Liar Libby
In an interesting editorial at Truthout, former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega points out why we’re unlikely to see Scooter Libby serve as the basis for any kind of case against the Vice President. He’s make a terrible witness precisely because of his recent conviction and defense strategy:
Equally unlikely is the idea that Fitzgerald would want Scooter Libby to cooperate. Not only is Scooter Libby a convicted felon - a fact that juries are entitled to take into account when assessing a witness’s testimony - he is a felon who was convicted of perjury and making false statements. For a prosecutor, trying to make a case based on the testimony of a convicted perjuror is akin to a would-be suitor showing up on a first date wearing a wedding ring: it creates serious credibility hurdles. As if that weren’t enough of a problem, Libby would be testifying as a cooperating witness regarding the very matters about which a jury has already found that he lied. As to those, Libby has made extensive prior statements chock-full of inconsistencies, fodder for days of devastating cross-examination. And then, to top it all off, there would be the pesky fact that Libby’s entire defense at trial was based on an attempt to prove that the man has a terrible memory. A convicted perjuror with a memory problem may be a great premise for a bad joke, but it is a terrible premise for a criminal case against the vice president of the United States.
Read the whole editorial here.
