NBC too?

The press avert their eyes as Russert pancakes at the Libby trial

Tim Russert became the first press casualty of the Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial on Thursday, but his colleagues neglected to report it. The host of NBC's "Meet the Press" was identified in evidence submitted to bolster the testimony of Dick Cheney aide Cathie Martin as the vice president's platform of choice to push back against allegations that the administration knew that their claim of an Iraqi attempt to buy uranium from Niger was bogus. The overt implication is that the administration regarded Russert as a patsy, someone whose unaccountable credibility they could borrow to enhance their own, and someone through whom they could present their case with a minimum of interference.