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Libby perjury trial judge dismisses one juror
26 Feb 2007 22:19:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
(updates with adjournment, blackout)

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A jury finished a fourth day of deliberating on Monday in the perjury trial of former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, after the judge dismissed one member who said she was exposed to outside information about the case.

The 11 remaining jurors continued to weigh evidence through an afternoon power outage that left much of the courthouse dark after one of their colleagues was sent home by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.

"It's imperative that you not have any contact with any information regarding this case from any source outside this courtroom," Walton told the remaining jury of seven women and four men.

Walton did not say whether what information the juror had received on the case. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday.

Had a replacement been called, the jury would have had to begin deliberating again.

Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, is charged with lying to investigators as they sought to determine who leaked the identity of CIA analyst Valerie Plame in 2003 after her husband accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to build its case for the Iraq war.

Libby is charged with two counts of perjury, two counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines if found guilty.

Libby's attorneys say he simply could not accurately recall conversations about Plame when he was interviewed months later by the FBI and a grand jury.

Nobody has been charged with intentionally identifying Plame, the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson. Libby's perjury trial is the only criminal case to emerge from the investigation.

The dismissed juror is an elderly art historian who said she has worked as curator of prints and drawings at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

She showed an independent streak at times during the trial. On Valentine's Day, she was the only juror who did not wear a red T-shirt.

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald asked the judge to bring in an alternate juror to replace her but defense attorney Theodore Wells argued that legal precedents allow the jury to continue with 11 members.

"It's not like by going to 11 we're on the cliff of some mistrial," Wells told the judge.


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Last updated:Mon Feb 26 22:20:08 2007