[JURIST] Defense lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense profile; JURIST news archive], Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, have denied that they are trying to derail the prosecution in the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive] by requesting access to classified government material. Last month, Libby's defense team requested the use of classified evidence [JURIST report] and in a brief [PDF text; affidavit of support, PDF] filed in federal court Tuesday, rejected the prosecution's arguments that it is asking for the material in order to "graymail" [Wikipedia backgrounder] the government by seeking to expose national security secrets.

Libby, who faces charges [PDF indictment; JURIST report] of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading federal officers investigating the CIA leak case, has said that he will argue that his job required him to read and understand hundreds of pages of information each day, and that he simply made a mistake when he incorrectly told investigators where he learned of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity. Libby's attorneys told the court that they if they were denied access to the requested material, it would effectively penalize Libby for "serving in a position that required him to address urgent national security matters." AP has more.