April 13, 2006: Judge Threatens Gag Order for Libby Trial

Judge Reggie Walton threatens to issue a gag order regarding any further material given to the court for the Lewis Libby trial. He warns that lawyers involved in the trial—he does not name which lawyers—have “repeatedly” given information to the press involving material not yet made public. “This court has previously cautioned the parties about making extrajudicial statements and warned that the court would not tolerate this case being tried in the media,” Walton writes. “Despite this court’s prior admonition, it appears that on several occasions information has been disseminated to the press by counsel, which has included not only public statements, but also the dissemination of material that had not been filed on the public docket. The dissemination of such statements and material undoubtedly has the potential to ‘interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the due administration of justice.’” Criminal defense lawyer Jeralyn Merritt, who covers the Libby case closely on the progressive blog TalkLeft, writes, “I assume this has to do with the [press] writing about Fitzgerald’s letter of correction the night before it was filed” (see April 5, 2006). Merritt adds: “For the record, I have had no contact whatsoever with the Libby defense team or anyone connected to the case or the investigation. When I wrote about the correction letter, my source was the Washington Post.” [US District Court for the District of Columbia, 4/13/2006 ; Jeralyn Merritt, 4/13/2006] Eight days later, the Libby lawyers will admit to leaking information to the press (see April 21, 2006).