Were the prosecution to have picked a district in Maryland or Virginia to indict, that would have been about as bright, from their point of view, as the OJ prosecutors picking downtown LA instead of Brentwood. Fitzgerald's team weren't forum-shopping when they indicted in the District, but they presumably aren't as distressed in looking at the jury pool tendencies as the defense team is likely to be.

And the defense team won't exactly be surprised by any of this. If they thought they couldn't get a fair trial there, within the constitutionally minimal boundaries, they'd presumably have sought a change of venue, but I don't recall reading that they did. The District may be anti-Bush Administration, but it's also not traditionally pro-prosecution. There are potentially offsetting advantages to this jury pool, IF the defense team can capture them. Getting the pool to perceive acquitting Scooter Libby as "sticking it to the Man" will be a tough sell, but as you watch the trial, look for them to try to pluck those chords.

Y'know, if you don't think you can find 36 people in Washington freaking DC who haven't pre-judged your guilt, it might spur some people to look at their own character...

Presumably, being such a smart guy & all, Mr. Libby knew where he was when he appeared before the grand jury, and could take that into account in deciding what to answer.

As for the "biased jury pool," that would seem to be a national problem too. That well-known liberal bias of reality ...

...

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald pushed back Thursday against defense attorneys who have been w...

Fersboo: All of DC's near suburbs are more liberal than the country as a whole. But they're less densely populated with people who make their living through direct interaction with the federal government, let alone personally know major players in the case. There's just more diversity there.

Plus, Libby actually lives in McLean, not the District. Granting that the alleged crimes took place in a DC courthouse, he's more likely to be tried by a community of his peers in the suburbs.

it’s existence as a city with a large population is a historical accident.

This is not true. Take a look at l'Enfant's plan--he platted out residential districts. When Washington chose him to plat the city, it was always intended to have people living there.