Libby's Lawyers May Have Botched Case

Eat The Press Melissa Lafsky March 5, 2007 02:00 PM

The jury's been locked away for eight days now, popping their heads out to make unsuccessful requests for dictionaries and even losing one of their number to the gaping jaws of "media exposure." In the meantime, CNN reports that presiding judge Reggie Walton has released a memorandum opinion clarifying for the record that he feels the defense has acted to mislead himself and prosecutors. Specifically, he charges the Libby lawyers with fostering the idea that their client would take the stand during months of closed-door court hearings, and notes that this presumption figured strongly into his decisions to admit or deny classified material throughout the trial. The judge also suggests that Libby's team could have upped its chances of acquittal had it called Vice President Dick Cheney to the stand.

READ FULL STORY