Judge in Libby trial threatens gag order

WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The federal judge in the pending Washington trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has threatened a gag order to stop disclosures to reporters.

Directing his concern at both sides, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walston reiterated his earlier warning that he would not allow the case to be "tried in the media."

In his order he wrote: "On several occasions information has been distributed to the press by counsel, which has included not only public statements, but also the dissemination of material that had not been filed on the public docket," the Washington Post reported.

He gave both sides eight days to state any objections before he imposes the gag order.

He made the threat a week after special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, investigating leaks to the media by administration officials about a CIA operative, wrote in a court filing that President Bush and Vice President Cheney had authorized Libby to release information to the media from a classified intelligence report.