Prosecutor: Libby Wants to Load Up Trial

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff intends to load up his criminal trial with information about nine national security matters, the names of foreign leaders and details about various terrorist groups, say court filings in the Valerie Plame leak case.

The papers filed this week hint at what has been taking place behind closed doors as Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald tries to limit the amount of classified data that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is permitted to use at his trial in January.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton is asking whether classified evidence would overlap Libby's likely trial testimony. Libby's lawyers have already said he will take the witness stand to deny lying to the FBI in its investigation of the Plame leak.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-exec/2006/oct/06/100603104.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Day four of Libby closed-door hearing

Oct 4, 2006

WASHINGTON - In what may be the most decisive pre-trial hearing in the CIA/Leak case against I Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the parties involved are again facing off in courtroom arguments today over which, if any, classified documents Libby will be allowed to use to defend himself against charges of perjury and obstruction at his trial in January. Libby's attorney's, in a court filing, have identified nine national security matters they wish to present at trial. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is arguing to limit the classified materials allowed saying details in the documents will be a waste of time for a jury.

Libby's legal gambit - threatening to reveal sensitive national security details during the trial - has the potential of derailing the proceedings. It is a legal tactic called, "graymail."

Attorney's representing Vice President Cheney's former top aide, and Special Counsel Fitzgerald, are again before Judge Reggie Walton, in the fourth day of closed hearings dealing with which classified documents will be admitted. And again carts full of classified documents have been wheeled into the courtroom.

<snip>

Fitzgerald also writes that the details and facts in the classified documents Libby wants to present at trial, like the names of leaders or government officials of other countries, or the names and histories of various terrorist groups that Libby may have already known, "will either inaccurately suggest that the defendant was learning more new information than he really was or time will be spent explaining the details to the jury to avoid confusion."

According to their court filings, Libby will be able to testify about the nine national security items "with some precision." But, they say he needs the classified documents to show that these nine issues happened on particular days more than three years ago. Without the documents, his lawyers argue, a jury "may think he has an extraordinary memory" thus doubting his memory defense. He will say that those matters "were of surpassing importance" to him, while conversations about Plame were not. Much of the classified documents sought by Libby's team, they say, will be presented as a series of "dots" in a PowerPoint presentation at trial.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15129520/

[NVMojo]

2. it seems that this act of including the 9 cases amounts to shit-shoveling

on the part of Libby.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. I guess Libby and his lawyers

have nothing better to do since he isn't so busy anymore.

It must be pretty boring by now listening to Judy tell him for the 100th time about her adventures in Iraq and how many times she almost got killed.

[Bitwit1234]

3. Perjury

When you say one thing and it is proven that what you said is not true, what defense can you give. What in the world does all that other stuff have to do with the trial. They are not trying him on the leak, they are trying him on his lying about something. If they impeached a president because he told one story and they said it was not true, how come libby thinks he can skirt the law. He either lied or he didn't. The prosecutor has his sworn statements. I know you have to go to trial. But I don't understand what his defense could be.

[NVMojo]

5. well, now we know why we haven't heard from Fitzmas ...he's been

wading through the Libby shithole.

[bikeboy]

6. that man got big boots! N/T

[NVMojo]

7. yep! Glad for that, too!