Libby's not off the hook

[Thom Little]

Woodward’s story, while interesting, doesn’t affect Libby’s perjury charges


The level of intrigue in the CIA leak case may have heightened with developments involving reporter Bob Woodward, but attorneys for Lewis Libby are wrong to suggest it vastly changes the case against their client.

When news broke that Woodward had been told by a source about the CIA status of Valerie Plame, wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson, attorneys for Libby said the development meant Woodward's source might have discussed Plame's identity with the press before Libby allegedly had. Libby's attorneys called the Woodward information a "bombshell" that could help their client.

But that misses the point of the charges against Libby. The former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Libby has not been charged with outing Plame. And whether the timeline of known events means Woodward's source acted sooner or not is beside the point. Libby's case is not about when events occurred; it's about what he told the FBI and a federal grand jury. He is accused of not being truthful in a federal investigation, a very serious allegation.

It is unsettling that the CIA leak case has become something of a parlor game in Washington. Speculation and individual denials spiced with chuckles miss the serious nature of the issues at hand. President Bush himself has said the CIA matter warrants a serious approach. But whether anyone outed Plame, or whether that person might have been a high-level official, has nothing to do with whether a witness is truthful in sworn testimony. That's what has Libby on the spot. Woodward's involvement doesn't diminish that charge



http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051122/OPINION01/511220328/1008

[acmavm]

1. Finally, some words of sanity in an insane argument. Libby is a liar. He

may also be a traitor, but he's only being prosecuted for lying.

If Woodward were half as smart as he things he is he would quit spouting crap and realize that his smokescreen does not do anything to diminish the guy's guilt.