1 Boring Old Man

… blogging about someone else’s blogging about the Libby Trial? I want to. That’s the point. If I’m going to spend a year and a half following the attempt to get the country to wake up out of a deep sleep and look at what our government [our corrupt government] has done in our name, I’m going to have my say even if it’s lost in the ether between the molecules. It’s my Superbowl Party. So, from Firedoglake.com:

9:41AM

Judge Walton: The first matter is press access to the grand jury tapes… it would appear to me that this circuit has given a level of importance to the public’s right of access to exhibits. Considering the importance that our circuit has given to this right, [legalese for saying he’s going to give press copies].

Unlike yesterday’s football Superbowl, this Trial isn’t being run with the audience in mind. In fact, I don’t know that Judge Walton even really knows that he has a huge live audience. So they’ve taken a break to do whatever it is legal people do when they take breaks [they don’t do this on Law and Order].

10:55
Judge Walton: The next matter is Exhibits 422 and 423 (the WaPo articles on Oct. 4 and Oct. 12, 2003).

Jeffress: I thought the court felt Libby’s GJ testimony would be sufficient to determine his state of mind, since he’s asked about the topics in the article… [goes on awhile, then says he’d like to list passages that should be deleted as prejudicial.]

Judge Walton: You mean unduly prejudicial. (some laughter) Everything the government presents is going to be prejudicial.

Walton and Jeffress are starting to get a little testy — Walton is saying that the government has a right to argue motive based on articles that were in Libby’s possession without implying that the information in the articles is true. Jeffress is openly dismissive of Walton saying he’ll give the jury instructions not to consider the truth of the article ("We know, you’re going to give an instruction," he says in a so-what voice. I didn’t look up to see if he rolled his eyes.)

Wells: Last week, you testified about Mr. Libby’s lunch with Ari Fleischer on July 8th.

Bond: I think you have the date incorrect. It was July 7th.

…

Wells: I want to turn to the notes that were taken during the November questioning of Mr. Libby

Bond: Those are not my notes.

What follows to the lunch break and to the present is detailed going over notes and dissecting Agent Bond’s words. Swopa’s comment:

It’s 1:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C., FBI agent Bond is back at the stand for more Chinese water torture, so it looks like we’re ready to get under way.

I have no idea where the defense is heading. Just trying to discredit the witness, best I can tell…