Today marked the real start of the Libby case. After four days of jury selection, each side gave opening statements, and the first witness was called. Patrick Fitzgerald, the Chicago prosecutor, opened like a dime novelist. “It’s Sunday July 2003 just after the Fourth of July. The fireworks are over—but a different kind of fireworks are about to begin.”
Fitzgerald’s case was linear and clean. Libby told investigators he learned about Valerie Plame from NBC News reporter Tim Russert. But Fitzgerald told jurors that was clearly a lie because Libby had already been discussing the matter inside and outside of the White House. Fitzgerald then went through a careful delineation of the 11 instances in which Scooter Libby discussed Valerie Plame’s identity with administration officials and reporters. “When the FBI and grand jury asked about what the defendant did,” Fitzgerald said, “he made up a story.”

via::Slate.com