Closing Arguments In The Libby Trial

Ex-Cheney Chief Of Staff Charged With Perjury, Obstruction Of Justice

(CBS)  Attorney Andrew Cohen analyzes legal issues for CBS News and CBSNews.com

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The lawyer's last words…

The time has come in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury and obstruction trial for the attorneys to try to close the sale to jurors before deliberations begin. This means that top-shelf lawyers will stand before the panel for hours and try to put their own legal spin on a case that was born of spin, fed on spin, grew through spin and, ultimately, will be judged by spin-fueled minds.

Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has an easier job than do his defense counterparts. All he really has to do Tuesday is remind jurors of two simple things: 1) that they have heard during this trial from many independent witnesses all of whom have contradicted the story Libby told federal investigators and grand jurors; 2) that having a bad memory, if indeed Libby has one, simply isn't a viable defense in a case like this unless it is truly well established by defense witnesses.

If Fitzgerald had any special flair, he'd do a riff on the timeless Steve Martin comedy routine and tell jurors this about the Libby defense: "You can't just say 'I forgot that murder was against the law' or 'I forgot to tell the truth to grand jurors.'" The feds have working for them in this trial both quality and quantity. The government's witnesses, including the journalists who were dragged kicking and screaming into the courtroom, may not have been perfect. But they all carried their own share of water for the charges against Libby.

Did Libby tell the grand jury stuff that doesn't seem to be true? Check. Did Libby have an apparent reason to conceal how and when he first learned about Valerie Plame Wilson? Check. Did Libby spend enough time involved in the concerted White House effort to undermine Joseph Wilson (Valerie's ex-ambassador husband) that it seems unlikely that Libby could have forgotten about it when asked under oath? Check. Did Libby come off as a pompous busy-body who doesn't deserve a great deal of sympathy from jurors? Check.

And the biggest problem for Libby's lawyers is that to undermine this prosecution you have to convince jurors that not only is Bob Woodward lying but so is Tim Russert and Walter Pincus and a bunch of current and former administration officials, low and high. And to do that the defense has to convince jurors that these people either had a faulty memory or bad intentions toward Libby and to do that his lawyers have to somehow convince the panel that Libby is a victim in all of this. Prosecutors will say it is simple: Libby is not a victim. He is a liar.

If prosecutors want jurors thinking the case is simple — they always d do — Libby's attorneys want the jury thinking about all of the complexities involved in the life of a high-level White House advisor.

They will tell jurors Tuesday that this whole story is so muddled and confusing that one man alone shouldn't be held legally responsible for how poorly and nastily the White House reacted to the news that Wilson had become an anti-war critic. They will point to their best witness, Libby's successor, John Hannah, who told the panel that Libby was notorious for having a bad memory. They will argue that the Wilson scandal was a tiny island in the ocean of things on Libby's mind, both in the summer of 2003 when all the leaking was done, and in 2004 and 2005 when all the questions were asked.

The defense team's closing arguments might have been a lot easier had their client, or their best witness, taken the stand. But neither man did.

Libby's lawyers didn't allow him to testify — a tactical decision that caused U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to block the defense from allowing jurors to see certain classified evidence that might have helped jurors understand just how big a shot Libby actually was back in 2003. Clearly, the decision will hurt Libby's chances of gaining an acquittal at trial. But the defense is hoping that Judge Walton's reaction helps them get their client's conviction reversed on appeal.

Libby's testimony might have helped humanize him for jurors and might have helped them understand how it could come to pass that such a sharp guy might "mis-recollect" something under oath. Now his lawyers will have to stand up before jurors and explain it all away.

How? I don't know. The defense case consisted of a few journalists who rebutted some of the testimony of other journalists and the aforementioned Hannah and not a whole lot else.

You can make book that Libby's lawyers during closings will tell jurors that Libby is being picked on by an overzealous prosecutor. And you can bet an awful lot of lettuce that Fitzgerald will tell jurors that just because Libby was powerful and important he shouldn't be excused for not playing things straight when the law came calling.

There is never any way to tell precisely how a jury will come back in a case with as many moving parts as this one has. But in the case of United States v. Libby, it is the government - Libby's former employer - which seems to have all the advantages going into the trial's penultimate act.

[imprisonbush]

The Bush Administration is filled with putrid sewage that needs to be flushed and incinerated from top to bottom. The key players - Cheney, Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld, Libby, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, Delay, Bill First, McCain, Snow, McConnell, Lieberman and more -- need to be prosecuted, imprisoned and hung. The next President should appoint Pat Fitzgerald to the Supreme Court. Pat's probably going to need a good job since Shrub will probably fire him after Libby is convicted, like he recently fired a bunch of top A-Gs around the country for their diligent work in prosecuting corruption. God save this country.

[dogband]

Give him 30 years. Lying right hand for the traitor Cheney. Impeach Bush before he has an opportunity to pardon Libby on his way out.

[meritocrat]

Mr. Fitzgerald should be Attorney General, after he sends the current one to jail for conspiring to violate the Constitutional Rights of innumerable US citizens. Isn%u2019t it refreshing to have a special prosecutor who remains focused on the law and independent? Finally, we have some successful progress in our Federal Government. Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald.

A prediction%u2026Scooter will appeal and never spend a day in jail; the President will pardon him as this Administration finally leaves the Whitehouse.

[firebirdguns]

If this was one of us as the masses,we and all involved would be in jail. This particular executive branch of government is so corrupt it is just hard for us little peon group of masses to really fathom. I love America but I'am ashamed of the government we have they are all crooked as snakes and thieving liars. Maybe someday we might get lucky and have a president and administration that cares about us here in America first.

[jpesot]

Cheney used the power of the VP's office to smear one indivudal and ruin the career of another.

Libby lied to protect Cheney.

Cheney won't testify in Libby's defense since that would mean testifying against himself.

Libby won't testify in his own defense because he has to put much of the blame on Cheney. Which would jepordize his pardon.

So Libby rolls the dice, and if found guilty, his lawers will begin a long a drawn out appeal process.

That process will run until Bush's presidency ends. And on the way out the door, Bush pardon's Libby.

Cheney and the administration are protected, and Libby gets his own talk show on Fox news.

[ezillyamused]

Libby lied to protect Cheney. That's a no brainer. And any guilty verdict will be pardoned by Bush. They should all go to Gitmo
Posted by bmadeline at 10:13 AM : Feb 20, 2007

Amen to that sister!!!!

[rafterman1]

"And I'm sure that many of the conservative judges Bush has appointed will declare war on America with a different kind of "judicial activism" - from the right!"

Yeah, that always cracked me up. Rule against Bush and Guantanamo, and it's an actvist judge. Make a Supreme Court decision that makes Bush president and declare it non-precedent (i.e., only for Bush) and everything's fine.

[rharrin1]

I was hoping cheney would take the stand.

[scott4261]

Many Republicans won't fully realize that the GOP is rotting from the inside until after the 2008 elections - when the only branch the Republicans will have is the Judical branch. And I'm sure that many of the conservative judges Bush has appointed will declare war on America with a different kind of "judicial activism" - from the right!

[rafterman1]

"I do not know if the judge will give Libby the right to walk around during his appeal either."

If it was treason, then they'd lock him up. But since it was "only" lying, they'll probably let him stay free. After all, even the Enron guys were free until sentencing. Until Lay hit the big sleep.

[samthetvcat]

I wonder how big Libby's 'Christmas Bonus' will be this year?

[bmadeline-2009]

Libby lied to protect Cheney. That's a no brainer. And any guilty verdict will be pardoned by Bush. They should all go to Gitmo

[fizzal-2009]

Doesn,t that woman tell people what she doe,s when she files tax,s or is she lieing.

[adventurepa]

Can you say scapegoat?
Sure, I knew you could boys and girls.
Just like the movie, "Clear and present danger"
Libby can look forward to $20,000.00 an hour on the interview and speeches tour he will give.
Just like Ollie North.

[skyk-2009]

Not putting Libby on the stand may have been more than just the usual lawyer tactic. By not putting him up, then asking for use of the classified material (which they knew the judge would deny), they set up grounds for appeal - that they weren't allowed to put on a proper defense. Appeal long enough to keep Libby out of jail and, most importantly, keep the appeal going until at least after the 2008 election, then Bush will pardon him. A pardon before the election could devastate Republican chances. Though I suspect Bush policies and continued Republican rubber stamps will do that on their own.



Posted by Rafterman1 at 08:17 AM : Feb 20, 2007

The length the Reich will go to in an effort to save the head of their Gestapo is not known. I do not know if the judge will give Libby the right to walk around during his appeal either. IF Libby has to spend time with big bubba, if he's honestly faced with Jail Time, he'll flip like a cheap pancake. It's really up to the Judge to deny him bail during the appeal process.

[rafterman1]

Not putting Libby on the stand may have been more than just the usual lawyer tactic. By not putting him up, then asking for use of the classified material (which they knew the judge would deny), they set up grounds for appeal - that they weren't allowed to put on a proper defense. Appeal long enough to keep Libby out of jail and, most importantly, keep the appeal going until at least after the 2008 election, then Bush will pardon him. A pardon before the election could devastate Republican chances. Though I suspect Bush policies and continued Republican rubber stamps will do that on their own.

[skyk-2009]

Will Libby flip on the Gestapo head and Sir Lies-A-Lot or will Sir Lies-A-Lot use his power to pardon him at the insistence of the REAL president and Gestapo head? Stay tuned folks this is going to get good.

[samthetvcat]

I would just love to see Scooter Libby and that Feith guy get together and turn on Cheney and Bush by telling the truth. Oliver North may have took the fall for Reagan with the weapons for hostages deal, but Reagan was cool and at least his misdeed got hostages released. Outing Valerie Plame was an act of pure vengeance and using fake 'intelligence' to persuade people that Saddam had WMD's and that the invasion of Iraq was therefore warranted cut off the debate of everybody who tried to tell Bush and Cheney that the war was going to turn out exactly as it has. There is no glory in these two fall-guys showing misplaced allegiance to these two - the greater good has not been served and they're all going to go down in history as screw-ups. If they pipe up at least they can salvage their own dignity imo.

[dallison7]

This trial is a shell game designed to put the 'yellowcake uranium' lies to bed before the thing snowballs into a 'real' investigation which could shine the light of day on several other falsehoods. Libby will take the fall then they will slow-walk the thing until the next election at which time a presidential pardon will be issued. We, the citizens of this country have a responsibility to prod congress to continue the investigations and prosecutions after the transfer of power. There is nothing we can do to stop the damage this administration has already done, but these criminals need to pay for their crimes.