The criminal trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby has all the makings of a Hollywood spy movie.
The case involves a beautiful CIA agent whose cover was blown by a White House defending its war on terrorism to an aggressive Washington press corps.
At the top of the bill is Vice President Dick Cheney, who is expected to testify on behalf of his former chief of staff Libby, charged with lying to prosecutors and obstruction of justice in the investigation of a high-profile CIA leak case.
Other D.C. power-players who could make appearances include NBC’s Tim Russert, Watergate investigative reporter Bob Woodward, columnist Robert Novak, former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, the spy who lost her cover.
Like many high-profile Washington investigations, the trial will focus on the alleged cover-up, not the crime.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was tasked with finding out who leaked Plame’s name to Novak after her husband, Wilson, challenged President Bush over his claims that Saddam Hussein tried to buy materials to build a nuclear bomb.
During his investigation, Fitzgerald called several big-time reporters before the grand jury. Judith Miller of The New York Times spent 85 days in jail for not revealing that she learned about Plame from Libby.
In the end, Fitzgerald didn’t charge Libby or anyone else for the leak. Instead, he’s charged Libby with lying under oath when the former Cheney aide testified to a grand jury that he learned of Plame’s name from Russert.
Libby’s attorneys likely will argue that Libby was preoccupied with the Iraq war during his testimony and had forgotten where he learned of her identity.
The prosecution’s case might have been weakened last year when former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage admitted that he revealed Plame’s identity to reporters.
