Hey look who Scooter Libby's new best friend is.
This is from today's New York Times.
Trial for Ex-Aide to Cheney Is Set for January 2007
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: February 3, 2006
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 ? The trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, in the C.I.A. leak case will start next January, a federal judge said today.
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, arrived for a hearing at Federal Court in Washington.
District Judge Reggie B. Walton said jury selection will begin on Jan. 8, 2007. Judge Walton said that he had hoped the trial could begin next September, but that Mr. Libby's lawyer, Theodore V. Wells Jr., will be tied up with another case. Republicans are likely to be pleased that the trial will be held after the Congressional elections.
"We are very happy with the trial date set by Judge Walton," Mr. Wells said outside the federal courthouse here. "The Jan. 8, 2007, date will permit us the time we need to prepare Mr. Libby's defense. The defense will show that Mr. Libby is totally innocent, that he has not done anything wrong, and he looks forward to being totally vindicated by a jury."
Meanwhile, efforts to raise money for Mr. Libby's defense are moving ahead briskly. Mr. Libby has pleaded not guilty to five charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the exposure of a C.I.A. operative's identity.
But the managers of the fund-raising effort on behalf of Mr. Libby say they have already reached the $2 million mark and expect to increase the pace when they start a fund-raising Web site. "It's a particularly excellent start," said Mel Sembler, the chairman of the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust.
Mr. Libby was indicted in October by a special prosecutor who charged that he had misled investigators about his role in disclosing the identity of the C.I.A. operative Valerie Wilson in discussions with reporters. In court filings, his lawyers have strongly suggested that any inaccurate responses he gave were the result of innocent confusion and his being preoccupied with more important policy matters.
Mr. Sembler, a Florida developer who is the former finance chairman of the state's Republican Party and the Republican National Committee, said Mr. Libby's lawyers had estimated that a solid defense would cost at least $5 million or $6 million.
The fund is not obliged under the law to disclose any details, including the number of donors, their identities or the amounts given. Barbara Comstock, a Republican communications strategist and an official of the fund, declined to disclose any of those details, except to say that there had been "hundreds of individuals."
Mr. Sembler said that there was a practical limitation in that federal law requires that taxes be paid on any gifts over $11,000 given in 2005 and over $12,000 this year. He said several donations had been made in those amounts.
"Scooter was a good friend and an excellent senior worker in our government," Mr. Sembler said. "He couldn't possibly afford this kind of legal defense on his own."
The fund's steering committee is composed of several prominent Republicans, a few Democrats and several friends of Mr. Libby. It includes three former Republican senators, Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming and Spencer Abraham of Michigan; two former Republican presidential candidates, Jack F. Kemp and Steve Forbes; and Prof. Bernard Lewis of Princeton and Prof. Francis Fukuyama of Johns Hopkins .
Dennis Ross, another committee member, has worked on Middle East issues for both Republican and Democratic administrations.
"He's been a friend of mine for 25 years," Mr. Ross said, "and I believe in him as a person and that he has a right to defend himself. It's a measure of friendship that you're there when people need you, not just when it's convenient."
Mr. Sembler dismissed any suggestions from critics that people might donate to ensure that Mr. Libby continue to battle the charges instead of providing prosecutors with any information damaging to other administration figures." These are activists who are concerned about this public servant and we're standing by him," he said. "It's not devious and there's nothing else to it."
