Judge Reggie Walton has just ruled that audio tapes of Lewis Libby’s grand jury appearances from March 2004, which will be played for the jury today, will be released to the public after the jury has heard them. Walton said he had no legal reason to withhold the tapes, as Libby’s lawyers had requested, but he voiced concern that the press might use snippets of Libby’s testimony out of context, and that a juror might hear such reports, which could cause a mistrial. But Walton said all he could do was hope that reporters will use the Libby material responsibly, that “the press, which hasn’t, in some respects, looked good in this trial, will do what it can do to make sure it doesn’t look even worse.”