The Libby defense

Libby's defense team is really going for it. The strategy is to force the government to turn over materials that the Bush administration will refuse to release, thereby forcing the government to drop the charges against Libby. They probably have a reasonable chance of success in this strategy. Here's their latest request, via Talk Left:

..because the defense may call Mr. Wilson as a hostile witness, we need to prepare to examine him, if necessary, on the details of the trip, including his wife's role in selecting him for the assignment and the findings he reported to the CIA, and later, to the press.

We emphasize that request B(1), which calls for documents relating to the declassification of the NIE, triggers the government's Brady obligations. At trial, the government intends to introduce testimony regarding Mr. Libby's disclosures of portions of the contents of the NIE, which appears to be a unique story. Upon hearing about these events, jurors may suspect that Mr. Libby mishandled classified information or did something else wrong when he made these disclosures - even if the government does not argue that Mr. Libby's actions were unauthorized or illegal. The defense has the right to argue at trial that Mr. Libby's actions with respect to the NIE were authorized at the highest levels of the Executive Branch, and would be entitled to bolster such arguments with documents and testimony.