WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Prosecutors rested Thursday in the trial in Washington of I. Lewis Libby after the cross-examination of their final witness, NBC newsman Tim Russert.
Theodore Wells, the lead defense lawyer, tried to suggest Russert was hostile to Libby. He used a tape of a Russert appearance on MSNBC with Don Imus in which Russert compared Libby's presumed indictment to Christmas morning, CNN reported.
"Surprise. What's going to be under the tree," Russert said.
Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, faces charges of perjury and obstructing the FBI investigation into the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity. She is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and the Bush administration allegedly wanted to discredit him because he had written an op-ed piece for the New York Times disputing claims about Saddam Hussein's efforts to acquire uranium.
In his original statement to investigators, Libby said he learned of Plame's identity from Russert. Russert testified that at the time he was unaware she worked for the CIA.
