Judge Okays Libby Probation

July 12, 2007
Judge Okays Libby Probation

A former White House aide who had his 2 and 1/2 year prison sentence for obstruction of justice commuted to no jail time by President Bush, I. Lewis Libby Jr., will be required to serve two years supervised release similar to probation, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

However, Judge Reggie Walton said he reached that conclusion "with great reservation" and he also delivered a forceful rebuttal to Mr. Bush's assertion that the sentence imposed in the case was too severe.

"It is fair to say that the Court is somewhat perplexed as to how its sentence could be accurately characterized as 'excessive,'" Judge Walton wrote in a footnote to his 10-page opinion upholding Libby's probation. "Although it is certainly the president's prerogative to justify the exercise of his constitutional commutation power in whatever manner he chooses (or even to decline to provide a reason for his actions altogether), the Court notes that the term of incarceration imposed in this case was determined after a careful consideration of each of the requisite statutory factors … and was consistent with the bottom end of the applicable sentencing range as properly calculated under the United States Sentencing Guidelines."

Editorials On Libby's Commutation

July 3, 2007
Editorials On Libby's Commutation

"Within minutes of the Libby announcement, the same Republican commentators who fulminated when Paris Hilton got a few days knocked off her time in a county lockup were parroting Mr. Bush's contention that a fine, probation and reputation damage were 'harsh punishment' enough for Mr. Libby.

"Presidents have the power to grant clemency and pardons. But in this case, Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell."

Libby Becomes Inmate No. 28301 - 016

June 28, 2007
Libby Becomes Inmate No. 28301 - 016

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For years he was known as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and assistant to President Bush. On Wednesday, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby became federal inmate No. 28301-016.

Libby, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity, faces 2 1/2 years in prison.

The assignment of an inmate number by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons represents another step on the road to prison. Inmate numbers stay with prisoners even after their release.

Fitzgerald: Cheney Authorized CIA Agent Leak

May 29, 2007
Fitzgerald: Cheney Authorized CIA Agent Leak

The investigation, Fitzgerald writes, "was necessary to determine whether there was concerted action by any combination of the officials known to have disclosed the information about Ms. Plame to the media as anonymous sources, and also whether any of those who were involved acted at the direction of others. This was particularly important in light of Mr. Libby's statement to the FBI that he may have discussed Ms. Wilson's employment with reporters at the specific direction of the Vice President."

Poll: 69 percent oppose pardon for Libby in CIA leak case

March 12, 2007
Poll: 69 percent oppose pardon for Libby in CIA leak case

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose a presidential pardon for former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby after his conviction on perjury and other charges related to a CIA agent's exposure, according to a CNN poll out Monday.

Just 18 percent said they would support a pardon for Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, while 69 percent said they opposed the idea. Meanwhile, a narrow majority said they believe Cheney was part of a cover-up in the case.

Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial

March 6, 2007
Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial

Once the closest adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that shook the top levels of the Bush administration.

He is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since National Security Adviser John Poindexter in the Iran-Contra affair two decades ago.

In the end, jurors said did not believe Libby's main defense: that he hadn't lied but merely had a bad memory.

News media cheer ruling on Libby tapes

February 5, 2007
News media cheer ruling on Libby tapes

WASHINGTON -- News organizations praised a judge's decision Monday to release tapes of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's grand jury testimony, saying it would open a window into court proceedings.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he would make the eight-hour recordings public even
though he was worried that jurors could be influenced by outside media buzz.

Federal law supports the public release of evidence presented to a jury. But judges in
high-profile cases occasionally have released only written transcripts or have delayed public
disclosure until the trial's end.

VP appeared eager to blunt criticism

February 5, 2007
VP appeared eager to blunt criticism

Washington -- Vice President Dick Cheney's press officer, Cathie Martin, approached his chief of
staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on Air Force Two on July 12, 2003, to ask how she should respond to journalists' questions about Joseph Wilson. Libby looked over one of the reporters' questions and told Martin: "Well, let me go talk to the boss and I'll be back."

On Libby's return, Martin testified in federal court last week, he brought a card with detailed
replies dictated by Cheney, including a highly partisan, incomplete summary of Wilson's
investigation into what was suspected to be Iraq's program for weapons of mass destruction.

Libby subsequently called a reporter, read him the statement, and said -- according to the
reporter -- he had heard that Wilson's investigation was instigated by his wife, an employee at
the CIA, later identified as Valerie Wilson. The reporter, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, was
one of five people with whom Libby discussed Valerie Wilson's CIA status during those critical
weeks that summer.

Ari Fleischer contradicts Libby in court

January 29, 2007
Ari Fleischer contradicts Libby in court

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House spokesman
Ari Fleischer on Monday contradicted the story former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby has told about when he first learned the identity of a
CIA operative whose cover was blown in the press.

Fleischer testified in Libby's perjury trial that the former vice presidential aide first told him the CIA operative's identity over lunch on July 7, 2003, three days before Libby has told prosecutors he first learned her name.

Fleischer, who agreed to testify in exchange for a guarantee of
immunity, said Libby told him about Plame the day after Wilson
publicly charged the Bush administration with ignoring his findings
that Saddam Hussein had not sought uranium from Niger.

Libby case witness details art of media manipulation

January 28, 2007
Libby case witness details art of media manipulation

WASHINGTON -- A smorgasbord of Washington insider details emerged during the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby, the vice president's former chief of staff.

No one served up spicier morsels than Cathie Martin, Vice President Dick Cheney's former top press assistant . Martin described the craft of media manipulation -- under oath and in blunter terms than politicians like to hear in public.

Most of the techniques were candidly described: the uses of leaks and exclusives, when to hide in anonymity, which news medium was seen as more susceptible to control, and what timing was most propitious.

Even the rating of certain journalists as friends to favor and critics to shun -- a faint echo of the enemies list drawn up in Richard Nixon's White House more than 30 years ago.

Lawyers probe Fleischer's immunity deal'

January 27, 2007
Lawyers probe Fleischer's immunity deal'

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says that in early 2004, as his investigation was heating up into who revealed CIA operative
Valerie Plame's name to reporters, Fleischer stepped forward with an offer to prosecutors: Promise no prosecution and he would help their case.

Fleischer acknowledged being one of the leakers, but he wouldn't say a word without a promise of immunity.

Once the deal was struck in February 2004, Fleischer revealed that he had discussed Plame with reporters in July 2003, days before leaving his job at the White House. He also said he learned about Plame from Libby, who was the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Fleischer's testimony is significant because he says he talked to Libby about Plame days before Libby told the FBI he was surprised to learn it from a reporter.

Libby trial pulls back White House curtain

January 26, 2007
Libby trial pulls back White House curtain

Flashed on the courtroom computer screens were her notes from 2004 about how Mr. Cheney could respond to allegations that the Bush administration had played fast and loose with evidence of Iraq's nuclear ambitions. Option 1: "MTP-VP," she wrote, then listed the pros and cons of a vice presidential appearance on the Sunday NBC television show. Under the "pro" column, she wrote: "control message."

"I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a tactic we often used," Ms. Martin testified. "It's our best format."

Libby: White House sacrificed him for Rove

January 23, 2007
Libby: White House sacrificed him for Rove

WASHINGTON - Top White House officials tried to blame vice presidential aide "Scooter" Libby for the 2003 leak of a CIA operative's identity to protect President Bush's political strategist, Karl Rove, Libby's defense attorney said Tuesday as his perjury trial began and the first witness took the stand.

"Not going to protect one staffer and sacrifice the guy that was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder," the note said, according to Wells.