The maneuverings of a White House aggressively trying to defend itself aren’t the only revelations in the ongoing perjury trial of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
The trial has provided a detailed accounting of the quiet dealings between a few elite Washington journalists and their highly placed sources. Nobody comes off looking particularly good.
Witnesses have told of a White House that cultivated a handful of reporters they thought they could steer or manipulate. And these journalists, determined to preserve their rarefied access, pushed the boundaries in relationships with sources.
That people who work in and around Washington’s power structure are using each other isn’t exactly news. But the trial offers a rare look at exactly how the sausage was made.
In recent testimony, Matt Cooper, formerly of Time magazine, was questioned about a conversation he had with Libby about CIA agent Valerie Plame. Cooper already had learned from presidential adviser Karl Rove that an administration critic was married to Plame.
Cooper said that at the end of a phone conversation, he asked Libby whether he had heard anything about Plame’s husband having been sent to Africa to check out reports that Iraq had been attempting to buy uranium. The reporter recalled Libby said he had “heard that, too.”
That, in Cooper’s mind, was confirmation for an interesting news story. Cooper didn’t ask where Libby had heard it or any follow-up questions about Plame. That’s an awfully compliant way of reporting. Even Cooper expressed some regret about his own methods.
And there have been other moments. Former New York Times reporter Judy Miller showed a wincingly poor memory about dates. And she agreed to Libby’s request that in print she identify him as a “former Hill staffer.” It’s a totally misleading way of describing someone who’s dishing dirt from the inner corridors of the White House.
The trial resumes this week, and Libby will get his shot at defending himself against charges he lied about what happened. Vice President Dick Cheney, whose own role is sure to be explored, is scheduled to testify on Libby’s behalf.
The trial offers a revealing look into how Washington works for certain power brokers who practice a multilevel chess game.
