May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The defense lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, charged with lying to investigators about the leak of a CIA agent's identity, said he'll seek testimony in the case from the operative's husband.

Lawyer Ted Wells, representing former chief of staff I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, said about five witnesses would testify that agent Valerie Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, revealed her secret job duties before they were disclosed in a 2003 newspaper column. Wells spoke at a hearing in Washington as U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he'll reject at least some of Libby's requests for government documents for his defense.

Libby is accused of lying and obstructing an investigation of the leak of Plame's identity after Wilson, a retired diplomat, challenged President George W. Bush's claim that Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein sought uranium from Africa for nuclear weapons. Libby is seeking government documents on Wilson's 2002 fact- finding trip to Niger.

``I don't see how this is relevant to the case,'' Walton told Wells during the hearing. Any focus on Wilson's report would turn the trial into an inquiry on ``statements the president made in the State of the Union. You want to try the legitimacy of us going to war,'' the judge said.

Walton questioned how evidence about Wilson's findings would ``help the jury decide whether Libby lied to the FBI or the grand jury'' in the leak investigation. The judge said he'll issue a written ruling on the documents later.

`Talked to Them'

Libby, 55, who resigned after he was indicted on Oct. 28, has pleaded not guilty. Walton refused on April 27 to dismiss the charges against Libby. A trial is scheduled for January 2007.

Wilson ``is going to be a witness in this case,'' Wells said. ``I've got about five witnesses who will testify Mr. Wilson talked to them about his wife'' before syndicated columnist Robert Novak wrote about Plame in July 2003. Wells didn't give details on the witnesses' identity.

Walton again expressed doubts.

``I don't know how it has any bearing on whether your client allegedly testified falsely,'' the judge said.

Wilson said in an interview that Fitzgerald's court filings ``make it very clear that the government believes several administration officials were engaged in a campaign to smear and discredit me, and it would seem from the sounds of this that that campaign is continuing.''

In court papers last month, Fitzgerald said Libby testified that Bush and Cheney authorized him to discuss classified intelligence material with reporters as an effort to rebut critics of the Iraq war. The prosecutor also said he had evidence of an administration effort to discredit Wilson, who wrote in a July 6, 2003, New York Times article that the government ``twisted'' intelligence reports on Iraq's weapons program.

Trip to Niger

Novak's column the following July 14 said two unidentified ``senior administration officials'' told him that Wilson was recommended for a fact-finding trip to Niger in 2002 by Plame, who worked on nuclear counter-proliferation issues at the CIA.

A 1982 law makes it illegal for government officials to knowingly reveal the name of covert agents. Fitzgerald was appointed in December 2002 to investigate whether that law had been broken.

No one has been charged with leaking Plame's name. Libby's indictment centers on his testimony regarding his conversations with reporters about her.

Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, testified for the fifth time on April 26 before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case, and he still might face charges. Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper has testified that he discussed Plame with Rove.

No Motive

Cheney has said he and the president have authority to release classified information. The prosecutor's court filings didn't accuse Bush of authorizing aides to divulge Plame's identity or of violating any rule governing the handling of classified material.

A court filing by Libby's lawyers last month said Bush and Cheney didn't authorize leaking Plame's identity when they gave him permission to tell reporters about U.S. intelligence findings on Iraq's weapons program.

Defense lawyers have said they'll try to show at trial that Libby had no motive to lie about the Plame leak because he didn't know her identity was classified and wasn't aware of any effort by administration officials to disclose it.

The case is U.S. vs. Libby, 05-394, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Keil in Washington at dkeil@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 5, 2006 16:41 EDT