Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
This would explain Russert's deal: According to the Washington Post, "NBC lawyers reached an accommodation with the prosecutor in which Russert "was not required to appear before the grand jury and was not asked questions that would have required him to disclose information provided to him in confidence."
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And according to the
NY Times article:
- In a statement, NBC said Mr. Russert was interviewed under oath by prosecutors on Saturday. NBC said Mr. Russert had not been a recipient of a leak and was not asked questions that would have required him to disclose a confidential source.
"The questioning focused on what Russert said when Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, phoned him last summer," NBC reported Saturday. "Russert told the special prosecutor that at the time of the conversation he didn't know Plame's name or that she was a C.I.A. operative and did not provide that information to Libby."
Seems like Russert's role was to testify as to whether the name was already public. Since it's a grand jury at this point, Libby (or whoever) won't have the opportunity to provide that defense just yet. So getting Russert to make the statement (and, presumably, agree to cooperate at any trial) is probably enough.
