Journalist debunks Libby claims

Journalist debunks Libby claims Correspondents in Washington February 01, 2007 A FORMER New York Times reporter, who spent almost three months in jail to protect her source - US Vice-President Dick Cheney's ex-chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - directly contradicted Mr Libby in his perjury trial yesterday. Judith Miller told a federal court jury that Mr Libby spoke to her about CIA agent Valerie Plame, wife of a prominent critic of the Iraq war, weeks before Mr Libby told investigators he first heard about Ms Plame from another reporter. Miller spent 85 days in jail for refusing to co-operate with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into who leaked the CIA agent's identity to reporters. She refused to break her promise not to disclose conversations she had with Mr Libby until he personally released her from their confidentiality agreement, after which she was released from jail and testified. Disclosing a CIA officer's name without authorisation can be a criminal offence. Miller is the first of several prominent journalists to testify in a trial that is providing the jury - and the US public - a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Bush White House, which prided itself on privacy. The appearance of Miller as someone forced by the Government to testify against a source emphasised how the case had changed relations between journalists and Washington officials. Mr Libby's charges of perjury and obstruction of justice are the only criminal counts to come out of Mr Fitzgerald's investigation into the CIA leak. The prosecutor says Mr Libby discussed CIA officer Plame with reporters, then lied about those conversations. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty. Miller is a major witness in Mr Fitzgerald's case because she describes two conversations with Mr Libby regarding Ms Plame before Mr Libby told investigators he had been surprised to learn about Ms Plame from NBC reporter Tim Russert. Ms Plame is the wife of a former US ambassador, Joseph Wilson, who was intensely disliked by the White House because of his public accusations that President George W. Bush and Mr Cheney manipulated intelligence reports to build a case for invading Iraq in 2003. Mr Libby has claimed under oath that he learned about Ms Plame on July 10, but Miller became the sixth person to testify that he had identified Ms Plame before then. Miller testified yesterday that Mr Libby discussed Ms Plame on June 23, 2003. He said Mr Wilson's wife worked for the "bureau", Miller recalled. "Through the context of the discussion, I quickly determined it to be the CIA," she testified. She said Mr Libby told her at the meeting that it was Ms Plame who sent Mr Wilson to Niger to see if Iraq bought uranium for nuclear bombs from the African country. Mr Wilson returned from Niger and said that the uranium report - a key piece of evidence in Mr Bush's rationale for going to war - was false. Miller said Mr Libby was "agitated, frustrated and angry" when they met in a White House office. Mr Libby was upset over Mr Wilson's comments and by press reports he had been ordered to Niger by Mr Cheney. Miller told of a second meeting with Mr Libby, this one on July 8, 2003. She said Mr Libby had mentioned that Ms Plame worked for a division specialising in weapons of mass destruction. In a speech on Monday night, Russert said he did not tell Mr Libby about Ms Plame. Journalism groups have criticised Mr Fitzgerald for calling reporters as witnesses and demanding they discuss conversations with sources. Mr Fitzgerald is expected to call two other reporters - Russert and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine - during the trial. Mr Fitzgerald has said Ms Plame's name was leaked by Bush administration officials trying to discredit Mr Wilson's finding that there was no proof Iraq was attempting to buy uranium in Niger for its nuclear weapons program. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty, contending he did not remember conversations he had with reporters about Ms Plame amid the crush of his work on national security issues. Miller left The New York Times in November 2005 after a 28-year career at the newspaper. Her reporting came under attack after articles she wrote suggested Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction - coverage that helped the Bush administration build its case for invading Iraq, but turned out to be wrong.