The prosecution was winding up on Thursday in a perjury trial that has gripped Washington for the past three weeks and seen a parade of witnesses from the Bush administration and the United States media. On Monday it will be the turn of defence lawyers representing Lewis Libby, the former chief of staff to the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, who is also due to give evidence.
At the US district court on Constitution Avenue, within sight of Congress and close to the White House, members of the capital’s elite have been shuffling in and out, offering insights into the workings of the notoriously secretive Bush administration. The case has revealed the closeness of the politicians, officials and media and the trade-offs between them.
If Libby is found guilty of perjury, it will be a major embarrassment to the already weakened President George Bush. Libby denies five criminal charges for which he could be fined and jailed.
Tim Russert, presenter of NBC’s Meet the Press, was on Thursday the last of 10 witnesses for the prosecution. His evidence is potentially the most damaging to Libby, flatly contradicting claims made by the former chief of staff.
The case centres on the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, a criminal offence. Libby did not expose her, but he was indicted in 2005, accused of lying under oath to those investigating the leak. Plame’s outing came after her husband, Joe Wilson, a former US ambassador, revealed as bogus one of Bush’s claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq: that the country had sought yellowcake uranium from Niger as part of its alleged attempts to produce nuclear weapons. Wilson’s actions angered the White House.
Libby told investigators that Russert told him about Plame’s identity. Russert, whose normal role is questioning politicians and who found himself on Wednesday and again on Thursday in the unusual position of being cross-examined in court, denied he ever said that.
Others who have testified have included Cathie Martin, Cheney’s former spokesperson. She testified that she had told Libby sometime before July 6 2003 that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA. During her evidence, she confirmed what Washington reporters have long suspected: that the White House deliberately tries to bury uncomfortable information by putting it out on a Friday afternoon. ”Fewer people pay attention to it late on Friday. Fewer people pay attention when it’s reported on Saturday,” she said.
Robert Grenier, the former number three at the CIA, testified he had originally told investigators he did not recall telling Libby about Plame, but said he ”developed a growing conviction” that he must have said it.
Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary, revealed that Libby had told him about Plame over lunch, and that the information was ”hush-hush”. Fleischer relayed that information to reporters. He has been given immunity in return for his testimony. – Guardian Unlimited Â