WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Defense lawyers rested their case in the Washington perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby without calling either Libby or U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton dealt a blow to Libby, who is facing perjury charges, by refusing to allow his lawyers to call as witnesses CIA employees who briefed him on security issues, The Washington Post reported.
Libby's defense is that he was too preoccupied with much more important issues, like those brought to him by the CIA employees, to remember exact details about Valerie Plame, the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Libby is on trial for lying to the FBI about leaking information regarding Plame.
Instead of calling the CIA employees as witnesses, defense attorney John
Cline read jurors a list of issues that the CIA shared with Libby.
Lawyers on both sides are expected to give their closing arguments to the jury on Tuesday. Jury deliberations are expected to begin the next day, the Post reported.
Asked why the defense did not call Cheney to testify for his former top aide, a defense attorney told the Post on the condition of anonymity, "I didn't need him."
