whatever already!

The most significant disclosure from the Libby trial today (in my mind) was that Vice President Cheney and others in the OVP thought that LIbby was being hung out to dry as a scapegoat for Karl Rove and others in the White House.

Cheney himself wrote a note in the fall of 2003-- quoted by Ted Wells, Libby's defense attorney-- in which Cheney dsif the following about Libby: "Not going to portect one staffer [Rove} & sacrifice the guy [Libby] who was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder because of the imcompetence of others."

While this is going to be a major theme of the defense in the case, and might seem contrived at first glance, Cheney's note was written contemporaneous to the events and apparrently reflected an inherent division-- which I have written about in various National Journal stories-- between the OVP and the White House staff.

For what it is worth, for me, this was the most important disclosure from today's opening arguments.

To read what the NYT has to say about the trial today, click here.