Transcript of Second Life chat on the Scooter Libby trial

February 13, 2007, 4:00 SLT (Pacific Time)
[Note: Second Life is a 3-D web-based platform used for a variety of educational, commercial and entertainment purposes. The New Media Consortium allowed me to hold a chat at their facility there Tuesday night to share my experiences at the Scooter Libby trial with students and others. NMC is an organization of universities, businesses and non-profit organizations dedicated to the exploration of education uses of new media. "You" refers to me. The other names refer to the avatars of various audience members. This transcript is generated by Second Life.]

[15:58] You: We're meeting here to talk about the Scooter Libby trial
[15:59] You: I'm one of the reporters who is covering the trial
[15:59] dga Kyomoon: what Media are you with
[15:59] You: I'm with the Media Bloggers Association. I also write for the Online Journalism Review
[16:00] dga Kyomoon: Are you doing to be talking about the implications of all these journalists spilling the beans?
[16:00] You: We can talk about that
[16:00] You: I wanted to let people know what it's like to be in the trial
[16:02] dga Kyomoon: Well maybe I'll take a seat. Do you mind if I sit next to you Scarlett?
[16:02] You: Thanks
[16:02] Scarlett Qi: Surely
[16:02] You: Hi Grendel
[16:02] dga Kyomoon: We're in a row here
[16:03] Grendel Malaprop: hi folks
[16:03] You: Would you mind if I record our conversation?
[16:03] Scarlett Qi: No that's fine
[16:03] You: Thanks
[16:03] dga Kyomoon: Is it off the record?
[16:04] You: No, actually, I am hoping that you will allow it to be published on the NMC site, as well as my blog.
[16:04] dga Kyomoon: \Only kidding. Go ahead.
[16:04] You: Thanks.
[16:05] You: I just got an IM from someone who asked who Scooter Libby is
[16:05] You: Should I start by explaining who he is and why he is on trial?
[16:05] Scarlett Qi: Sure... that would be a good warmup.
[16:06] You: Okay,
[16:06] You: Lewis "Scooter" Libby is the former Chief of Staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.
[16:07] You: He is on trial on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice
[16:07] You: He was accused of lying to the FBI and a grand jury about his conversations with journalists in 2003.
[16:08] You: The conversations concerned the identity of a CIA operative named Valerie Plame Wilson.
[16:09] You: Libby is accused of revealing this covert operative's identity to reporters to discredit an article written by her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson
[16:10] You: Wilson wrote an article published in July 2003 discrediting a claim by the Bush administration about charges that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Niger.
[16:11] You: You might remember that this charge was an important part of the rationale for the Iraq War.
[16:11] You: Libby is charged with revealing Plame's identity to several reporters, then lying about it.
[16:12] You: He says that he didn't lie, and if he did say something that wasn't true, it was because he was overwhelmed with work at the time.
[16:12] Scarlett Qi: Hmmm
[16:12] You: I've been in the courthouse this week as the defense put its case on.
[16:13] You: By the way, feel free to ask questions
[16:13] You: But let me start with a headline or two
[16:13] You: First
[16:13] You: It was announced today that Libby will not testify
[16:14] You: VP Cheney also will not testify
[16:15] You: I did watch testimony from Bob Woodward, columnist Robert Novak and several other prominent journalists and officials
[16:15] You: and I would be happy to talk about that
[16:15] You: But let me find out what interests you?
[16:16] You: I can also tell you about what it's like to cover the trial
[16:16] Alexender Poitier: I was wondering... How was it in the media room? Was it quiet and tense or was it looser and more relaxed than you anticipated?
[16:16] Scarlett Qi: I would love to hear what the journalists said that you observed, and also what it feels like to cover the trial.
[16:16] You: Both at times
[16:17] You: Let me describe the setup
[16:17] You: As you can imagine, the courtroom itself doesn't hold many people
[16:17] You: Most of us don't have credentials for the courtroom anyway
[16:17] You: and you can't use a laptop there
[16:18] You: The media room holds about 40 people
[16:18] You: There are 4 rows of tables
[16:18] You: and two screens in front
[16:19] You: and a wireless internet connection that can get dicey when everyone is filing at one time
[16:19] You: On one screen you can see the courtroom
[16:19] You: that is split into 4 quadrants
[16:20] You: one camera is on the judge's chair
[16:20] You: one is one the witness stand
[16:20] You: the others show the prosecutor and defense tables
[16:20] You: The other screen is where they display exhibits
[16:21] You: The reporters in the room are a mixture of journalists and bloggers
[16:21] You: During the trial, things are fairly focused
[16:21] You: But there are times when something happens and we start laughing
[16:22] Scarlett Qi smiles
[16:22] You: Today that happened when Jill Abramson from the New York Times was asked whether
[16:23] You: Judith Miller had ever proposed a story on Joseph Wilson
[16:23] You: She said she didn't remember Miller pitching such a story
[16:23] You: Then the prosecutor asked whether she sometimes spaced out when Miller talked
[16:24] Scarlett Qi: Sheesh!
[16:24] You: And Abramson said maybe
[16:24] You: That made us laugh
[16:24] You: Did you hear about Woodward's testimony yesterday?
[16:25] Scarlett Qi: No
[16:25] You: The profanity-laden audio they played in court?
[16:26] You: It turns out that Bob Woodward said he learned about Valerie Plame from Richard Armitage
[16:26] You: He was deputy secretary of state at the time
[16:26] You: they play an excerpt of the audio from his interview with Armitage
[16:27] You: Armitage is saying things like "Wilson's wife is a ("expletive deleted") WMD analyst!
[16:27] You: How do you like that (expletive deleted!)
[16:27] Scarlett Qi: wooo
[16:28] You: It went on for about a minute with them cursing back and forth
[16:28] You: I have a link to the audio on my blog
[16:28] You: http://professorkim.blogspot.com
[16:29] You: Today there was a lot of arguing about what evidence the defense will be allowed to submit
[16:30] You: They want to introduce lots of detailed information about all of the work on Libby's plate to prove that he was too busy to worry about Valerie Plame
[16:30] You: or that he might have forgotten what he told journalists
[16:30] You: But since Libby won't testify
[16:30] You: the prosecutors say it's not fair because they can't cross-examine him to find out his state of mind
[16:31] You: Is this the kind of thing you wanted to know?
[16:31] Scarlett Qi: Yes it's very interesting.
[16:31] Scarlett Qi: I can't believe Libby won't testify.
[16:31] You: Thanks
[16:31] Alexender Poitier: I think it's very interesting too, yes.
[16:32] Scarlett Qi: How they even do a trial without him?
[16:32] You: That was surprising to a lot of people
[16:32] You: He has a right to waive his right to testify
[16:33] You: It's been interesting to watch the defense lawyers' strategy
[16:33] You: The chief defense lawyer, Ted Wells
[16:34] You: has won acquittals for a lot of high-profile defendants
[16:34] You: Including several former government officials accused of felonies
[16:34] You: He's very dramatic in his presentation
[16:35] You: whereas the prosecutor, Fitzgerald is very dogged and earnest
[16:35] You: Wells has also tried to get witnesses in to testify to things that are arguably pretty speculative
[16:36] You: He wanted to get NBC’'s Andrea Mitchell to testify, but the judge ultimately wouldn't allow it
[16:37] You: Have you been following the trial at all?
[16:38] You: Oh -- I should mention something about the relationship between reporters and sources
[16:38] You: But please, Alexander, did you want to say something?
[16:39] Alexender Poitier: Oh, I was just going to say that I haven't seen as much coverage on a lot of the mainstream media news sites as I expected.
[16:39] Alexender Poitier: I thought for sure it'd be the top story, but it was overshadowed by other goings-on whenever I checked.
[16:40] You: It has been overshadowed, but between Iraq and a new presidential candidate being announced every other day, it's understandable
[16:40] You: The Washington Post coverage has been pretty strong, I think.
[16:40] Alexender Poitier: Yes, I did see quite a few articles from them around.
[16:41] You: Bloggers have really done yeoman work on this
[16:41] You: This is the first federal trial where bloggers have been allowed in
[16:42] You: We have a pooled feed through the Media Bloggers association
[16:42] You: http://scooterlibbytrial.com
[16:42] You: Our coverage is also picked up by the AP
[16:42] You: But there were a lot of major media outlets in the room with me
[16:43] You: Bloomberg, NPR, Newsweek
[16:43] You: ABC News
[16:43] You: just to name a few
[16:43] You: Fox News had a truck parked outside
[16:44] You: By the way, I should tell you about the security at the trial
[16:44] Alexender Poitier: Oh, how was that? It must have been insanely tight.
[16:44] You: According to the judge's order, you can't have any kind of recording device or camera
[16:44] You: Yes
[16:45] You: If you bring in a cameraphone, you can be found in contempt
[16:45] Scarlett Qi: wow
[16:45] You: But the marshals will hold things like that for you and lock them up
[16:45] You: I learned how dependent I have become on my cell phone
[16:46] You: I felt bereft (smile)
[16:46] Scarlett Qi smiles
[16:46] You: You also go through a full body scanner
[16:46] You: It's not that bad, actually
[16:46] You: and the marshals are very polite
[16:47] You: They also check your credentials before you come into the media room
[16:47] You: But it gets pretty relaxed after that
[16:47] You: Today the courts closed early because of the weather
[16:48] You: Our judge sent the jury home, but the lawyers stayed behind to argue their motions
[16:49] You: so we stayed behind about 90 minutes after the courts closed
[16:49] You: Now about reporters and sources
[16:49] You: A lot of the journalists who testified are veteran national security reporters
[16:50] You: I mean 35-50 year veterans
[16:51] You: confidential sources are their stock in trade
[16:51] You: They were very wary about only testifying about things that their sources had given them waivers for.
[16:51] You: Many of the journalists were given accommodations by the prosecutor.
[16:52] You: They got to testify in their lawyers' offices, instead of the grand jury
[16:52] You: They could have a lawyer with them while they testified
[16:53] You: That is something that you don't get when you testify before a grand jury
[16:53] You: These concessions were negotiated between the journalists' lawyers and the prosecutors
[16:54] You: When I say the journalists' lawyers, I mean the lawyers for the companies that the journalists work for.
[16:55] You: So it underscores the fact that small publishers really need a way to have legal protection.
[16:55] You: Because you need to be able to offer your sources confidentiality, and without a strong attorney, you might not be able to protect that promise.
[16:56] You: Judith Miller spent 85 days in jail over that issue.
[16:56] You: And there is a young videojournalist named Josh Wolf who has been in prison since September over this issue.
[16:57] You: He will probably be in jail until next July
[16:57] Scarlett Qi: Wow
[16:57] You: Yes, are you familiar with Josh Wolf' case?
[16:58] You: He has a website: http://www.joshwolf.net
[16:58] Scarlett Qi: Thank you
[16:58] You: You are welcome
[16:58] Alexender Poitier: Yes, it's rather frightening to think about. It makes one a bit more scared to be a blogger, journalist or just about anyone else disseminating news.
[16:58] You: One has to be very careful
[16:59] You: It's part of the reason that it is important to be well-informed about law and ethics
[16:59] You: Well I thank you for coming
[16:59] You: It's been about an hour, so I think we should wrap up now.
[16:59] Alexender Poitier: Thank you for giving us a glimpse into the trial!

Cross-posted to BlogHer

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