Lynne Cheney Calls Libby Case ‘Bizarre’

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With the criminal trial of a former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, I. Lewis Libby, set to begin in less than a month, Mr. Cheney’s wife, Lynne, is denouncing the decisions of prosecutors in the case as “bizarre.”

Mrs. Cheney made the comment in response to a television interviewer’s observation that while Mr. Libby was charged in the investigation of the leak of a CIA operative’s identity, no charges have been brought against a former deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, who has acknowledged being first to tell a reporter about the CIA affiliation of Valerie Plame.

“It seems bizarre to me,” Mrs. Cheney said, according to an advance transcript of the Christmas Eve edition of “Fox News Sunday.” “Let’s just stop there.I think it’s bizarre.”

Pressed to explain, Mrs. Cheney added, “I think that we’re seeing an instance of a man who spent a great deal of his life as a dedicated public servant —he’s done an awful lot of good — in a situation that does not reflect well on our judicial system.”

Mr. Libby is charged not with leaking, but lying to investigators and a grand jury about his contacts with reporters. He resigned but has pleaded not guilty. The former aide’s attorneys have blamed memory failures for any inaccurate statements. The defense team said earlier this week that it plans to call the vice president as a witness at the federal trial, set for January 20.


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