Today’s Must Read

With Scooter Libby’s trial speeding to a close, the focus today is partly on Libby, but mostly on the man behind the curtain for all of Plamegate: Vice President Cheney.

In National Journal, Murray Waas reports on the ugly facts Cheney avoided having to publicly confront when Libby’s defense team suddenly decided not to call him to testify:

At the time that Libby offered his explanation to Cheney [in the fall of 2003, after the Plame investigation had begun], the vice president already had reason to know that Libby’s account to him was untrue, according to sources familiar with still-secret grand jury testimony and evidence in the CIA leak probe, as well as testimony made public during Libby’s trial over the past three weeks in federal court.

Yet, according to Libby’s own grand jury testimony, which was made public during his trial in federal court, Cheney did nothing to discourage Libby from telling that story to the FBI and the federal grand jury. Moreover, Cheney encouraged then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan to publicly defend Libby, according to other testimony and evidence made public during Libby’s trial.

Before the grand jury testimony, Libby testified that Cheney had only “tilted his head” when he’d heard Libby’s recounting of things. And later, after Libby had discovered from his own notes that Cheney himself had actually been the one to tell Libby about Plame, he went back to Cheney. Upon hearing the news, Cheney only said, “From me?” and “tilted his head.”

All this is not lost on prosecutors, Waas reports:

If Libby is found guilty, investigators are likely to probe further to determine if Libby devised what they consider a cover story in an effort to shield Cheney. They want to know whether Cheney might have known about the leaks ahead of time or had even encouraged Libby to provide information to reporters about Plame’s CIA status, the same sources said.

But wait! That’s not all, you Cheneyphiles. The New York Times reports on how the trial has “spotlighted” Cheney’s “power as an infighter” (read: liar and manipulator), and The Washington Post reports on how Cheney’s influence within the administration has waned in favor of what the paper calls a new “pragmatism” (I think that means problem-solving as opposed to problem-making).

Note: Nothing like a front page exposé in The Washington Post to get results. The Post reports this morning that the Army has suddenly decided to begin repairs on patients’ housing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.