February 3, 2006: Libby Trial Date Set

Judge Reggie Walton orders a preliminary date set for Lewis Libby’s trial on perjury and obstruction charges (see October 28, 2005). Walton orders the date set for January 8, 2007. The rather lengthy delay is, in part, due to one of Libby’s lawyers, Theodore Wells, having another trial already set for the fall of 2006. Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald does not oppose the scheduling. [MSNBC, 2/3/2006; FireDogLake, 2/3/2006] “We are very happy with the trial date set by Judge Walton,” Wells says. “The January 8, 2007, date will permit us the time we need to prepare Mr. Libby’s defense. The defense will show that Mr. Libby is totally innocent, that he has not done anything wrong, and he looks forward to being totally vindicated by a jury.” [New York Times, 2/3/2006] Walton originally wanted the trial to happen in September 2006, but it was delayed because of Wells’s scheduling conflicts. [New York Times, 2/3/2006; Washington Note, 2/3/2006]