Libby lawyer says he was not ordered to disclose Plame identity

Washington Post/Houston Chronicle:

In grand jury testimony two years ago, former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby did not assert that President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney instructed him to disclose the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters as part of an effort to rebut criticism of the Iraq war, Libby's lawyers said in a court filing late Wednesday.

A court filing last week by the special federal prosecutor investigating the disclosure of Plame's identity had highlighted the fact that Bush and Cheney ordered Libby to disclose details of a previously classified intelligence report as part of an effort to rebut criticism by her husband, Joseph Wilson. This disclosure provoked speculation that Bush or Cheney also had instructed Libby to disclose Plame's identify.

But the lawyers asserted White House documents outlining what Libby was to say in his conversations with reporters did not mention Plame's name. They said this circumstance supports Libby's contention that he did not participate in a campaign to damage Wilson by disclosing his wife's CIA employment or in a cover-up of the episode.

The statement that Libby did not link Bush and Cheney to the disclosure of Plame's name during his 2004 grand jury testimony is meant to bolster Libby's contention that no conspiracy existed to make selective disclosures to undermine a key administration critic, as some in Washington have charged.

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Is the truth finally catching up with the conspiracy buffs?

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