NATIONAL JOURNAL: Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information (02/09/2006):

According to sources with firsthand knowledge, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.


"A defendant can make a claim that he is just a victim of Washington politics or doing the bidding for someone else," said Richman, a former prosecutor, "But there may be limits to a jury's sympathy when that defendant himself was so high-ranking. Given Libby's position in the White House, the jury is less likely to view him as a sacrificial lamb than as a sacrificial ram."