Cheney Spokeswoman Disputes Libby Account

Cathie Martin Said She Told Libby That Valerie Plame Was CIA Operative

(CBS/AP)  Vice President Dick Cheney's spokeswoman testified Thursday that she told Cheney and his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, that a prominent war critic's wife worked for the CIA days before Libby said he learned it from a reporter.

Cathie Martin's testimony during the third day of Libby's perjury trial described Cheney's personal eagerness to refute war criticism by former ambassador Joseph Wilson in 2003. Wilson claimed Cheney's office sent him on a fact-finding mission that questioned intelligence President Bush later relied on to go to war.

Martin's testimony is important for the government because she is the third witness so far to testify that Libby was told Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA, before her identity was publicly revealed, reports CBS News producer Deirdre Hester.

Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame, actually conceived the idea for the trip, witnesses have testified. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to show that Cheney's office wanted to make that clear to reporters.

Fitzgerald says Libby learned that fact on several occasions and discussed it with reporters as part of the White House effort to discredit Wilson. When FBI agents began investigating the leak of Plame's identity, Libby lied and said he only learned about Plame from reporters, Fitzgerald said. Libby is on trial on perjury and obstruction charges.

Martin is the fourth person to describe conversations with Libby about Plame and demonstrated the best recollection of the group. She is also the closest witness to Cheney's inner circle. Defense attorneys, who were to question her later Thursday, have used cross-examination of other witnesses to highlight memory flaws.

Martin said that Wilson's criticism was a direct attack on the president's credibility. Wilson says he debunked claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger long before that statement ended up in the 2003 State of the Union speech.

Cheney and Libby were eager to refute that, Martin said. She described calling a CIA spokesman to figure out the genesis of the mission.

"We didn't send him," Martin recalled saying. "If we didn't send him, you must've sent him. Who sent him?"

That's when Martin said the CIA spokesman told her that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA. She said she immediately told Cheney and Libby about it. She couldn't pinpoint the date of the conversation but said it definitely took place no later than July 6. Libby says he learned Plame's identity days later.

Cheney took a personal interest in the issue, Martin said, and in the following days dictated media "talking points" making it clear that his office was not responsible for the Wilson trip.

The talking points do not refer to Plame and nobody has been charged with leaking her identity.

Libby says he did not lie about how he learned about Plame, but rather honestly forgot.

[clestes-2009]

Protecting Cheney again.

[macusweil]

Main Entry: neo.con (ser.va.tive)
Pronunciation: 'nE-O-k&n
Function: noun or adjective
1 a : of or relating to a person or strategy of pretending to follow traditional conservatism with little or no true interest in such philosophy simply for personal, political or economic gain.

[dallison7]

Hopefully this will turn into a catfight and some of Cheney's crimes will be exposed.

[jfl4]

Once again, CBS and the AP are trafficking in Republican talking points. From Media Matters:

"An RNC talking points memo made public on July 12 accused Wilson of falsely claiming "that it was Vice President Cheney who sent him to Niger." The allegation that Wilson had lied about the genesis of his trip was soon repeated by RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who argued that this fact justified the purported leaking of Plame's identity to the press and that the White House had simply been attempting to set the record straight.

"But Wilson never said that Cheney sent him to Niger. To support this accusation, the RNC had misrepresented his July 6, 2003, op-ed in The New York Times and distorted a remark he made in an August 3, 2003, interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. Contrary to their allegation, Wilson clearly stated in the op-ed that "agency officials" had requested he travel to Niger. Further, in the CNN appearance, he stated it was "absolutely true" that Cheney was unaware he went on the trip."

GET IT RIGHT OR FIND ANOTHER JOB!

[jfl4]

Once again, CBS and the AP are trafficking in Republican talking points. From Media Matters:

"An RNC talking points memo made public on July 12 accused Wilson of falsely claiming "that it was Vice President Cheney who sent him to Niger." The allegation that Wilson had lied about the genesis of his trip was soon repeated by RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who argued that this fact justified the purported leaking of Plame's identity to the press and that the White House had simply been attempting to set the record straight.

"But Wilson never said that Cheney sent him to Niger. To support this accusation, the RNC had misrepresented his July 6, 2003, op-ed in The New York Times and distorted a remark he made in an August 3, 2003, interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. Contrary to their allegation, Wilson clearly stated in the op-ed that "agency officials" had requested he travel to Niger. Further, in the CNN appearance, he stated it was "absolutely true" that Cheney was unaware he went on the trip."

GET IT RIGHT OR FIND ANOTHER JOB!

[garyg23]

"Wilson claimed Cheney's office sent him on a fact-finding mission that questioned intelligence President Bush later relied on to go to war." This is patently false. Do you have the guts to redact that statement or not, CBS? Or do Bob Schieffer et. al. and others' ties to this administration go too deep? Where do we find an unbiased media source?

[inventagod]

CBS has some strange spell-checking security software...
A citizen cannot even type in the vice-president's name without being CENSORED...

Vice President *** Cheney outed Valerie Plame.

[dallison7]

inventagod

watch this

Vice president/prick cheney

[karlimhof]

Once we clean out the Augean Stables of Neocon Washington along with the political class that adheres or sympathizes to their anti-American and Anti-Constitutional philosophies of "pre-emptive war" and "providing liberty and democracy by military means", we should take some suggestions proposed by Noam Chomsky to help us get back on track with the rest of the world;

1- accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and World Court
2- sign the Kyoto accords
3- let the UN lead international crisis action
4- use diplomatic & economic measures against terrorism
5- keep to traditional interpretation of UN Charter
6- give up SC veto at UN and show a decent respect for world opinion
7- cut back military spending, increase social spending

[dogband]

Libby, Rove and Cheney should all face charges of treason. I firmly believe that this came right out of Reichmarshall Cheney's office.

[emhawks]

Cheney is the mother of all liars. Karl Rove is not far behind.