The United States v. I. Lewis Libby

By: Waas, Murray

Book Overview

In October 2005, when I Lewis Scooter Libby was indicted on five felony counts of making false statements to the FBI, perjury and obstruction of justice, his trial became the latest chapter of the saga. This book covers the trial from start to finish.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402752598
• ISBN13: 9781402752599
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Length: 584 Pages
• Weight: 2.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.6" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Guilty until proven innocent. Another victim of Bush's wars.

Poor Libby had devoted his career defending Bush's administration on its decision to do Iraq, yet was thrown to the Jaws of brutal injustice for trivial mistakes. On June 11, 2003, he was provided with a report from a subordinate, Marc Grossman, as well as from an insider in the CIA, Robert Grenier, that revealed the identity of a CIA agent, the wife of ambassador Wilson, who was sent to Niger to verify the connection between Iraq and the procurement of uranium. Libby never knew or sought such trail of classified information. His main objective was to prove that the guy who was sent to the Niger did not do so on behalf of the Libby's boss, Vice President Cheney. Even before Libby's release of the agent's name to journalist Miller on June 23, Armitage had already done so on June 13, to Woodward. Armitage never been tried. Both Grossman and Grenier never told Libby that the information they provided him was classified and should not be used, assuming that he should have known better, I guess. The loose cannon Grossman had already broadcasted the information to Armitage and omitted to sort out what was classified and what was not. So, no matter what Libby did or did not do, the classified information has been leaked from Grossman, to Armitage, to Woodward on June 13. Libby leaked it on June 23 to Miller. Libby paid the high price for simply not saying: Sorry, I did not know that was a big deal or admitted to making a mistake. Instead, Libby made up (or may have been genuinely inflicted with poor memory) a story of his own wishful imagination. Perjury and Obstruction of justice had cost Libby his job, reputation, and more for attempting to defend a losing war in Iraq and exonerating his boss. He had to be sacrificed by an incompetent president who blames the CIA for deceptive information, and who rejected every opinion that opposed his obsession with Saddam. The book was published in June 2007, merely three months after the March 6th verdict. The book briefs the transcripts with reasonable accuracy. The book defaults on truncating parts of the transcripts that describe the witnesses' background, among others, omitting the minute-by-minute timeline of each question and answer, and its unorganized and incomplete appendix of exhibits. The reader would not be able to discern the time or duration of each witness's testimony, since the trial transcripts were thrown into the book without due concern of such aspect of witnesses' reaction to examination. The major default in the book is the lack of the real trial's audio recording, which could have conveyed the real demeanor of the witnesses and the efficacy of the defense and prosecutor. The tone of voice of the witness in responding to questions and the timing of response to question could not be conveyed by a written text alone. The prosecutor seems to have entangled an innocent citizen who simply failed to say, "I did not know it was a big deal", as did Ari Fleischer, who also refused to coo

This generation's Woodward/Bernstein

Murray Waas may be the most courageous reporter in Washington DC at present. He goes for the deeper story, and the hidden resources, in order to provide us with the truth--a commodity of rare value in this city. Scooter Libby, sentenced to 2.5 years in prison the day this book came forth, participated in a crime of nearly unthinkable proportions: helping to out a CIA undercover spy during a time of war. Worse, Plame's specialty within the CIA was weapons of mass destruction in not only Iraq but Iran, for which the drums of war are sounding louder by the week. It may be too much to call such behavior treason, but the case remains to be made why there is any good reason that narrow Republican political gain should trump the national interest. Would the government lie in order to take us to war? Would the government misuse intelligence to persuade the American people to turn over their sons and daughters for death and blown-off limbs? Waas presents compelling evidence that Libby and his co-workers in the Office of the Vice President have already done this once, for the war against Iraq. It seems the strings are warming up for a second movement, called Iran. If only some conscientious writer would help the average American figure out what is really going on. Good news: the cavalry is here. Thank you Murray Waas.