6A
NATION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
》 COURTS
Journalists testify in perjury trial
This artist rendering shows Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus, left, questioned by J. Lewis' Scouter Libby's attorney William H. Jeffress Jr. right, standing, as District Judge Reggie Walton, seated center, and Special Prosecutor Patricia Fitzgerald, seated. right, look on during LIBBY's jury trial at federal court in Monday, December 31.
Dana Verkouteren/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Three prominent journalists testified Monday that Bush administration officials volunteered leaks about a CIA operative, as I. Lewis "Scooter" Libbys attorneys sought to suggest he was not responsible for exposing her.
The jury in Libby's perjury trial heard a 66 second snippet of one of the deep background interviews given to Washington Post editor Bob Woodward for use in one of his books. They also saw a parade of Pulitzer prize winning journalists discuss who did and did not leak the information that set off a scandal and ultimately brought Libby to trial.
Woodward, who never wrote about Plame, and columnist Robert Novak, who first identified her in print, testified that then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage first told them in the summer of 2003 that the wife of prominent Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame, worked at the CIA.
Another Post reporter, Walter Pincus, testified that then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer "suddenly swerved off" topic during an interview to tell him of her employment.
This contradicted a point in Fleischer's testimony last week.
A major government witness, Fletscher testified Libby told him about. Plame
direct hit the defense made on the prosecution's evidence that Labylied
__ earlier than Libby has told investigators he thought he first learned about her from NBC reporter Tim Russert.
On cross examination.
Fleischer also
The defense did show Libby had numerous opportunities to leak Plame's identity to reporters and did not.
testified that he did not recall telling Pincus about Plame. The reporter's testimony Monday was the most
to FBI agents and a grand jury about his talks with reporters about Plame and obstructed an investigation into how her name leaked.
Libby, the former chief of
staff to Vice President Dick Cheney,
is not charged with the actual leak
The defense did show Libby had numerous opportunities to leak
Plame's identity to reporters and did not. But none of Monday's testimony went directly to the precise charges that he lied about his conversations with three other reporters about her.
The day's highlight was the tape of Woodward's June 13, 2003, interview with Armitage about how Bush decided to go to war. Armitage's name was never supposed to be connected publicly to what he said, but the scandal prompted him to release Woodward from his pledge of confidentiality. Armitage has said he revealed the name accidentally
With Armitage's frequent pro-fanities deleted, the jurors heard him tell Woodward no less than four times where she worked.
off-the-cuff and didn't realize that Plame's employment was classified information.
Woodward asked about Wilson's 2002 fact-finding mission to Africa for the CIA that the ex-bambassador says helped him debunk prewar intelligence on Iraq.
"Why would they send him?"
Woodward asked.
"Because his wife's a (expletive) analyst at the agency." Armitage
replied.
"It's still weird," Woodward said.
"It's perfect. That's what she does. She is a WMD analyst," Armitage said.
Later Woodward asked if she was the WMD chief at CIA. Armitage said she wasn't but was in a position there to suggest that her husband had contacts in Africa.
Finally, Armitage said: "His wife is at the agency and is a WMD analyst. How about that (expletive)."
NATION
Bush honors present-day contributors, sacrifices
WASHINGTON — To honor black history, President Bush on Monday didn't spend much time looking back.
He focused instead on people contributing today — those who are seizing opportunities gained at great price, the president said.
"Their stories." Bush said, "speak a lot louder and a lot clearer than I could."
Like the breakthrough by Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, who this month became the first black coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl. Or the work of astronauts Robert Curbeam and Joan Higgenbotham, whose helped rewire the International Space Station.
And then there's Tyrone Flowers, a once aspiring basketball star who was shot and paralyzed. Instead of seeking sympathy or revenge, Flowers became a lawyer and teamed with his wife to form a leadership program for at-risk children.
"Our call and our need is to continue to remember the promise belongs to everybody; Bush said. "And our call for this country is never to rest until equality is real, opportunity is universal and every citizen can realize his or her dreams."
today; ordinary citizens who do unbelievably fine things." Bush said in an East Room ceremony honoring Black History Month.
The nation has honored Black History Month since 1926
Bush seemed to delight in recognizing some of the star personalities around him.
"That's what we're honoring
Reprising a memorable scene from his State of the Union speech at the Capitol last month, he honored Wesley Autrey of New York, a construction worker who jumped onto the tracks in a subway station to save a man who had fallen from a seizure. Autrey pointed with pride to the president and blew kisses to the audience. "We're proud you're here again," Bush said. "We thank you for your courage."
Associated Press
BUSINESS
Boeing shows tanker design to Air Force
BY DONNA BORAK ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Los Angeles-based company has been viewed as the underdog in the competition with a heavier, less fuel-efficient aircraft. The Airbus tanker would have a maximum fuel capacity of 200,000 pounds.
WASHINGTON — Boeing Co.
on Monday announced a newly
designed KC-767 as its proposed
aircraft for a $40 billion Air Force
contract competition to replace 179
refueling planes.
Boeing is competing against Northrop Grumman Corp., which is expected to offer its KC-30, a modified Airbus A330, at a discounted price.
The Chicago-based company said at a press conference that it tweaked the design of its long-range 767 freighter plane to improve fuel efficiency and allow it to take off and land on shorter runways, giving it greater flexibility in combat situations.
Last week, after much speculation that Northrop would bow out of the competition, the Los Angeles-based defense firm said it would bid on the contract. Northrop officials said changes made by the Air Force addressed concerns it had that the contract specifications would unfairly favor Boeing.
"They can afford to make improvement to the aircraft — by putting in a couple of bells and whistles — and still be well below the price competition," said Paul Nisbet, analyst for JSA Research Inc.
At stake for both competitors is a multiyear contract to replace a portion of the military's older fleet of KC-135 aircraft, a medium-sized refueling plane made by Boeing. The $40 billion contract is the first installment of an expected three phase deal that calls for more than 500 planes and could be worth an estimated $100 billion.
The Boeing-led team includes Smiths Aerospace, a unit of Smiths Group, Rockwell Collins Inc., Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., Honeywell Inc. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc.
Boeing's 767 is, on paper at least, more affordable than Northrop's aircraft, with a listed retail price of roughly $120 million. But industry insiders expect Northrop Grumman, which is partnering with European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., the parent company of Boeing's arch rival, Airbus, to heavily discount its KC-30 to increase its competitiveness. The current retail listing of the A330 is roughly $160 million.
Boeing said it would primarily build the refueling tankers at facilities in Everett, Wash., but that additional work — and flight tests — would take place in Wichita, Kan. Boeing estimated that if the Air Force selected the KC 767, the contract would support more than 44,000 American jobs and 300 suppliers.
Both aerospace manufacturers typically sell planes to prime customers at a discount.
The tanker program has been on hold for three years, after Boeing lost the contract amid an ethics scandal that resulted in prison terms for a former company executive and a former high-ranking Air Force official.
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