Libby Pleads Innocent I Just Saw That

Libby Pleads Innocent

I just saw that former vice presidential chief of staff Irving Lewis Libby has pleaded innocent of charges that he obstructed justice and lied under oath. If Libby sticks with this plea, it guarantees a messy and spectacular trial that Bush and Cheney obviously would have liked to avoid. How to read the plea? If Libby were primarily concerned about protecting his old boss, he could have pleaded guilty. A trial involves discovery and subpoenas, which might throw up evidence incriminating Cheney or his aide John Hannah in the CIA leak caseM or might nail Karl Rove. My own interpretation is that it is now every man for himself. That is not good news for Bush.

An informed reader writes:

“I’ve been a legal secretary for 20 years–can’t think of a single attorney who would let his client plead guilty before he saw exactly how much the government has on him–think it would be gross malpractice–

I suspect that between all the discovery (i.e.witness depositions) the prosecution and defense will be sounding each other out for a plea bargain. Libby has money and influence–the proceedings could be very protracted.”