Fitzmas Update 5/5/06

Bloomberg reports on Judge Walton's latest decision. Lawyer Ted Wells, representing former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, said about five witnesses would testify that agent Valerie Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, revealed her secret job duties before they were disclosed in a 2003 newspaper column. Wells spoke at a hearing in Washington as U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he'll reject at least some of Libby's requests for government documents for his defense. … "I don't see how this is relevant to the case," Walton told Wells during the hearing. Any focus on Wilson's report would turn the trial into an inquiry on "statements the president made in the State of the Union. You want to try the legitimacy of us going to war," the judge said. Walton questioned how evidence about Wilson's findings would "help the jury decide whether Libby lied to the FBI or the grand jury" in the leak investigation. The judge said he'll issue a written ruling on the documents later. … "I don't know how it has any bearing on whether your client allegedly testified falsely," the judge said. --- Shorter Reggie Walton: "I don't like it when you insult me and waste my time."