Thursday, March 16, 2006
Libby's Lawyers Subpoena N.Y. Times
Lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, have subpoenaed The New York Times Co. and former Times reporter Judith Miller for documents concerning the disclosure of an undercover CIA agent's identity.
Libby was charged last fall with lying to investigators and a grand jury about leaking the status of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters. Miller spent 85 days in jail after refusing to tell a grand jury about conversations she had with Libby about Plame.
Miller later testified before the grand jury, saying Libby had given her permission to do so, and provided the panel with edited notes of her interviews with the former chief of staff.
She retired from the Times in November.
The Times reported Thursday that the new subpoenas seek Miller's notes and other materials, including any other documents concerning Plame prepared by Miller and Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof. It said other materials included drafts of a personal account by Miller published in the Times about her grand jury testimony, and documents concerning a recent Vanity Fair article and her interactions with a Times editor.
Plame's CIA identity was first published by columnist Robert Novak in July 2003, shortly after Plame's husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of twisting prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.
Wilson has said he believes his wife's identity was disclosed to undermine his credibility.
Libby lawyer William H. Jeffress Jr. would not tell the Times whether other reporters and news organizations had been subpoenaed.
Representatives for Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Tim Russert of NBC News told the Times the men had received subpoenas.
A Times spokeswoman said the newspaper's lawyers were reviewing the subpoena. A lawyer for Miller, Robert S. Bennett, said she would likely fight her subpoena.
Lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, have subpoenaed The New York Times Co. and former Times reporter Judith Miller for documents concerning the disclosure of an undercover CIA agent's identity.
Libby was charged last fall with lying to investigators and a grand jury about leaking the status of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters. Miller spent 85 days in jail after refusing to tell a grand jury about conversations she had with Libby about Plame.
Miller later testified before the grand jury, saying Libby had given her permission to do so, and provided the panel with edited notes of her interviews with the former chief of staff.
She retired from the Times in November.
The Times reported Thursday that the new subpoenas seek Miller's notes and other materials, including any other documents concerning Plame prepared by Miller and Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof. It said other materials included drafts of a personal account by Miller published in the Times about her grand jury testimony, and documents concerning a recent Vanity Fair article and her interactions with a Times editor.
Plame's CIA identity was first published by columnist Robert Novak in July 2003, shortly after Plame's husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of twisting prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.
Wilson has said he believes his wife's identity was disclosed to undermine his credibility.
Libby lawyer William H. Jeffress Jr. would not tell the Times whether other reporters and news organizations had been subpoenaed.
Representatives for Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Tim Russert of NBC News told the Times the men had received subpoenas.
A Times spokeswoman said the newspaper's lawyers were reviewing the subpoena. A lawyer for Miller, Robert S. Bennett, said she would likely fight her subpoena.
