Tim Russert vs Scooter Libby

[H2O Man]

"On August 7, 2004, Russert quietly gave a deposition to Fitzgerald about the conversation he had had with Libby a little more than a year earlier. …. Libby had told FBI agents and Fitzgerald’s grand jury that Russert had told him it was common knowledge among reporters Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA. That never happened, Russert told Fitzgerald. He said he had no recollection of knowing anything about Wilson’s wife when he had spoken to Libby that day ‘so it was impossible for me to have (told Libby) that.’ Russert maintained that he hadn’t learned about Wilson’s wife until he read about her the following week in Robert Novak’s column. When he did see Novak’s column, Russert testified, his reaction was, ‘Wow. When I read that, it was the first time I knew who Joe Wilson’s wife was and that she was a CIA operative …..It was news to me.’ As Russert remembered it, Libby’s phone call on July 10 had been only about Chris Matthews. He would later tell collegues that ‘not one word’ Libby had attributed to him was true.

"Fitzgerald now had direct testimony contradicting what the vice president’s chief of staff had told the grand jury. And his witness was about as credible as they come: a respected and widely known newsman."
--Hubris; Corn & Isikoff; pages 365-366

I will always appreciate Tim Russert’s role in the Plame scandal. He was a key to convicting Scooter Libby for five felonies. It was, in my opinion, the highlight of his career.

The phone call from Libby illustrates two things: First, that Russert was of a standard that placed him, even in the criminal eyes of the Office of the Vice President, in a position where Libby’s "black op" did not include sharing a CIA NOC’s identity with him. Certainly, Libby knew he wasn’t dealing with another scum like Bob Novak.

Second, Libby had called Russert as part of a coordinated effort to stop Chris Matthews from reporting on the WMD lies and the Wilson op-ed. Paul Wolfowitz also called top people at NBC/MSNBC to complain about Matthews. And NBC/MSNBC did not prevent Matthews from further reporting on the story. (NBC/MSNBC attorneys recommended that Matthews and Russert not comment on their personal communications with the OVP.)

After Libby was indicted and brought to trial, his lies to FBI investigators and the grand jury allowed Patrick Fitzgerald to introduce Tim Russert as a witness. More, it allowed for a significant amount of documentary evidence to be brought out in court, most of which became part of the public record.

Thank you, Tim Russert.