Libby Claims He Was 'Set Up'

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald described for jurors Tuesday a Bush administration effort to beat back early criticism of the Iraq war and accused former White House aide "Scooter" Libby of lying to investigators probing the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

I. Lewis Libby's attorney countered by painting a different White House plot, alleging that administration officials sought to blame Libby for the leak to protect Bush political adviser Karl Rove's own disclosures.

"They're trying to set me up. They want me to be the sacrificial lamb," attorney Theodore Wells said, recalling a conversation between Libby and his boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, as the leak investigation heated up in 2003. "I will not be sacrificed so Karl Rove can be protected."