Grand Jury Tapes Have Been Released Before: Bill Clinton's

Libby request to hide audio tapes should be denied by Judge Walton

BBSNews Analysis 2007-02-04 -- In the trial of Former White House Vice Presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the defense has asked that grand jury audio tapes be kept from the public. Editor & Publisher reported on media efforts to get the material released:

"Libby defense attorney William Jeffress, who successfully argued a Supreme Court case that kept the Watergate tapes from being released, said in court Thursday that grand jury tapes are never meant to be made public.

He said he knew of no case when such recordings have been released.

In the tapes, Libby discusses conversations he had regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame, the wife of a prominent Iraq war critic. Plame's identity was leaked to reporters in 2003."

The story goes on to further outline concern by Judge Walton that the trial would somehow be "sensationalized:"

"If the tapes are released, they could be broadcast on television news programs, radio stations and the Internet. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said he worried that would sensationalize an already public trial."

The BBC, in their On This Day page for September 21st, 1998 includes the news about Presidenr Bill Clinton's grand jury video tapes being brought to the news media and broadcast on arrival:

"The video of the American president's 17 August interview in front of the Grand Jury was taken to a television station at 0910 local time (1410 BST) and broadcast immediately by many US networks."

On September 19th, 1998, the Milwalkee Journal Sentinel ran a detailed report on the events that led up to President Clinton's grand jury video tape testimony being released to the media for continuous broadcast to the public. Former President Clinton was unsuccessfully tried after impeachment proceedings were first brought against him December 9th, 1998. The Journal Sentinel said:

"Amid bitter Democratic protests, the House Judiciary Committee voted Friday to release a videotape of President Clinton's grand jury testimony and 2,800 pages of supporting material from the independent counsel.

The tape and the documents will become public at 8 a.m. Monday, Milwaukee time."

The Journal Sentinel report continues:

"Republicans said the public deserved as much information as possible to judge both the president's conduct and any action that Congress takes toward impeachment."

Surely Republicans today understand that Libby's best public defense is laying out his testimony so the public can judge for themselves that this is all a "farce" as some so-called conservative commentators might argue. Judge Walton should follow if not the legal precedent, but the socio-political precedent set by those seeking the truth about President Clinton and an affair.

As compared to say, outing a CIA agent in an effort to discredit someone who shed light on the incredibly shaky case that Saddam Hussein was close to having a nuclear weapon, and then waging a war based upon a false impression of a "mushroom cloud" that was left with the American people in the run-up to the unilateral US led invasion of Iraq.

The public has a right to hear Libby's full testimony. Anything less will not lay the matter to rest.