Libby jury asks for supplies for visual aids
POSTED: 11:34 a.m. EST, March 1, 2007 Story Highlights
• Trial will continue Thursday after jurors answer own question
• Jury had sent note to the judge regarding Libby's talk with Time reporter
• Libby is fighting a five-count indictment for allegedly lying to investigators
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a monthlong trial full of high-tech gadgetry and multimedia presentations, jurors in the CIA leak trial apparently are handcrafting their own visual aids to help sort out the complicated case.
Jurors asked for a large flip chart, masking tape, Post-it notes and pictures of the witnesses almost immediately after beginning deliberations last week. Late Wednesday afternoon, they emerged to ask the judge for large, easel-sized pages that can be stuck on walls.
The note, which was released Thursday morning, was brief and offered no clues about the jury's deliberations.
"We would like another big Post-it pad," the jury foreman wrote. "The large one for the easel."
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is accused of perjury, obstruction and lying to FBI agents investigating the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.
Jurors are in their seventh day of deliberations after a monthlong trial with 19 witnesses. The trial focused heavily on one week in June 2003 and attorneys for both sides used computerized timelines to highlight key events. Jurors may be trying to reconstruct their own timeline from witness testimony that sometimes was conflicting.
Jurors have offered few clues about their progress. The asked only one question -- involving Libby's discussions with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper -- but apparently resolved it themselves before the judge could answer.
Libby faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all five charges. He would likely get far less time under federal sentencing guidelines.
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/01/cia.leak.ap/index.html
