CIA leak trial to begin on Jan. 22

The judge presiding the trial of a former top White House aide has tentatively set opening arguments for Jan. 22 in a case that stems from the leak of a CIA agent's name, CNN reported Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton began to select a jury for the trial earlier in the day, according to the report.

The defendant, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, resigned as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff after his October 2005 indictment by a federal grand jury probing the 2003 disclosure of former CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity.

He is charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal agents investigating the leak.

Plame's identity surfaced in the summer of 2003, soon after her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former diplomat, heavily criticized the Bush administration for "twisting" intelligence to justify the Iraq war.

Libby is accused of lying about his knowledge of Plame's confidential status at the CIA and his contacts with journalists.

However, he is not charged with leaking Plame's identity -- the original focus of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation.

The trial is expected to take up to six weeks and defense attorneys say they expect to call Cheney as a witness.

Source: Xinhua