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By Jim Malone
Washington, DC
19 January 2007
watch Lewis Libby report
Opening arguments are anticipated next week in Washington in the criminal trial of Lewis Libby, a former top aide to Vice1 President Dick Cheney. Libby is charged with misleading a grand jury and FBI agents in the course of an investigation2 about disclosure of a former covert3 CIA officer's identity. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has a preview of the trial.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby
At one time, Lewis Libby was one of the most influential4 men in Washington. Libby advised President Bush and served as chief of staff for Vice President Cheney.
But prosecutors6 say Libby lied to and misled investigators7 about his conversations with journalists about Valerie Plame, a former covert CIA officer whose identity was revealed in a Washington newspaper column.
Valerie Plame
Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Wilson had accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence on Iraq to justify8 the U.S-led invasion in 2003.
Special prosecutor5 Patrick Fitzgerald alleges9 that Libby was part of a White House effort to retaliate10 against former Ambassador Wilson by leaking his wife's covert CIA status to reporters. Libby denies the allegations and says he was too busy to remember who initially11 told him about Valerie Plame's CIA connection.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University. "The government is going to have to prove that Libby knew that he was leaving out critical facts when he spoke12 before the grand jury and with investigators,” said Turley. “Libby's argument is simple: He simply forgot, that his memory is not that good. So it becomes a test of credibility who the jury will believe. Libby will almost certainly have to take the [witness] stand. In a case like this, if you do not take the stand, the jury tends to resolve doubts against you."
Among those expected to testify during the trial are several well-known Washington journalists who regularly used Libby and other high ranking government officials as sources.
In addition, Vice President Cheney is expected to testify for Libby's defense13, marking the first time a sitting vice president will testify in a criminal trial.
Mr. Cheney praised Libby in a recent television interview. "He is one of the most honest men I have ever met."
Law professor Jonathan Turley says the Libby trial will also serve as a reminder14 of how the United States went to war in Iraq. "Ultimately, the trial really does not turn on who leaked what. It really turns on what Libby did in response to the scandal. But it is going to remind people about the overselling of the Iraq war. It is going to remind people that what they were told originally was not true."
Former State Department official Richard Armitage has acknowledged he was the original source of the leak in the Plame case, but so far prosecutor Fitzgerald has not brought any further charges in connection with the leaking of her name to journalists.
The Libby trial is expected to last several weeks.
1 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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2 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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3 covert | |
adj.隐藏的;暗地里的 | |
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4 influential | |
adj.有影响的,有权势的 | |
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5 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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6 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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7 investigators | |
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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8 justify | |
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护 | |
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9 alleges | |
断言,宣称,辩解( allege的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10 retaliate | |
v.报复,反击 | |
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11 initially | |
adv.最初,开始 | |
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12 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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13 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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14 reminder | |
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示 | |
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