Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Report from the Libby Courthouse   [Byron York]

In his news conference after the trial, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald surely disappointed some of the administration's critics when he said that the CIA leak investigation is "inactive."  "I do not expect to file any more charges," Fitzgerald said, adding that the investigation had been inactive for quite a while before the Libby trial.  Fitzgerald left open the possibility that things might change if he learns any new information, but did not seem to think that was a likely event.  The administration's opponents hope a newly-convicted Lewis Libby might provide that information — as Libby was leaving, MSNBC's David Shuster called out, "Mr. Libby, are you willing to go to jail to protect Vice President Cheney?" — but Fitzgerald does not seem to expect it.

As far as the jury's thoughts are concerned, all we have to go on are the statements of juror, and journalist, Denis Collins, who was the only one of 11 jurors who chose to speak to the press.  Collins made it clear that it was the testimony of NBC's Tim Russert that made the difference in the case.  "I thought he was very credible," Collins said of Russert, adding that a lot of jurors agreed.  Other witnesses did not fare so well.  Collins said that one juror said of Judith Miller, "I don't know, her memory was terrible," and another juror shot back, "Yeah, whose isn't?"

As you all know, Collins said that jurors had no animosity toward Libby.  "There was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby," Collins said.  The same was not true, Collins suggested, of other members of the Bush administration.  "It was said a number of times, 'What are we doing with this guy here?'" Collins told reporters.  "'Where's Rove?  Where are these other guys?'  It seemed like Libby was…the fall guy."

In the end, though, it appears that what sank Libby could be expressed in a single statement from Fitzgerald's opening argument.  Saying that Libby had had his famous conversation with Russert on a Thursday — in which Libby said he learned, as if for the first time, of Valerie Plame Wilson's CIA connection — but that Libby had, on the previous Monday, told Ari Fleischer about Mrs. Wilson, Fitzgerald told jurors, "You can't learn something startling on Thursday that you're giving out on Monday and Tuesday."  Jurors were persuaded by that, and Libby's lawyers were never able to change their minds.

Finally, I have one quibble with Andy McCarthy about Count 3 — the charge that Libby lied to the FBI about his conversation with Matthew Cooper.  I said it was flimsy, and it was the one count on which Libby was acquitted.

More later.

03/06 02:55 PMShare