Democrats to Scooter Libby: Free Judy Miller

Saying he holds the key to the jailhouse door, four congressional Democrats ask Dick Cheney's chief of staff to provide Miller a waiver that would let her testify.

By T.g.

Published August 8, 2005 8:54PM (EDT)

As we noted earlier today, journalist Murry Waas is reporting that the New York Times' Judy Miller discussed Valerie Plame with Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, six days before Robert Novak wrote a column revealing that Plame worked for the CIA. Miller is in jail because she won't testify before Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury, and her lawyers say she won't testify because she hasn't received a personalized waiver from the source she's protecting.

Assuming that Libby is the confidential source for the story Miller never wrote, there's an obvious way to get her testimony -- or at least to put her claims to the test. Libby could simply offer Miller the same sort of personalized waiver that he previously gave Time's Matthew Cooper. Four Democrats in Congress say it's high time for him to do just that. In a letter sent to Libby this afternoon, Reps. John Conyers, Louise Slaughter, Rush Holt and Maurice Hinchey say that Cheney's chief of staff should immediately provide Miller a waiver that would allow her to testify about their conversation.

"The president has promised that his administration will 'fully cooperate' with the investigation," the Democrats write. "We are concerned that your conduct may have fallen far short of the president's pledge of full cooperation. This is particularly important because the president has said he would only fire someone who actually committed a crime; your refusal to waive Ms. Miller's pledge of confidentiality is impeding the full cooperation that could lead to such an administrative sanction."

There's no word back from the vice president's office, and we're not holding our breath.


By T.g.

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