The perjury trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby got off to a fascinating start last week with the former White House officials’ accusation that he was being set up as a fall guy to protect Karl Rove.
It’s a convenient tale, designed to divert attention from essential truths that nonetheless emerged in the opening days’ testimony. Of course, even if he’s a fall guy it doesn’t mean he didn’t commit a crime.
The picture emerging is of a Bush White House inhabited by political and policy operatives who will use whatever means necessary to put their spin on a story.
The early testimony also illuminates the divisions between the staffs of the President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Trial testimony illustrates how White House machinations of information manipulation and retribution are largely were engineered by Cheney and carried out by his staff. But key Bush aides were in on it too, along with the top assistant to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell.
We heard this week how Cheney and Libby were irritated by disclosures that one of the underpinnings for the Iraq invasion – the canard that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium for a nuclear reactor – had been rebutted by former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson. He went public with accusations that the Bush administration knew this before launching the invasion of Iraq.
The counterattack was swift and ugly. Cheney launched a full-scale campaign to discredit Wilson, with Libby in the thick of it. They locked and loaded on Valerie Plame, Wilson’s wife.
She was a covert CIA operative. It was imperative that her employment with the agency remain secret, otherwise her ability to work and even the safety of past contacts could be in jeopardy.
Even so, Cheney directed that reporters be informed of her identity and the connection. The destruction of her distinguished career was mere collateral damage. It meant nothing to these people.
Libby faces charges that he lied to investigators who were trying to figure out how Plame’s identity became public.
The trial is expected to shine an uncomfortable spotlight on the White House. Cheney is supposed to take the stand, as are other members of the administration and prominent Washington journalists.
In the end, no matter what the jury concludes, the public will have gained valuable insight into how the White House works under pressure.
