Libby trial: The jury is in
Posted: Monday, January 22, 2007 6:49 PM by Hardball
David Shuster
The jury is set and the opening arguments will begin Tuesday morning in the case of the U.S. v. Libby.
Here are Mr. Libby’s 12 peers – nine women, three men -- who will be considering the evidence and rendering a verdict of guilty or not guilty on five criminal counts:
Women:
Middle age consumer protection lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission. She said she doesn’t follow the news or have any info on the CIA leak case.
Young woman who attended Emory and Swarthmore and now works at the Dept. of Health and Human Services. She said she “never reads the paper or listens to the news on TV.” She said she considered Vice President Cheney a “perfect stranger.” But she also added that from what little she does know, “I’m not particularly impressed with his manner of being.”
A hotel sales manager who said Vice President Cheney seemed like a “slightly cold man.” She didn’t know much about the case except for the name of the defendant. She testified, “You don’t forget a name like Scooter.” This woman also said she reads a lot of “celebrity magazines” but “no news magazines.” She added, “I am the master of all things pop culture, but don’t know anything about current events.”
An elderly woman who has suffered from Parkinson’s and volunteers for a non profit that helps fellow seniors.
An African American woman who works at a non profit but used to work at the Pentagon for the Navy and Air Force.
A travel agent, originally from California, who has had “back problems” in recent years and testified she remembered “something about the CIA leak case” when she was in the hospital. But she said she remembers very few details because she was “on morphine at the time.” She said she doesn’t read the paper very much and hardly ever watches TV news. She does watch “Judge Judy.”
A young woman who works as a controller for a Washington, D.C. law firm. However, she also doesn’t read the news.
An African American woman who used to work as a postal worker. Her son pled guilty to a criminal charge in Judge Walton’s courtroom a few years ago. Asked if she had any bad feelings about the process, she replied, “No, it was my son’s fault.” Asked if she ever watches Meet the Press or any other television on Sunday morning, the woman said, “No, I’m in church on Sundays.”
An elderly woman who writes full time about “art.” She worked for many years as an “art curator.”
Men:
- A former reporter for the Washington Post who worked for Bob Woodward in the mid 1980’s. Until six months ago, he shared an alley with Tim Russert, another witness in the case. He is also friends with Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus, who wrote an article that may be introduced as evidence in the case. The former reporter said his approach to issues of “credibility” is that “you don’t take anybody’s word for anything until you get the facts.” The man was an articulate and fairly colorful figure... He was asked if he had ever been arrested and replied, “In 1970 or 1971 during a May Day (peace) parade.” Asked if he had any bad feelings about that episode, he replied, “Well, the guy next to me took my food.” The man talked repeatedly about his career as a journalist and his desire to “get things right” and seek out “the truth.”
- A retired math teach from North Carolina who suffered in recent years from Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He said he recognized Patrick Fitzgerald “from the news” but didn’t remember very many details about the charges against Scooter Libby. Asked about Vice President Cheney and the man replied, “I’m not sure I would like to out bird hunting with him later.”
- An older man who works as a Web architect for a federal contractor at the General Service Administration. His wife works as a defense lawyer. He remembered the basics of the CIA leak case and said he remembered “Mr. Wilson had some comments that were unflattering (about the administration). He seemed really upset.” He expressed great respect for the justice system and said the trial “is a very important undertaking. Whatever I do must be as unbiased as possible.”
