A story about the CIA leak investigation in this morning’s Washington Post suggests that Dick Cheney will likely resist a call to testify in the perjury trial of former Cheney aide Lewis Libby:
Legal experts said Cheney would have a difficult time refusing to testify in court as part of a trial to determine whether Libby lied or obstructed justice in the leak probe…
Carl W. Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, said Fitzgerald will call Cheney “if he believes it will be probative or helpful to the case.” If he does, Tobias said, Cheney is likely to resist, arguing that he should not be forced to testify in a criminal case as a sitting vice president.
Perhaps Cheney will resist, but the vice president certainly didn’t seem all that defiant during his February 15 interview with Fox News’ Brit Hume:
I’ve cooperated fully, including being interviewed, as well, by a special prosecutor. All of it is now going to trial. Scooter is entitled to the presumption of innocence. He’s a great guy. I’ve worked with him for a long time, have enormous regard for him. I may well be called as a witness at some point in the case and it’s, therefore, inappropriate for me to comment on any facet of the case.