Beyond what was stated in the court paper, say people with firsthand knowledge of the matter, Libby also indicated what he will offer as a broad defense during his upcoming criminal trial: that Vice President Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials had earlier encouraged and authorized him to share classified information with journalists to build public support for going to war. Later, after the war began in 2003, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration’s use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.
So let me get this straight.
If you leak about the super-secret classified NSA wiretapping program to the New York Times, you’re a traitor.
But if you leak classified information on order to defend the Bush Administration, you’re a patriot.