Agency Staff To Testify Against Scooter

by Steve

Yesterday, we heard from the Agency's favorite guy at the Post, Walter Pincus, that Patrick Fitzgerald was turning his attention towards whether or not Scooter knew Valerie Plame was covert at the time of her exposure. Today, we hear from the New York Daily News that Fitzgerald has two witnesses from the Agency who will testify that they discussed Plame and her identity with Scooter a month before Robert Novak's column, thereby destroying the "I heard about her from reporters" defense.

Two top CIA officials will bolster prosecutors' charge that Vice President Cheney's chief aide lied to them, court papers show.

Prosecutors say disgraced Cheney chief of staff Lewis (Scooter) Libby learned CIA spy Valerie Plame's identity from, among others, agency officials who will be called to testify at his trial for perjury, false statements and obstruction of justice.

[snip]

Both CIA officials - including a top architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion - discussed Plame with Libby a month before columnist Robert Novak blew her cover in July 2003, prosecutors charge.

If true, then this draws attention to what the Agency folks told Libby about Plame, and whether or not they and CIA spokesman Bill Harlow told Libby of the dangers of outing Plame a month before Robert Novak’s column. Libby’s own attorneys now admit that Harlow discussed Plame with Cheney’s staff a month before the Novak column. If Grenier and Schmall, who was Cheney’s CIA briefer, not only discussed Plame with Libby a month before Novak’s column, but also told Scooter about the need to protect her status at the Agency, then Scooter may be in deeper manure than the perjury, false statement, and obstruction mess he is already in.