The trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby features the most powerful people on Earth, an inside look at the White House and official arguments over the lead-up to the Iraq War, but the fate of the vice president’s former chief of staff now will come down to 12 average Washingtonians.
In the first day of jury selection Tuesday, nine D.C. residents were called to the stand in U.S. District Court of D.C. They included a Watergate Hotel janitor, a consumer protection lawyer, an insurance consultant, a lobbyist and an opera soprano. They ranged from their mid-20s and a few years removed from college to baby boomers in the twilight of their careers who’ve sat on jury duty before. They were white, black and Hispanic, and most were women.
But none seemed fazed by the magnitude of the trial.
Each was asked his or her opinion of the Iraq War, the Bush administration or where they got their news.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald objected when the line of questioning by the defense led to one woman, a lobbyist for the home health care industry, revealing that she voted for Bush.
Defense attorney Theodore Wells Jr. said the “essence of the case” revolved around accusations that the Bush administration lied about going to war, and the defense needed to know if the jurors had strong feelings on the matter.
The opera singer gave Bush and his staff the benefit of the doubt about the reasons for going to war. “I think they were as honest as they could be.”
One woman, who has a cousin fighting in Iraq and is a housekeeper at the Watergate Hotel, where she often sees Condoleezza Rice, said she thought the president was harsh on the troops and she wanted them to come home.
One woman was excused after the first question when she told the Judge Reggie Walton she couldn’t believe anything the Bush administration said.
Before the questioning, Walton asked the jurors whether they knew any of 80 potential witnesses that included Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and NBC’s Tim Russert.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. Opening arguments are scheduled for Monday.
The trial comes after three years of investigations that included the depositions of Bush and Cheney and the 85-day jailing of a New York Times reporter.
Staff writer Michael Altman contributed to this story. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
