Reply #11: Libby lawyers to seek 'First Amendment' defense

[rawstory]

Lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former White House official indicted on perjury charges, plan to seek testimony from journalists beyond those cited in the indictment and will probably challenge government agreements limiting their grand jury testimony, people involved in the case tell the NEW YORK TIMES for Wednesday page ones, RAW STORY has learned... Excerpts.

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"That's clearly going to be part of the strategy -- to get access to all the relevant records and determine what did the media really know," said a lawyer close to the defense who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In interviews, lawyers close to the case made clear that the defense team planned to aggressively pursue access to reporters' notes beyond the material cited in the indictment and planned to go to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton to compel disclosure as one of their first steps.

Defense lawyers plan to seek notes not only from the three reporters cited in the indictment -- Tim Russert of NBC News, Matt Cooper of Time Magazine, and Judith Miller, formerly of The New York Times -- but also from other journalists who have been tied to the case.

Chief among those is Robert D. Novak, who first disclosed in a column in July 2003 that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Libby_lawyers_to_seek_notes_from_1115.html