Prosecution Rests Case In Libby's Perjury Trial

"It's huge, Katie," Russert said on the program. "This is the first time in 130 years that a sitting White House official would come under indictment."

Russert's buoyant tone, Wells contended, reflected "bad blood" between Russert and Libby. Wells also pressed Russert to try to illustrate that he had a flawed memory, that he could have learned of Plame from two NBC colleagues, and that he acted inconsistently by answering an FBI agent's questions early in the investigation but seeking unsuccessfully months later to fight a grand jury subpoena for his testimony.

Fitzgerald tried unsuccessfully yesterday to persuade U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton to prevent the defense from reading the jury excerpts of Russert's "Today" comments. "To turn it into a grudge match -- with some sort of bad blood -- I think that is a stretch," Fitzgerald argued.

Wells also suggested that Russert's 22-minute deposition with the special counsel had been incomplete because Russert was not asked whether he was told about Wilson's wife by NBC colleagues Andrea Mitchell or David Gregory, who were working on aspects of the unfolding Wilson story. Russert acknowledged that he was not asked about either one during his deposition but told the jury "they never came forward" to share with him anything they were learning about Wilson from administration officials.

Libby, 56, faces five felony counts of lying to investigators and a grand jury. He is not charged with actual disclosure of Plame's identity. He has repeatedly testified that he shared information about Plame with other reporters only after learning it from Russert during a telephone call.

Libby has acknowledged that Cheney first told him about Plame's CIA job in June 2003 but said that he forgot he knew about her by the time that, according to his account, Russert mentioned her nearly a month later.

Russert testified Wednesday that he could not have told Libby about Plame because he had not heard of her until she was publicly revealed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on July 14, 2003 -- four days after Russert spoke with the vice president's right-hand man.

Fitzgerald has argued that Libby fabricated the story about learning the information from Russert to protect himself from criminal charges. Passing along gossip from a reporter would not be a crime, but disclosing a CIA officer's classified status to reporters after learning it from the vice president could be.