Dick Under Oath

The Associated Press is reporting that the prosecution intends to call Dicky Ticker Cheney as a witness in I. Lewis Libby perjury trial.

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney could be called to testify in the perjury case against his former chief of staff, a special prosecutor said in a court filing Wednesday.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald suggested Cheney would be a logical government witness because he could authenticate notes he jotted on a July 6, 2003, New York Times opinion piece by a former U.S. ambassador critical of the Iraq war.

Fitzgerald said Cheney's "state of mind" is "directly relevant" to whether I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's former top aide, lied to FBI agents and a federal grand jury about how he learned about CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity and what he subsequently told reporters.

I'd bet Dead Hand Dick can do a lot more than authenticate his own handwriting.

In a filing last week, Libby's lawyers said Fitzgerald would not call Cheney as a witness and would have a hard time getting the vice president's notes admitted into evidence.

I assume it would be fairly easy to get Dirty Dick's jottings into evidence without hauling his sour puss into court, but he'd be needed to supply other information, such as when the notes were made or (if disputed) what they meant. I'm guessing that the prosecution had planned to call Dick long before Libby's lawyers taunted the prosecution. I'd also guess the defense wants Dick to testify, mainly regarding matters of no relevance to the perjury charge. And I'm certain the witness stand is the last place that Dick wants to be.