Catherine Martin

Catherine "Cathie" Martin is Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director for Policy and Planning. Martin is a former communications director for Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2004) and currently serves as a member of President George W. Bush's communications staff. Martin is married to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and a close friend of Bush counselor Dan Bartlett."

Trial of Scooter Libby
Martin, who had been "chief spokesman" for Cheney, testified January 25, 2007, as "the fourth witness for the prosecution in the perjury and obstruction of justice trial of Libby, who is charged with lying during an investigation of who leaked the name of the CIA operative, Valerie Plame Wilson, and why. Unlike the previous three witnesses, who worked at the CIA and State Department, Martin provided an insider's perspective, one from directly inside the office of the vice president." 

"Martin said she learned that Plame worked for the CIA after Libby directed her to call the agency to get more information about a fact-finding trip [Plame's husband Joseph] Wilson had taken to Niger in February 2002. Martin said she quickly reported the information about Plame to Libby and Cheney.

"Her statements buttressed the testimony of two former government officials who said earlier this week that they received urgent calls from Libby in June 2003 asking about Wilson and the trip. Martin was the third prosecution witness to tell the jury that she had told Libby that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA before it was publicly revealed in a syndicated column by Robert Novak on July 14, 2003." 

Profiles
According to her White House bio, Martin previously "worked for Secretary of Commerce Don Evans as Deputy Chief of Staff and White House Liaison. From 2000 to 2001, Martin served as Policy Director to former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, who was later elected to the United States Senate. From 1994 to 2000, Ms. Martin practiced law at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, LLP.

"Ms. Martin received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1993 and her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990."

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Bush administration (includes numerous article links)
 * Bush administration scandals
 * Treasongate: Beyond Karl Rove

Profiles

 * Profile: Catherine Martin, WhiteHouse.gov.
 * "Catherine Martin is Named Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs, Mary Matalin, Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Vice President Resigns," Office of the White House Press Secretary, December 13, 2002.

Video

 * "Witness: VP was concerned by Hardball coverage," Hardball with Chris Matthews and David Shuster/MSNBC, January 25, 2007. re Cathie Martin's testimony

2002

 * Lee Walczak, Washington Outlook: "Mr. and Mrs. Juice," BusinessWeek, December 30, 2002.

2003

 * "Dick Cheney Fib Challenged By Dems," On Lisa Rein's Radar Blog, September 17, 2003: "Cathie Martin, a Cheney spokeswoman, confirmed that the vice president has been receiving the deferred compensation payments from Halliburton, but she disputed that his statements on 'Meet the Press' had been misleading. ... Cheney had already earned the salary that was now being paid, Martin said, adding that once he became a nominee for vice president, he purchased an insurance policy to guarantee that the deferred salary would be paid to him whether or not Halliburton survived as a company."
 * Dave Montgomery, "Cheney's Ties to Halliburton Draw More Scrutiny," Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Common Dreams), September 28, 2003.

2004

 * Tom Brune, "Panel Questions White House Aides," Newsday (APFN), February 11, 2004.

2005

 * "Kevin Martin Appointed FCC Chairman, Ken Ferree Named to Leading Post at Corporation for Public Broadcasting," Democracy Now!, March 17, 2005.
 * susanhu, "More Cheney Aides Targeted in CIA Leak Inquiry," Booman Tribune, October 19, 2005.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Cheney's July 12th Plane Ride to Norfolk," Talk Left, October 30, 2005.

2006

 * emptywheel, "Some Thoughts on Ari and Cathie," The Next Hurrah Blog, March 1, 2006.
 * Murray Waas, "Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says," National Journal, April 14, 2006.
 * "Leak Timing," The Next Hurrah, April 16, 2006.

2007

 * emptywheel, "The Scooter Libby Trial: The Russert Charges," Daily Kos, January 10, 2007.
 * Murray Waas, "CIA Leak Probe: Inside the Grand Jury, National Journal, Jan. 12, 2007.
 * "CIA Leak Witnesses," Townhall.com, January 13, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "'Scooter' Libby Trial Begins. Jury Selection Starts for Bush Official Accused of Perjury," Washington Post, January 16, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Who Got Immunity in Scooter Libby Trial?" Talk Left, January 17, 2007.
 * Murray Waas "The Paradox That is Scooter Libby," Huffington Post, Jan. 17, 2007.
 * David Shuster, "Libby Jury Selection: Will a Witness Contradict Cheney's Testimony?" Hardblogger/MSNBC, January 18, 2007.
 * Christy Hardin Smith, "Libby Trial: Opening and on to Witnesses," Firedoglake Blog, January 23, 2007.
 * Neil A. Lewis, "Ex-Cheney Aide Contradicts Libby," New York Times/International Herald Tribune, January 25, 2007.
 * Andy Sullivan, "Bush declassification unnerved White House aide," Reuters, January 25, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Libby Trial: A Big Day Today," Talk Left, January 25, 2007.
 * Dana Milbank, "Libby trial pulls back White House curtain," Washington Post (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), January 26, 2007.
 * Richard B. Schmitt, "Aide: VP, Libby targeted Iraq critic. Testifies Cheney told staff to call reporters," Chicago Tribune, January 26, 2007.
 * "Cheney's spokeswoman and Libby tell different stories," Associated Press (CNN), January 26, 2007.
 * David Corn, "The Libby Trial: Cheney's Office Takes the Stand," The Nation, January 25, 2007.