Openings and Closings

How do we get to the point where the chief of staff to the vice president of the United States is lying repeatedly to the FBI and to a grand jury? Well, that's the story of this case.

What I would like to do in the next 45 minutes or so is just give you an outline or a road map of what the evidence will show. Let me put you at ease. You will hear a fair amount of names and a fair amount of dates. It's not important that you get them exactly right as you listen to the opening. We will spend plenty enough time together in this courtroom with the witnesses before you that you will figure out the names and dates later.

So think of this as someone -- you are about to take a trip. Someone gives you a heads-up beforehand, look out for this landmark, look out for that landmark. . . .

Members of the jury, the evidence you will see in this case from the witness stand will show you that the defendant knowingly and intentionally lied to the FBI. And lied after taking an oath before the grand jury.

This is not a case about bad memory. This is not a case about forgetfulness. Having a bad memory is not a crime. The defendant is not charged with having a bad memory. The government will meet its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant knowingly and intentionally lied by trying to shift the information he gave to reporters away from where he really learned it and to blame it on a conversation with Russert that never happened.

Now, remember, the burden of proof is at this table. It is always at this table. We accept that responsibility. We welcome that responsibility. And we commit to you that at the end of the evidence in this case, we will stand up before you and we will be able to look you in the eye and tell you that the evidence will have convinced each and every one of you beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of each of the charges in the indictment: guilty of counts 2 and 3 charging him with making false statements, lying to the FBI, lying about how he learned about Wilson's wife, and lying about what he did with the information; guilty of counts 4 and 5, of lying under oath before the grand jury about the same two things, how he learned the information and what he did with it; and guilty of count 1, which is obstruction of justice, his effort to obstruct the efforts of the grand jury doing the investigation.

I ask you, as you sit here during this trial, to remember one thing. The most important thing you brought to the courtroom today is your life experience and your common sense.

When you check into whatever room you eat in and leave your coats in, leave your coats there every morning, but bring your common sense into the courtroom. You all have a lifetime of experience in sizing people up, knowing when you are being talked to straight and when you are not, knowing when someone is telling you the truth, knowing when someone makes a mistake, and knowing when someone is telling you a lie.

I submit to you if you keep an open mind during this trial, if you pay attention to the evidence, if you follow the instructions of the law that Judge Walton will give you and you apply your common sense, each and every one of you will be convinced of what happened here.

Something important needed to be investigated: whether the laws protecting covert agents and classified information have been broken. And to do that on behalf of the citizens, the FBI and the grand jury needed the truth. What the evidence will show is that the defendant obstructed that search for truth. The defendant lied to the FBI, and he stole the truth from the grand jury.

Thank you.

The Defense: I Speak for Scooter Libby

Here is the beginning of Wells's opening statement: