February 21, 2006: Libby Team Files Motion to Compel Release of All Requested Documents

The Lewis Libby defense team files a rejoinder to the special counsel’s request that the team not be granted access to classified White House documents (see February 16, 2006). Libby’s lawyers call the request “entirely unconvincing” and based on “phantom concerns” over executive privilege, “graymail” (see After October 28, 2005, January 31, 2006, February 6, 2006, and (February 16, 2006)), and “illusory grand jury secrecy interests.” The motion requests that all documents previously requested be provided to the defense by the special counsel. [US District Court for the District of Columbia, 2/21/2006 ; Jurist, 2/22/2006] “Denying Mr. Libby’s requests because they pertain to ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ documents would have the effect of penalizing Mr. Libby for serving in a position that required him to address urgent national security matters every day,” Libby’s lawyers write. Responding to the accusations of “graymail,” they write, “The government’s ‘greymail’ accusation is not only false, but insulting.” [Associated Press, 2/22/2006] One of Libby’s lawyers, Theodore Wells, files a separate affidavit in support of the team’s motion. [US District Court for the District of Columbia, 2/21/2006 ]