Libby Lawyers Spar Over Jurors’ Political Views
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WASHINGTON — Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald sparred with defense attorneys yesterday over several potential jurors and their opinions of the Bush administration, a debate that further slowed jury selection in the CIA leak case.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had hoped to have a jury seated by yesterday afternoon, but legal wrangling has slowed the process. Attorneys for former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby have weeded the most outspoken critics of the Bush administration out of the jury pool.
Mr. Fitzgerald told Judge Walton that that defense attorneys had crossed the line when they told jurors the case was political and about war policies.
“The jury will not be asked to render a verdict on the war or what they think of the war,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Mr. Libby is accused of lying to investigators about what he told reporters regarding outed CIA operative Valerie Plame in 2003. Because Ms. Plame’s husband was one of the administration’s most outspoken critics, the trial is set to the backdrop of the war in Iraq and politics.
The makeup of the jury pool is a critical pretrial issue. Mr. Libby plans to tell jurors that, despite what prosecutors say, he didn’t lie to investigators. He says he was bogged down by national security issues and simply didn’t remember the conversations about Ms. Plame correctly.
If jurors come to the trial already skeptical about the credibility of Mr. Libby or his former boss, Vice President Cheney, attorneys say Mr. Libby won’t get a fair trial.
Judge Walton considered seven jurors and dismissed five people who said they could not be fair to the Bush administration or who were unsure.
“My personal feeling is the Iraq war was a tremendous, terrible mistake. It’s quite a horrendous thing,” one potential juror, a management consultant, said. “Whether any one person or the administration is responsible for that is quite a complex question.”
Only one juror had been accepted into the potential jury pool yesterday by early afternoon, and attorneys were debating whether to accept a woman who works for the CIA. Judge Walton had hoped to have 36 qualified jurors by the end of the day. Only 25 have been approved since selection began Tuesday.
Attorneys for both sides can then eliminate jurors for any reason until 12 jurors and four alternates are seated.
