Two Potential Libby Jurors Dismissed

Politics Come To The Forefront As CIA Leak Trial Of Ex-Bush Aide "Scooter" Libby Opens

(AP)  Two potential jurors who expressed negative views of Bush administration officials were dismissed on the opening day of the perjury trial of former White House aide "Scooter" Libby.

The start of jury selection in the CIA leak case provided a potentially crucial victory for I. Lewis Libby's defense lawyers. They were allowed to ask potential jurors in detail about their opinions of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney, a group of high-profile reporters and whether the administration had lied to push the country into war with Iraq.

The defense faces a key challenge in picking a jury for this highly political case in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 9-to-1. Cheney is expected to be a defense witness.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald objected repeatedly, but to no avail, that Libby's lawyers were going beyond the more general opinion questions that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton asked the entire jury pool when the proceedings began Tuesday morning.

Fitzgerald complained that defense attorneys Theodore Wells and William Jeffress were turning jury selection into "an open-ended Rorschach (ink-blot) test into how you feel about the Bush administration, Vice President Cheney" the Iraq war and various reporters. "They're trying the case" in jury selection, he argued.

But Walton ruled the defense lawyers have a right to know if "somebody has a very negative attitude to the Bush administration."

Libby, who served as an adviser to President Bush and chief of staff to Cheney, is accused of lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters regarding the public disclosure of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name. Her identity was leaked to reporters in 2003 after her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of trying to push the nation into war by knowingly repeating a false story about Iraq trying to obtain uranium in Africa for nuclear weapons.

The biggest defense success Tuesday came during extended questioning of a young financial analyst who had read about the case and said he didn't have the highest opinion of Cheney and "if I had to rank people as to credibility, I wouldn't put him at the top of the list."

Wells, Fitzgerald and Walton each repeatedly tried to see if he could put those views aside in weighing trial evidence, but finally the financial analyst acknowledged Cheney would have a strike against him in a credibility dispute with other witnesses. So Walton excused him for cause.

By comparison, one young woman swiftly sealed her own disposition by announcing right off the bat that she was "completely without objectivity" and "there is nothing they (Bush administration officials) could say or do that would make me think anything positive about them."

Libby broke into a half smile and shot a glance at his wife in the first row of spectators as Walton sent the woman home.

Fitzgerald was able to stave off Wells' bid to bounce a young house cleaner whose clients include those who live in the posh Watergate apartment building. At one point, she said Libby would have to prove his innocence, but Fitzgerald argued and Walton agreed that she was merely confused and ultimately affirmed that he is presumed innocent. He told Wells to use a peremptory, or unexplained, strike later to send her home.

Six jurors were qualified to serve on Tuesday. Once that number reaches 37, the judge will allow lawyers to exercise their preemptory strikes. The defense has 12 such challenges and prosecutors eight. Walton intends to seat 12 jurors and four alternates.

Walton said the trial should last four to six weeks.

Wells told Walton the case will begin with and concentrate on Wilson's criticisms of how the Bush administration justified the war. Wilson argued the leak of his wife's name was designed to punish him and silence other administration critics in the intelligence agencies.

During the ensuing political flap, Fitzgerald called top administration figures and prominent reporters before a grand jury to find the leak. But the only criminal case he has brought is this one against Libby for lying to investigators. Libby says he didn't lie but the burden of more important business clouded his memory of conversations with reporters.

rharrin1 wrote:

"It is a shame they can't question cheney about the shooting while he is under oath."

Well, given the opportunity, who wouldn't shoot a lawyer. ;-)

[jn122736]

This Trial appears to be very questionable at best.
I agree defendants are entitled to a trail by an unbiased jury but then so are the people and the constitutional laws they are accused of violating.

By allowing the defense attorneys to, in effect, rule out any juror who does not specifically agree with the actions of the defendant%u2019s associates, firm, family, or even the United States government the Judge is all but guaranteeing an acquittal or at most a hung jury. I believe this is way over the line of fairness.

The defense already has a huge advantage with 12 preemptory strikes (Juror dismissals) as opposed to only 8 for the prosecution.

The defense already has a huge advantage with 12 preemptory strikes (Juror dismissals) as opposed to only 8 for the prosecution.

The greatest advantage the defendant has over the prosecution is the right to appeal a guilty verdict and yet enjoying the constitutional protection from being tried twice for the same offence. ---These invaluable rights are there mainly to protect civilians from persecution by the government.

[rharrin1]

It is a shame they can't question cheney about the shooting while he is under oath

[bluestardad]

So the Judge is letting the defense lawyers pick people who wanted to go to war with Iraq and who like the Bush Administration. You can tell by the questions the defense lawyers are asking that the crime was commited and covered up with lies. Going to war was a lie also just by the questions the lawyers are asking.

j-whitman wrote:

"mcdazz,,,,
Oh, I see Bush only makes itty-bitty mistakes -- Get real man 3,022 Americans have been killed in a country who was no threat -- Bush isn't a Girl Scout selling cookies -
- He's disrupting the Middle East, Gravely damaging our national security, & killing thousands."

Ummm, think you got the wrong person there.

I have absolutely no liking of GW Bush and I agree that he's responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

I also think he should be held accountable for those deaths.

[j-whitman]

Rove, Cheney, Bush & Rice on Air Force 1 -" We can make hundreds of Americans happy, let's all throw 100 dollar bills out the window" -- The piolt turns around & says "I can make millions of people happy, throw them all out the window"

[wayfedup]

substitute KARL ROVE FOR TONY SNOW; MY BAD.

[wayfedup]

Here's a thought... Take Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Libby&Tony Snow, put them All in a cargo plane with FIVE parachutes- Fly over Baghdad at 20,000 ft, throw out the chutes, Then push them all out and Let's just SEE who will take the fall for GWB! LOL!!!

[j-whitman]

mcdazz,,,,
Oh, I see Bush only makes itty-bitty mistakes -- Get real man 3,022 Americans have been killed in a country who was no threat -- Bush isn't a Girl Scout selling cookies -
- He's disrupting the Middle East, Gravely damaging our national security, & killing thousands.

[j-whitman]

Over 80% of Americans & over 70% of our military doesn't like Bush -- Jury selection will take years

[frankly6]

Libby's defence in a nutshell:

I didn't lie I just forgot that Cheney told me about Plame and that I then called members of the press and revealed her identity. Give me a break. I'm a busy man.

[oleander8]

""One thing you can't deny is this is the same crime Clinton committed.
Posted by cbscrash07 at 07:28 PM : Jan 16, 2007""

...not even close.

[oleander8]

****I love it!!! When a liberal has no argument or facts they go to the old standby of calling someone a nazi. And just look at how quick they all go to name calling. What a hoot!!
Posted by rmsdm4 at 06:37 PM : Jan 16, 2007***

...the same way republicans have turned Liberal into a dirty word?

rmsdm4 wrote:

"I love it!!! When a liberal has no argument or facts they go to the old standby of calling someone a nazi. And just look at how quick they all go to name calling. What a hoot!!"

If you had half a brain, you'd also realise that the term "nazi" is also "an offensive term for a person who is fanatically dedicated to, or seeks to control, some activity, practice, etc."

Just like the old "soup nazi" on Seinfeld.

Here: http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=nazi

Of course, that's probably a little above your head.

And hey, if the name fits ...

[Syndicate]

One thing you can't deny is this is the same crime Clinton committed.

[jw218389]

CROOOK!!

One more GOP CRIMINAL goes down in flames!

The path leads to BUSH!!

P.S. NO MORE GOP WHINERS!! You got Bushwhacked!!

[rmsdm4]

I love it!!! When a liberal has no argument or facts they go to the old standby of calling someone a nazi. And just look at how quick they all go to name calling. What a hoot!!

rmsdm4 wrote:

"Queen pelosi and the grand wizzard had the attorney's removed. The attorney's were finding too much money in democrat freezers."

Put the crackpipe down and step away from the computer.

notblue wrote:

"this whole Democratic witch hunt is not even focused on who actually outed Plame. They are going after Libby because he can't remember all the facts regarding a conversation about the case. What a hoot! If he hadn't been Cheney's chief of staff it would never happen. Gee I wonder if the prosecutor is a democrat?"

Oh, boo hoo, Libby lied to an investigator and tried to obstruct justice and those bad democrats are all behind this.

Boo hoo.

Here's a great big hint for you:

Libby got sold down the river by the very Republicanazis that he supported, trusted and worked for.

So start pointing the finger at those who are really responsible - your beloved Republicanazis - and stop doing the usual Republicanazi trick of trying to blame everyone else for their actions.

Blaming everyone else for what the Republicanazis do is really starting to grow old.

notblue wrote:

"The liberal biased press's use of the anonimous informant is nothing more than a cover used to destroy anyone not in step with there left wing ideology. If you don't believe it try to find stories related to Sandy Berger and Barney Franks, if those guys were Republicans we would still be reading about it."

Yawn. It's all just one big plot, isn't it.

Yawn. It's the liberal medias fault.

When are you Republicanazis going to wake up to the fact that Libby is in the position he's in because he lied?

Face the facts - the Bush Administration are nothing but corrupt and immoral liars who have lied about nearly everything since they took office.

Libby is in trouble because he lied and tried to obstruct justice.

Why are you Republicanazis trying to cover up for this scumbucket (although, granted, he's not as much of a scumbucket as Bush and Cheney)?

Bush and the rest of his corrupt bully boys have put Libby in the position he's currently in.

If you don't like the fact that they sold out one of their own, take it up with them.

Stop trying to blame everyone else for what the Bush Administration does.

Do you hate America that much?