JURIST - Paper Chase: Libby defense to call Cheney as witness in CIA leak trial

[JURIST] A defense lawyer for former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense website; JURIST news archive] said Tuesday that Libby will call Vice President Dick Cheney [official website] to testify in Libby's upcoming trial on perjury and obstruction of justice charges [indictment, PDF; JURIST report]. Libby is charged in connection to the Justice Department's investigation of the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity [JURIST news archive] and he is expected to argue that he innocently mis-remembered facts and did not intentionally misrepresent his knowledge of the leak due to the heavy volume of his work as Cheney's chief of staff. If Cheney does testify, he will be the first sitting vice president to testify in a criminal case.

Last week Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] said that he was "not aware" that any government witnesses intended to invoke executive privilege [JURIST report] to avoid testifying in the trial. He also indicated that the prosecution "does not otherwise anticipate any of its witnesses moving to quash or limit trial subpoenas." AP has more.

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