Libby Trial: Cheney Closely Involved in Handling Fallout over Iraq Intelligence

Jan. 25, 2007 — -- Testimony in the trial I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Thursday revealed that Vice President Dick Cheney was closely involved in handling press inquiries concerning President Bush's claims in 2003 that Iraq was trying to procure uranium.

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald sharply questioned Catherine Martin, Cheney's former communications director, about internal White House deliberations on the Iraq-Niger controversy and how the administration would respond to press inquires about claims made in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.

"His name is Joe Wilson. ... His wife works over here," a CIA spokesman told Martin on June 11, 2003, about an ambassador whose trip to Niger caused a public relations disaster for the White House and the CIA, she testified on Thursday.

Interest in the Iraq-Niger issue increased after several press reports indicated Wilson was sent on the mission after questions were raised on the issue from the Office of Vice President Cheney.

Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer married to former ambassador Wilson, who criticized the administration about intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. Her name was published by political columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003 almost a week after Wilson's op-ed was published in the New York Times.

The prosecution contends that Libby was collecting information from State Department and CIA officials about an unnamed ambassador in a column published in early May 2003. Libby was eventually told by Marc Grossman, then Undersecretary of State for policy, and Robert Grenier, Iraq Issues Manager at the CIA that the Ambassador was Wilson and that his wife worked at the CIA.

Martin testified that after Libby, Vice President Cheney's former Chief of staff, had a June 11, 2003, telephone call with an official at the CIA she was in communication with then-CIA spokesman Bill Harlow to work on the issue.

"He was very helpful ... pleasant," Martin said of her first conversation with Harlow.

During this conversation, Harlow told her about Wilson and his wife's CIA connection. Martin relayed the information to Cheney and Libby, who already knew, according to the prosecution.

After the New York Times published Wilson's op-ed piece, Martin drafted talking points and spoke with the Vice President about the issue, she testified. Cheney dictated talking points to Martin from his Capitol Hill office the following day which included the notes, "Not clear who authorized the travel ... Trip not at his request ... didn't know Wilson."

After speaking to Harlow again on July 7, 2003, Martin leaned that two other reporters were working on stories about the Iraq-Niger controversy.

After consulting with Cheney, "It was decided that Scooter would call them," she said.

"Whose decision?" Fitzgerald asked.

"The Vice President's," she responded.

Martin felt sidelined by her superiors who were dealing with the issue.

"I was also aggravated that Scooter was calling reporters and I wasn't," Martin testified.

Later that night NBC News ran a report which stated there was tension between the CIA and the White House. Martin testified that at a staff meeting the next day Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley admonished top White House staff over the report for discussing deliberations between the CIA and White House.

Under questioning by Fitzgerald, Martin testified that Hadley, who was sitting in front of her, "turned around and looked at me."

After the meeting, "Hadley asked me and others to come to his office ... and told us we should not be talking about the story that this was the CIA's fault," she testified.

Martin informed the Vice President and Libby about Hadley's belief that press officials were leaking this information. From that point on, according to Martin, she was taken out of the loop on the Iraqi-Niger controversy.

"I was not involved from that point on in any further discussions," she said.

Martin said that other communications officials she spoke to were in the same situation: "Everybody was in the dark with conversations that were going on in the White House."

Under cross examination by Libby's defense attorney Ted Wells, Martin described a June 12, 2003, phone call when Libby called Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to respond to questions on a story he was working on about the Iraq issue. Libby made the call from Andrews Air Force Base when the Vice President and his staff returned from a trip to Norfolk.

Although it was his son's birthday, the only reason Libby called Cooper was because Martin wanted to have the viewpoint of the Vice President included in the Cooper piece, Wells told the court.

"You were nagging Mr. Libby," he said to Martin.

The pace of the trial slowed Thursday morning with the inability of Libby's CIA briefer Craigh Schmall to remember details of an intelligence briefing he provided to Libby in June 2003, where Libby allegedly mentioned Joe and Valerie Wilson.

Although Schmall, the Libby's and Vice President Cheney's CIA briefer, could remember details which he made notes about on the table of contents on the June 14, 2003, he could not remember specifics about key national security threats – such as Al Qaeda plots and North Korean nuclear weapons programs -- discussed that day with Libby at his home.

On the cover of the briefing Schmall wrote, "Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz at his office." The note was made in reference to an upcoming meeting Libby was having with the two celebrities about Germany persecuting Scientologists.

Above the odd note was the heart of the prosecutions questioning of Schmall where he also wrote , "Why was ex-Ambassador told this was a VP office question? Joe Wilson Valerie Wilson."

Fitzgerald asked the Schmall if he had ever heard the names before which he said he never had.

The defense continued to try and bolster its memory defense tactic that Libby was so consumed with terrorism and national security affairs that he could not adequately remember conversations he had with reporters about the Iraq-Niger controversy.

Fitzgerald became exasperated when the defense tried to have the CIA briefer questioned about the contents of the CIA threat briefing. Wells said that the question about the contents of the document, if showed to Schmall, might refresh his memory.

"When he doesn't remember anything on these various threats ... goes to the heart of the witnesses credibility," Wells said.

While the contents other than his notes had been blacked out by the government, Fitzgerald said he was concerned about the details of the briefing coming out.

Because Mr. Schmall may still not remember this, Fitzgerald argued this would "bolster" the memory defense.

Judge Walton ruled that Libby and his lawyers could not bring forward the memory defense without having Libby testify at the trial.

On the opening day of the trial the defense also shocked the court by saying that Libby was a scapegoat for Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser who the defense suggested was pushing stories about the Wilson's while Libby was forced to deal with reporters.