure was "quite minimal."

Meanwhile, news organizations Wednesday asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to deny a court motion by Fitzgerald for a blanket protective order keeping all pretrial evidence in Libby's case out of public view.