1 Boring Old Man

Wells: You didn’t ask Libby any questions about Wilson when you had him on the phone?

Russert: That’s right.

Wells: You had the chief of staff of the VP on the phone, and

Russert: It was very much a listening mode — he was very agitated, not in the mood to talk.

Wells: But you didn’t take the opportunity?

Russert: He was saying VP wasn’t involved, I took what he said in the spirit he was offering it.

Wells: Weren’t people at NBC trying to learn about Wilson trip?

Russert: Yes, they were.

Wells: Why didn’t you ask chief of staff of VP?

Russert: Didn’t have opportunity.

Wells: Why not?

Russert: Was complainding about program I hadn’t seen, so I did

Wells: Wouldn’t have been natural for you to ask, though?

Russert: Wasn’t a natural phone call. Never had one like that from such a high official, complaining and agitated.

Wells: But such an aggressive journalist, such a big story

Russert: What I said is what happened.

Wells: Do you have a present recollection of not discussing Wilson’s wife, are you just reasoning backwards from the fact that you did not know about her until Novak’s column.

I’m expecting Wells to ask next, "Why didn’t you write down not talking about this thing you remember not talking about [and didn’t yet even know was a thing to be talking about in the first place]?"

4:08 PM What’s going on now is also sort of absurd. Wells is bringing up an example of Russert forgetting an unrelated event, then later correcting himself. I suppose the points are that Russert’s memory is not infallible and that maybe Libby forgets just like Russert. It’s a sort of courtroom pseudoscience. You forgot something, ergo your memory is impeached. You forgot something, ergo Libby forgot and isn’t a liar.

4:24 PM Now Russert is being questioned about why he openly talked to an F.B.I. Agent on the phone about Libby’s call, but later tried to get out of testifying because it was "priviledged."

And so it went to the end with Wells hammering Russert because he talked to the F.B.I. Agent but tried not to talk to the Grand Jury. Excruciating! And the day, mercifully ended with:

Walton calls a truce recess for the evening. He also makes a statement that the prosecution does NOT contend that Libby did anything wrong in talking about the National Intelligence Estimate on July 8, 2003 or thereafter, "after it had been declassified by the president." So now you know.

Prosecution is expected to end its case tomorrow morning… and defense wants to start with Jill Abramson, but Fitzgerald has an objection to that. So that objection will be addressed first. The defense says they’ll be happy to start Monday, given various motions they have to submit first, and they don’t want to waste jury’s time. Fitz says they can start with other witnesses — "Pincus, [Evan] Thomas, Kessler, Sanger…" I don’t think this will be resolved until tomorrow morning.

Thus ends the Prosecution’s case. I remember when Fitzgerald announced Libby’s Indictment, he said that these were not minor charges. The Grand Jury was tasked to investigate the leaking of an Undercover C.I.A. Agent’s identity by the Bush Administration to discredit her husband because he criticized them in the Press. Fitzgerald said, when someone lies to the Grand Jury, it cannot reach the truth. So Libby was charged with Obstruction of Justice.