Prosecution witness David S. Addington, whom the New York Times calls “perhaps the most secretive and publicity-averse employee in the White House,” continues his testimony this morning. Addington was counsel to Vide President Cheney at the time Valerie Plame’s secret identity was disclosed. He subsequently replaced Scooter Libby as chief of staff.
Addington has previously testified about a meeting he had with Libby between July 6-12, 2003, wherein Libby asked him if CIA would have records showing if someone had been sent on a mission. Having worked at the C.I.A. for years as a lawyer, Addington was a logical source of such information. He also supervised review of documents requested by the Justice Department and sat in on witness interviews.
Addington still seems predictably reluctant to be on the stand but is certainly responsive. He says that when the government went to interview the Vice President, Addington became aware that he too would become a witness. He subsequently was interviewed by the FBI and appeared before the grand jury and was questioned about his personal knowledge of the Plame affair. He had already attended other witness interviews and reviewed “hundreds of documents” concerning the case.
He says that Libby alone produced a large volume of handwritten notes, which Addington spent a lot of time reviewing before handing them over to investigators.
Defense then offers an exhibit of a handwritten note by Libby, which Addington had reviewed before turning over to Justice. The document is dated 6.12.03. It shows the phrase “CP-his wife works in that division.” Then it says ‘telephone-VP re: “Uranium in Iraq”- KristofNYT article.” Addington says he “˜drew no conclusions from the document.’
That “CP” refers probably to counter-proliferation,” Addington says. He points out that Libby also often refers to Colin Powell as “CP” in other documents.
Defense then shows Addington another document and asks about a ‘very short’ meeting between Addington and Libby in July 2003. They discussed whether the president had authority to declassify documents without going thru the normal declassification process. Addington – a prominent proponent of presidential authority — told Libby the president does in fact have the power to declassify any US national security secret at any time to anyone he deems fit.
Court in recess as of 10:30.
