Libby defiant as Senate investigates Rove's role

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=c7499f27cc22d2be&cat=c08dd24cec417021

Libby defiant as Senate investigates Rove's role
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 01 November 2005
Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the senior White House official charged over the CIA leak affair, is to appear in court this week, as investigators continue their inquiries into the activities of President George Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove.

An official said yesterday that Mr Libby would appear in a federal court in Washington on Thursday morning, where he would be formally charged, or arraigned. He faces five charges ­ two of lying to investigators, two of lying to a grand jury and one of obstructing justice ­ in relation to the leaking of the identity of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.

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Last Friday, as he resigned his position as Mr Cheney's chief of staff, Mr Libby declared: "I am confident that at the end of this process I will be completely and utterly exonerated."

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The trial could also become a wider inquiry that examines the processes that went on in the White House as senior officials plotted to make the case to the public of the need to launch an invasion of Iraq.

At the weekend, the Democratic leader on Capitol Hill, Senator Harry Reid, said it was important for Mr Bush to promptly apologise to the public. " First of all, the Vice-President issues this very terse statement praising Libby for all the great things he's done," Mr Reid said on ABC television. "Then we have the President come on camera a few minutes later calling him Scooter and what a great patriot he is. There has not been an apology to the American people for this obvious problem in the White House."

Public opinion certainly appears to be running against Mr Bush. A poll published by The Washington Post found that almost half of the people asked ­ 46 per cent ­ said the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government had fallen since Mr Bush became President. That is three times as many as those who said ethics and honesty had risen during his tenure.

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Some Republicans had claimed that Ms Plame's identity was already widely known within Washington. But one of the Wilsons' neighbours, David Tillotson, said this was not so. He told The Independent he and his wife understood Valerie to be a "consultant". "If anyone would have known, we would have," he said. "We are friends and neighbours and we interacted a lot."

Yesterday, Mr Wilson called for Mr Bush to fire Mr Rove, who also talked to journalists about Ms Plame.

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Mr Libby, 55, has made it clear he will plead not guilty. He was replaced yesterday by David Addington, a longtime aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney and his top legal adviser. Mr Addington was among the authors of a White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects.

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I think its significant the interview from Independant of the neighbors and the call of Wilson to have Rove resign!!!

[Historic NY]

1. I have a feeling that Libby will take a plea at some point......

between now and the calling of the 1st witness. Why because Bush & Cheney can be called and if the parade of witness's begin unraveling the WH they will be doomed. Libby will fall on his sword and be rewarded, sometime in the future. I personally prefer a trial, but we will see, I don't think its going that far.

[Demeter]

2. I Think Libby Will Sing Like A Tree Full of Birds

because dying in jail for these scumbags is not what he wants to do.