WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2007
Prosecution Rests In Libby Trial
NBC's Tim Russert Is Last Witness For Prosecution At Perjury Trial Of Ex-Aide To VP Dick Cheney
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Play CBS Video Video Russert Testifies In Leak Case The prosecution in the Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial called NBC newsman Tim Russert as its final key witness. Russert contradicted Libby's version of events during his testimony. Gloria Borger reports.
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I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, is on trial for perjury and obstruction related to the disclosure of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. (AP)
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Tim Russert, Washington bureau chief of NBC News, uses crutches to walk during his arrival at U.S. Federal Court in Washington on Feb. 7, 2007. (AP)
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Interactive The Libby Trial Follow the the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
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Interactive The Leak People and events surrounding the leak of a CIA officer's name.
The network journalist got the kind of interrogation he usually gives on his Sunday television show "Meet the Press," as attorneys flashed excerpts of his previous statements on a video monitor and asked him to explain inconsistencies.
Russert, who testified that he never discussed outed CIA operative Valerie Plame with Libby, was the final witness called by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
A law school graduate, Russert avoided several traps that Libby attorney Theodore Wells laid before him. He seemed uncomfortable at times, however, as Wells asked him to explain why he willingly told an FBI agent about a July 2003 conversation with Libby, then gave a sworn statement saying that he would not testify about that conversation because it was confidential.
"Did you disclose in the affidavit to the court that you had already disclosed the contents of your conversation with Mr. Libby," Libby's attorneys Theodore Wells asked.
"As I've said sir ... " Russert began.
"It's a yes or no question," Wells interrupted.
"I'd like to answer it to the best of my ability," Russert said.
"This is a very simple question. Either it's in the affidavit or it's not?" Wells asked. "Did you disclose to the court that you had already communicated to the FBI the fact that you had communicated with Mr. Libby?"
"No," Russert said.
Wells wants to cast Russert as someone who cannot be believed, who publicly championed the sanctity of off-the-record conversations but privately revealed that information to investigators. Russert said he viewed the FBI conversation and testimony to prosecutors differently.
Russert's credibility is under fire because he and Libby tell very different stories about a July 2003 phone call that is at the heart of the case. The question of which to believe could be a critical jury room issue.
Both men agree that Libby called Russert to complain about a colleague's news coverage. Libby says at the end of the call, Russert informed him that the wife of a prominent war critic worked for the CIA. Russert testified that part of the conversation never occurred.
"That would be impossible," Russert testified Wednesday. "I didn't know who that person was until several days later."
Libby subsequently repeated the information about Plame to other journalists, always with the caveat that he had heard it from reporters, he has said. Prosecutors say Libby concocted the Russert conversation to shield him from prosecution for revealing information from government sources.
Wells has questioned Russert about other phone conversations he couldn't remember, inconsistencies between his current account and FBI notes of an agent's original interview with him, and the likelihood that he would've let such a high-ranking official off the phone without fishing for some news.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has said he will rest his case after Russert testifies.
Vice President Cheney could take the stand in Libby's defense, reports CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger, but he may also need to answer some questions about himself and whether he directly controlled a White House effort to discredit a political enemy.
Among the first witnesses defense attorneys want to call is Russert's colleague, Andrea Mitchell. Mitchell was scheduled to challenge her subpoena Thursday but the hearing was postponed.
Libby's attorneys will take a similar approach to undercut the credibility of former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who testified that Libby revealed Plame's identity to her. Defense attorney William Jeffress said he intends to call Miller's former boss, Times managing editor Jill Abramson, to try to refute Miller and question her credibility.
Meanwhile, another NBC television personality, and one of the nation's most familiar "prosecutors," showed up in Libby's camp in court Thursday. But it was a prosecutor who only plays one on TV.
Joining Libby's public relations person, Barbara Comstock, in the public gallery was former Tennessee Republican Sen. Fred Thompson, who plays a New York City prosecutor on the NBC series "Law and Order."
At one point, Libby's wife, Harriet Grant, went back and sat beside Thompson. They hugged, laughed and chatted for a few minutes before she returned to her seat in the front row.
Asked why he came, Thompson said, "I'm a friend of Scooter Libby and his family."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Posted by condumism at 06:41 PM : Feb 08, 2007
I truly do not know the depth they will sink. If you listen to Rush Limpballs as he conducts his Fascism 101 class everyday to the Parrots you realize that, like their German counterparts, there is no low that is to low.
What a load of ****! Like we're gonna belive Libby?? How STUPID does CBS think the American people are? Cheney has LIED us into and all through this Iraq DISASTER, and Libby is his loyal underling.
Is there ANY question at ALL ?
CBS is disgusting.
Any predictions for future fall guys?
And it was treason, and here's why. By leaking the identity of this agent, they put America at risk from WMD's the administration said existed in Niger. (which never existed of course, but this administration KNEW that).
If those WMD's had existed,(and the administration said they did) they leaked a CIA agents name directly tied to those WMD's and jeopardized all our lives by those non existing WMD's.
Proof they knowingly lied to the american public about our reasons to go to war.
Guilty of Treason.
I know who I believe......
Every spy, every company used as a front, every single place Plame went is now exposed. I wonder how many have died due to this attempt to hide from the truth that Wilson brought back from Nigeria. How long will it take for the CIA to rebuild those networks, and who will be willing to work for them, knowing that a spiteful president might someday reveal their identity, and lead to their deaths.
- by frankly6 February 8, 2007 7:04 PM EST
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See all 16 CommentsIf everyones version differs from Libby's, I'd have to assume that Libby is the one who lacks credibility.