A federal court judge has set the trial date for Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby for January 2007. Libby is accused of perjury and obstruction of justice for his alleged involvement in the leaking of the identity of covert FBI agent Valerie Plame to reporters.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton had originally wanted the trial to begin in September, but Libby's attorney, Ted Wells, indicated he was tied up with another case that would last 10 weeks. As a result, the trial will not commence until after key Congressional mid-term elections which will be held this coming November.
Initial documents filed by Libby's attorneys indicated that part of their defense will be based on a claim that Libby may have been confused when he told FBI agents and the grand jury about his conversations with reporters for NBC, 'Time' and the 'New York Times.' His lawyers contend that while Libby may have been confused, he did not lie.
The defense will also claim that Plame's occupation was 'common knowledge' among reporters in Washington, making it difficult to determine who first learned the information from what source.
The fact that Plame was a covert CIA agent was initially made pubic by conservative columnist Robert Novak in July 2003. This was shortly after Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, published an op-ed column in the 'New York Times' revealing that President Bush's contention that Saddam Hussein tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger was false. The Bush administration was allegedly trying to 'get back' at Wilson for the critical article.
Libby, 55, resigned shortly after he was indicted this past summer. President Bush's chief of staff, Karl Rove, was also a subject of the investigation which has not yet concluded.
