Russert finishes testimony; prosecution rests Libby case

WASHINGTON – Prosecutors finished presenting their celebrity-studded case against former White House official Lewis “Scooter” Libby on Thursday, and so far the trial comes down to this: Can jurors believe one Washington insider when his version of events is at odds with that of so many other Washington insiders?

After 11 days of testimony from 10 high-profile prosecution witnesses – including NBC News’ Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, who completed his testimony Thursday – the defense’s task in the coming weeks appears daunting. The defense is set to begin Monday.

Libby’s attorneys have showed that the prosecution’s witnesses are vulnerable to memory lapses and mental mistakes. But those witnesses have been consistent on two key points: what they did not tell Libby and what Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff told them.

Russert was the latest witness to offer pointed testimony that Libby’s description of events – he first heard the name and employer of CIA officer Valerie Plame from the newsman – is wrong. In some ways it mirrored testimony from previous witnesses, who have said they learned about Plame from Libby – a claim his lawyers strenuously deny.

Russert completed his second day of testimony with a series of testy exchanges with Libby’s lawyers, who sought to portray the “Meet the Press” moderator as an unreliable witness with a grudge.

The case against Libby stems from alleged lies he told investigators about conversations he had with three journalists around the time Plame was identified by name in a newspaper column in July 2003. The lies allegedly obstructed a federal probe into how Plame’s identity became public. In certain cases, it can be a felony to disclose the identify of an undercover officer.

Libby has said, through his lawyers and in court papers, that he first heard about Plame in a conversation with Russert a few days after the New York Times published an op-ed article by her husband, former envoy Joseph C. Wilson IV, criticizing the administration’s use of pre-war intelligence. Russert testified that he did no such thing. Two other journalists also have testified that Libby told them about Wilson’s wife.

The defense contends that Libby did not knowingly lie but might not have recollected the conversations accurately because he was distracted by pressing national-security matters. A memo from his own files introduced into evidence shows that he learned about Plame from Cheney himself before he talked with the reporters, but Libby has said he forgot that, too.