Libby and Cheney Chickenhawk their Way out of Testifying in CIA Leak Case

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Scooter Libby had no problem leaking the identity of a CIA operative to cover up a lie. He had no problem lying about the leak under oath to a grand jury. But now Libby and his defense team have decided to cut and run from defending his actions at his own trial. Even his old boss, Dick Cheney, won't have to account for what happened.

Talk about chickenhawks. Both men have claimed innocence from the beginning and blasted prosecutors for even bringing charges for perjury, let alone investigating the leak itself. But with the case on the line neither one will step up to the plate.

The strongest defense argument left for the jury to consider is that Libby - the VP's ex-Chief-of-Staff - suffers from chronic amnesia.

Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin notes that Bush Administration officials have gotten used to being able to secure softball interviews from the media (if they even come before the public at all). After Dick Cheney freaked out when Wolf Blitzer asked him a few though questions, defense lawyers must have been terrified of what Libby or Cheney might do under cross-examination.

"Smart move for them," Froomkin writes. "Bummer for a public craving a better understanding of what went so terribly wrong."

After his own testimony in the case, Tim Russert explained a lesson he learned in seventh grade: "If you tell the truth, you only have to remember one story. And that's what I did." Of course, had the Bush Administration simply told the truth from the beginning they would not have had to break the law to discredit Joe Wilson for exposing them in the first place. More importantly, 3,105 Americans would still be alive and we would still have the few hundred billion dollars we've wasted in Iraq.

But Libby and Cheney can't be bothered with such minor concerns or lessons. At least this time it's Libby's neck on the line instead of someone else's.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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