First, some background.

The Indictment against Libby alleges:

On or about July 10, 2003, LIBBY spoke to NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert to complain about press coverage of LIBBY by an MSNBC reporter. LIBBY did not discuss Wilson’s wife with Russert. (page 7, Paragraph 20.)

The Libby-Russert saga began following a segment on Hardball. Libby had called Russert to complain about Chris Matthews' comments pertaining to Joe Wilson, his trip to Niger and the Vice President.

Libby told the Grand Jury and investigators that he learned of Joseph Wilson's wife from Tim Russert in this July 10 phone call, and that he thought he was hearing this for the first time. When asked about his having learned about Wilson's wife in June from Vice President Cheney, Libby said he had forgotten about hearing it from Cheney. He also said that what he told Judith Miller on July 12th he learned from Tim Russert. Only Judith Miller says Libby discussed Plame with her on June 23. And Libby apparently discussed Plame with a total of 7 Government officials, including Ari Fleischer, before he spoke with Russert. (see page 3 of Fitz' 2004 Affidavit.)

And Russert says he never told Libby about Valerie Wilson and didn't know about her until reading Robert Novak's column published on July 14.

Tim Russert gave a statement on tv about his testimony. I live-blogged it at the time, reporting what Russert said:

[Russert was]subpoenaed in May. On August 7, under oath, at his lawyers' office he was asked if he was recipient of leak, said no. Did he know of Valerie Plame's identity? No. Libby called him not to leak information but to complain about something he saw on television. Libby implied to Russert, Cooper and Miller that he was hearing info on Plame for the first time. Obviously the special counsel didn't believe that.

Russert's contact was solely that Libby called to complain about something on the cable news. He reported the call immediately to the head of NBC News. Russert's first learned of Plame when reading Novak's column.

You can be sure Russert will repeat this denial for the jury. As I said earlier, the defense likely will try and show he got some kind of special deal for his testimony because he got to be questioned in his lawyers' office and have the scope of the questions limited to what he told Libby rather than having to disclose the full conversation. I don't think the jury will hold that against Russert.

I think Team Libby may have to wait until the defense portion of the case to counter Russert by suggesting that Libby confused Russert with another reporter who had told him about Plame, and again assert that because he was so busy, he forgot that Cheney had told him in June and that he had discussed Wilson with other officials.

They will point to his "I don't recall" as opposed to outright denials and say that shows his honest failure to accurately remember conversations, not an intent to testify falsely.

Fitzgerald will argue that Libby's "I don't recalls" and attempt to cast Russert as his source were lies motivated by his concern that Fitz was investigating the leak of classified information and if it turned out that he passed on information about Valerie Wilson to reporters that he received from Government officials by virtue of his security clearance, he could have criminal exposure. Libby knew, according to Fitz, that if he was just passing along gossip from reporters, there would be no such violation.

This brings up another point of contention between the two sides. Team Libby has been trying to argue that any misstatements by Libby were not material because Libby believed the investigation only pertained to who disclosed Plame to Robert Novak. Fitzgerald says Libby knew the investigation was broader. To be convicted, the jury must find both that Libby intentionally lied and that his lies were material to the criminal investigation.

One more complication: Fitz also has argued that Libby's motive to lie is shown by his asking Cheney to go to bat for him with Scott McClellan to clear Libby. Once Libby told Cheney he didn't discuss Valerie Plame Wilson with reporters, and McClellan announced he wasn't the leaker, Fitz argues, how could Libby then 'fess up?

What neither side is likely to argue, and what conspiracy theorists want to hear, is that Cheney directed Libby to leak the information, and Libby fell on his sword to protect Cheney. Which would mean that Cheney knew Libby lied to investigators and the grand jury. If Cheney doesn't testify, as many now expect he won't, this may be one reason. But, this is just pure speculation.

If I've confused you, here's Fitz in his own words, from the news conference announcing the Indictment:

What he told the FBI is that essentially he was at the end of a long chain of phone calls. He spoke to reporter Tim Russert, and during the conversation Mr. Russert told him that, Hey, do you know that all the reporters know that Mr. Wilson's wife works at the CIA?

And he told the FBI that he learned that information as if it were new, and it struck him. So he took this information from Mr. Russert and later on he passed it on to other reporters, including reporter Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, reporter Judith Miller of the New York Times.

And he told the FBI that when he passed the information on on July 12th, 2003, two days before Mr. Novak's column, that he passed it on understanding that this was information he had gotten from a reporter; that he didn't even know if it was true. And he told the FBI that when he passed the information on to the reporters he made clear that he did know if this were true. This was something that all the reporters were saying and, in fact, he just didn't know and he wanted to be clear about it.

Later, Mr. Libby went before the grand jury on two occasions in March of 2004. He took and oath and he testified. And he essentially said the same thing. He said that, in fact, he had learned from the vice president earlier in June 2003 information about Wilson's wife, but he had forgotten it, and that when he learned the information from Mr. Russert during this phone call he learned it as if it were new.

When he passed the information on to reporters Cooper and Miller late in the week, he passed it on thinking it was just information he received from reporters; that he told reporters that, in fact, he didn't even know if it were true. He was just passing gossip from one reporter to another at the long end of a chain of phone calls.

It would be a compelling story that will lead the FBI to go away if only it were true. It is not true, according to the indictment. In fact, Mr. Libby discussed the information about Valerie Wilson at least half a dozen times before this conversation with Mr. Russert ever took place, not to mention that when he spoke to Mr. Russert, Mr. Russert and he never discussed Valerie Wilson or Wilson's wife.

He didn't learn it from Mr. Russert. But if he had, it would not have been new at the time. Let me talk you through what the indictment alleges. The indictment alleges that Mr. Libby learned the information about Valerie Wilson at least three times in June of 2003 from government officials. Let me make clear there was nothing wrong with government officials discussing Valerie Wilson or Mr. Wilson or his wife and imparting the information to Mr. Libby.

But in early June, Mr. Libby learned about Valerie Wilson and the role she was believed to play in having sent Mr. Wilson on a trip overseas from a senior CIA officer on or around June 11th, from an undersecretary of state on or around June 11th, and from the vice president on or about June 12th.

It's also clear, as set forth in the indictment, that some time prior to July 8th he also learned it from somebody else working in the Vice President's Office. So at least four people within the government told Mr. Libby about Valerie Wilson, often referred to as Wilson's wife, working at the CIA and believed to be responsible for helping organize a trip that Mr. Wilson took overseas. In addition to hearing it from government officials, it's also alleged in the indictment that at least three times Mr. Libby discussed this information with other government officials.

It's alleged in the indictment that on June 14th of 2003, a full month before Mr. Novak's column, Mr. Libby discussed it in a conversation with a CIA briefer in which he was complaining to the CIA briefer his belief that the CIA was leaking information about something or making critical comments, and he brought up Joe Wilson and Valerie Wilson.It's also alleged in the indictment that Mr. Libby discussed it with the White House press secretary on July 7th, 2003, over lunch. What's important about that is that Mr. Libby, the indictment alleges, was telling Mr. Fleischer something on Monday that he claims to have learned on Thursday.

In addition to discussing it with the press secretary on July 7th, there was also a discussion on or about July 8th in which counsel for the vice president was asked a question by Mr. Libby as to what paperwork the Central Intelligence Agency would have if an employee had a spouse go on a trip. So that at least seven discussions involving government officials prior to the day when Mr. Libby claims he learned this information as if it were new from Mr. Russert. And, in fact, when he spoke to Mr. Russert, they never discussed it.

But in addition to focusing on how it is that Mr. Libby learned this information and what he thought about it, it's important to focus on what it is that Mr. Libby said to the reporters. In the account he gave to the FBI and to the grand jury was that he told reporters Cooper and Miller at the end of the week, on July 12th. And that what he told them was he gave them information that he got from other reporters; other reporters were saying this, and Mr. Libby did not know if it were true. And in fact, Mr. Libby testified that he told the reporters he did not even know if Mr. Wilson had a wife.

And, in fact, we now know that Mr. Libby discussed this information about Valerie Wilson at least four times prior to July 14th, 2003: on three occasions with Judith Miller of the New York Times and on one occasion with Matthew Cooper of Time magazine.

The first occasion in which Mr. Libby discussed it with Judith Miller was back in June 23rd of 2003, just days after an article appeared online in the New Republic which quoted some critical commentary from Mr. Wilson. After that discussion with Judith Miller on June 23rd, 2003, Mr. Libby also discussed Valerie Wilson on July 8th of 2003. During that discussion, Mr. Libby talked about Mr. Wilson in a conversation that was on background as a senior administration official. And when Mr. Libby talked about Wilson, he changed the attribution to a former Hill staffer.

During that discussion, which was to be attributed to a former Hill staffer, Mr. Libby also discussed Wilson's wife, Valerie Wilson, working at the CIA -- and then, finally, again, on July 12th. In short -- and in those conversations, Mr. Libby never said, This is something that other reporters are saying; Mr. Libby never said, This is something that I don't know if it's true; Mr. Libby never said, I don't even know if he had a wife.

At the end of the day what appears is that Mr. Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true. It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.