HIGH ANXIETY There was a bit of high anxiety at the courthouse today in the Scooter Libby trial. At the end of the day yesterday the jury sent the judge a note with a question, and the judge put off until this morning discussing it with the parties before responding to the jury. Nobody knew what the question was. Everything got started late today, and then the judge declared himself unclear on the jury's request for clarification and sent back to the jurors for clarification on their unclarity. Meanwhile, it turned out that the jury seems to have performed self-clarification and voided its question, which, it turned out, had to do with the nature of Count Three, the false statement charge bearing on whether Libby lied when he told investigators that he merely relayed Matt Cooper of TIME magazine on July 12, 2003 that all the reporters were telling the administration that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA and that he, Libby, did not know if it was true. As you can see, there are statements nested inside statements involved, and that seems to have tripped up the jury. Count Three is probably one of the weaker charges against Libby, but as for what the question means, I do not know. Are the jurors going through the charges sequentially, meaning that they're about half way through deliberations? Or did they leave the toughest call for last, meaning they're almost done? As for whether this gives any indication as to which way they are leaning, it does not to me, but maybe someone else with more experience reading a jury may have some more insight. And so we resume waiting.
--Jeff Lomonaco
