HavenWorks.com/people/a-z/l/libby-irve-lewis-jr - Libby, Irve Lewis, Jr.

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I. LEWIS LIBBY News
Republican Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr News
Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I Lewis Libby
Sometimes referred to as: IRVING LEWIS LIBBY JR.

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Dick Cheney - I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Politics - Crime - "Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred." ... "I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday." ... "The former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] operative, Valerie Plame Wilson." ... ""When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion, which is posted on its Web site." ... ""When convictions on more than one count are involved, disbarment is mandated if any one of them involves moral turpitude," the court added." ... "Last July, a court sentenced Libby to a 30-month prison term. [Republican] President Bush later commuted Libby's sentence, calling it "excessive."" ... "He is still considered guilty of the crime he was convicted." -Contributed to by Paul Courson -CNN

I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - Criminal - Government - Intelligence - Politics - "Libby drops appeal in CIA leak case." ... "Former [Republican President Bush] White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is no longer appealing his conviction in the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] leak case, a tacit recognition that continuing his legal fight might only make things worse." ... "Libby, the former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of perjury and obstruction but [Republican] President Bush commuted his 30-month prison sentence in July. As a convicted felon, Libby will lose his law license and, in some states, cannot vote." ... "He might have had a chance to avoid those consequences had he won on appeal, but at a new trial his commutation would be meaningless and Libby would again face potential prison time." ... "Libby, 57, was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the 2003 leak of [American Undercover] CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. He was the only person to face criminal charges in the case." ... "The decision to withdraw his appeal means Libby will remain a convicted felon. President Bush could wipe away the conviction with a full pardon, something he has refused to rule out." -By Matt Apuzzo with contributions by Deb Riechmann -AP via -Yahoo

Dick Cheney - Karl Rove - I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Law - Politics - Book - "McClellan blames Bush for CIA leak deceit: Former spokesman says both president and vice president involved." ... "Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan blames [Republican] President Bush and [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] operative." ... "In an excerpt from his forthcoming book ["What Happened"], McClellan recount the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby were "not involved" in the leak involving operative Valerie Plame." ... ""There was one problem. It was not true," McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released Monday. "I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."" ... "Bush's chief of staff at the time was Andrew Card." -AP via -MSNBC

Fred Thompson - Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Surveillance - Intelligence - Law - Politics - History - Book - Tennessee - "Not all would put a heroic sheen on Thompson's Watergate role." ... "The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight -- asking an aide to [Republican] President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system -- he telephoned Nixon's lawyer." ... "Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, "At That Point in Time," Thompson said he acted with "no authority" in divulging the committee's knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon's resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team, according to a former investigator for Democrats on the committee, Scott Armstrong , who remains upset at Thompson's actions." ... ""Thompson was a mole for the White House," Armstrong said in an interview. "Fred was working hammer and tong to defeat the investigation of finding out what happened to authorize Watergate and find out what the role of the president was."" ... "But the story of his role in the Nixon case helps put in perspective Thompson's recent stance as one of the most outspoken proponents of pardoning I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney. Just as Thompson once staunchly defended Nixon, Thompson urged a pardon for Libby, who was convicted in March of obstructing justice in the investigation into who leaked a CIA operative's name." ... "On July 13, 1973, Armstrong, the Democratic staffer, asked [Nixon aide Alexander] Butterfield a series of questions during a private session that led up to the revelation. He then turned the questioning over to a Republican staffer, Don Sanders, who asked Butterfield the question that led to the mention of the taping system." ... "To the astonishment of everyone in the room, Butterfield admitted the taping system existed." ... "When Thompson learned of Butterfield's admission, he leaked the revelation to Nixon's counsel, J. Fred Buzhardt." ... "[Tennessee Republican Senator Howard] Baker, meanwhile, insisted that Thompson be allowed to ask Butterfield the question about the taping system in a public session on July 16, 1973, three days after the committee had learned about the system." -By Michael Kranish -Boston/Globe
I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - David H Safavian - Jack Abramoff - J Steven Griles - Government - Military - Law - Prison - Politics - "Libby's sentence not unusually long: Though [Republican President] Bush calls the 30-month prison term 'excessive,' records show defendants convicted of similar crimes served jail time." ... "In commuting the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, President Bush said that the former [Republican Dick Cheney] vice presidential aide had suffered enough and that the 30-month prison term ordered up by a federal judge was "excessive."" ... "But records show that the Justice Department under the Bush administration frequently has sought sentences that are as long, or longer, in cases similar to Libby's." ... "Three-fourths of the 198 defendants sentenced in federal court last year for obstruction of justice — one of four crimes Libby was found guilty of in March — got some prison time. According to federal data, the average sentence defendants received for that charge alone was 70 months." ... "Just last week, the Supreme Court upheld a 33-month prison sentence for a decorated Army veteran who was convicted of lying to a federal agent about buying a machine gun. The veteran had a record of public service — fighting in Vietnam and the Gulf War — and no criminal record. But Justice Department lawyers argued his prison term should stand because it fit within the federal sentencing guidelines." ... "Former members of the Bush administration have been sentenced to jail time in circumstances roughly analogous to those of Libby." ... "A former federal procurement official, David H. Safavian, was sentenced to 18 months in October for lying and concealing his dealings with GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Late last month, a federal judge sentenced J. Steven Griles, the former second-ranking official in the Interior Department, to 10 months in prison for obstructing a Senate investigation into his dealings with Abramoff." (1, 2) -By Richard B. Schmitt and David G. Savage -LAtimes

I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - Prison - Politics - Intelligence - Law - "Bush wipes away Libby's prison sentence." ... "Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, [Republican] President Bush wiped away the former White House aide's 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case." ... "Bush's move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender." ... ""I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a written statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend 30 months in prison."" ... "Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald disputed the president's assertion that the prison term was excessive. Libby was sentenced under the same laws as other criminals, Fitzgerald said. "It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals."" -By Matt Apuzzo with contributions by Ben Feller -AP

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Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - Fred Thompson - Rudy Giuliani - Political - Intelligence - Law - Tennessee - New York - 2008 Election - "Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Term in CIA Leak Case (Update5)." ... "[Republican] President George W. Bush spared Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby from prison in the CIA leak case, saying his 2 1/2-year term was ``excessive.''" ... "Bush acted after a U.S. appellate court today refused to let Libby, 56, stay free during his appeal. Libby, former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of lying to investigators probing the 2003 leak of Central Intelligence Agency official Valerie Plame's identity." ... "Republicans approved of Bush's decision." ... "``I am very happy for Scooter Libby,'' said former Tennessee [Republican] Senator Fred Thompson, a potential Republican presidential candidate who had urged a pardon." ... "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani [2008 election Republican Presidential candidate] said that Bush ``came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct.''" ... "Melanie Sloan, a lawyer who represents Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, in a civil suit against Libby and Cheney over the leak, said Bush's administration ``believes leaking classified information for political ends is justified and that the law is what applies to other people.''" -By Edwin Chen -Bloomberg
Dick Cheney - Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Iraq - US - Government - Military - Intelligence - Law - 2008 Election - Illinois - John Edwards - New York - "Libby commutation: Washington responds." ... "Following are reactions to [Republican] President Bush’s announcement Monday that he has commuted the sentence of former vice presidential [Republican Dick Cheney] chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby:" ... "Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, [Democratic Senator, 2008 election] and presidential candidate: “This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.”" ... "Former Sen. John Edwards, [Democratic Senator, 2008 election] presidential candidate: “Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush’s America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today.”" ... "Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, [Democratic Senator, 2008 election] presidential candidate: "Today’s decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration’s politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House’s efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.”" -CNN
I Lewis Libby Jr - Dick Cheney - Intelligence - Politics - "Bush Spares Libby 30-Month Jail Term." ... "[Republican] President Bush said today that he had used his power of clemency to commute the 30-month sentence for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former top aide to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted of perjury in March and was due to begin serving his time within weeks." ... "Like a pardon, a commutation is a form of clemency, granted to the president by the Constitution. But a pardon is an official act of forgiveness, whereas a commutation simply reduces the penalty, without making an official judgment of forgiveness." ... "In June, Mr. Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $250,000 fine after he was convicted in March of obstructing justice and lying to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents who were investigating the disclosure of the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative, Valerie Wilson." -By Sheryl Gay Stolberg -NYTimes
I "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - Law - Intelligence - "Joe Wilson ‘outraged’ about commutation." ... "Commuting the prison sentence of I. “Scooter” Libby raises questions of whether [Republican] President Bush is now an active participant in obstructing justice, former Ambassador Joe Wilson told The New Mexican on Monday." ... "“I’m outraged,” Wilson — whose wife, Valerie Plame, was outed as a CIA agent by Bush administration figures — said in a telephone interview. “The question for President Bush is if, in commuting this sentence, are you not an accessory or participant in the obstruction of justice in ensuring that Libby will never be forced to tell the truth?”" ... "President Bush on Monday commuted the 2 1/2-year prison sentence of Libby, former chief of staff of [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney. Libby was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators in the Plame case." ... "“Congress ought to conduct an investigation of whether or not the president is himself a participant in the obstruction of justice,” Wilson said." -By Steve Terrell -SantaFeNewMexican.com
Lewis Libby - Law - "The Commutation's Odd Timing." ... "One of the odd aspects of the [Lewis Libby] commutation is its timing. Normally, commutations or even pardons are not granted until after a sentence and judgment are final, meaning any appeals have been exhausted, according to Dan Farber, a professor at the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law. "In a sense, then, the President [Republican Bush] is freezing something that was previously fluid," Farber said." -TIME.com
I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - US - Iraq - Military - Intelligence - Politics - Law - History - Prison - "Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence." ... "[Republican] President Bush commuted Monday the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators." ... "A commutation is distinct from a pardon, which is a complete eradication of a conviction record and makes it the same as if the person has never been convicted." ... "The commutation does nothing to prevent Libby from appealing his conviction. And if the appeal fails or is still in process at the end of Bush's term, there is nothing to prevent the president from granting Libby a full pardon before he leaves office." ... "Libby's conviction is linked to the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity." ... "An outraged Joe Wilson, Plame's husband, spoke to CNN shortly after the ruling. Wilson had gone public with allegations that the Bush administration had "twisted" the evidence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, and prosecutors argued that Libby disclosed her employment as part of an effort to discredit him." ... ""I have nothing to say to Scooter Libby," Wilson said. "I don't owe this administration. They owe my wife and my family an apology for having betrayed her. Scooter Libby is a traitor."" ... "Plame had worked in the CIA's counter-proliferation division before the March 2003 invasion. She told a congressional committee in March that her exposure effectively ended her career and endangered "entire networks" of agents overseas." ... "Libby, the former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, is the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair." -CNN

Dick Cheney - I Lewis Libby Jr - Secrets - Intelligence - Government - Archives - Law - Enforcement - Politics - Leandro Aragoncillo - Philippines - California - "Cheney in Dispute on Oversight of His Office." ... "For four years, [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney has resisted routine oversight of his office’s handling of classified information, and when the office in charge of overseeing classification in the executive branch objected, the vice president’s office suggested that the oversight office be shut down, according to documents released today by a Democratic congressman." ... "The oversight office, a unit of the National Archives, appealed the issue to the Justice Department, which has not yet ruled on the matter." ... "The archives’ division that oversees classification and declassification, the Information Security Oversight Office, is an obscure part of the federal bureaucracy." ... "[California Democratic Representative Henry] Mr. Waxman asserted both in his letter and the interview that Mr. Cheney’s office should take the efforts of the National Archives especially seriously because it has had problems protecting secrets." ... "He noted that the vice president’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury and the F.B.I. [Federal Bureau of Investigation] during an investigation of the leak of classified information — the secret status of Valerie Wilson, the wife of a [Republican President] Bush administration critic, as an undercover Central Intelligence Agency officer." ... "He added that in May 2006 a former aide in Mr. Cheney’s office, Leandro Aragoncillo, pleaded guilty to passing classified information to plotters trying to overthrown the president of the Philippines." ... "“Your office may have the worst record in the executive branch for safeguarding classified information,” Mr. Waxman wrote to Mr. Cheney." (1, 2) -By Scott Shane -NYTimes

Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Dick Cheney - US - Iraq - Military - Intelligence - Politics - "Libby Must Go to Prison During Appeal, Judge Rules (Update2)." ... "Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, an ex-aide to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, must go to prison while appealing his conviction for obstructing a CIA leak probe, a judge ruled." ... "Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by Walton last week following his March 6 conviction of lying to investigators probing the 2003 leak of Central Intelligence Agency official Valerie Plame's identity. Libby was convicted of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements. He resigned as Cheney's chief of staff upon being indicted in 2005." ... "``The evidence of guilt was overwhelming'' and arguments by Libby's lawyers today for release were ``not close,'' Walton said before ruling from the bench. The judge didn't specify when Libby must report to prison, though he said it may take six to eight weeks for the Bureau of Prisons to be prepared to take him." ... "Libby was convicted of lying to investigators probing whether the Bush administration deliberately leaked Plame's identity to retaliate against her husband, Joseph Wilson, who accused the government of twisting intelligence to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq." -By Robert Schmidt and Nadine Elsibai -Bloomberg

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US - Iraq - Military - Police - Massachusetts - Kid - Cheney - I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Politics - 2008 Election - Mitt Romney - "Gov. Romney held fast against pardons." ... "Iraq war veteran Anthony Circosta seemed like an ideal candidate for a pardon from then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney [Republican 2008 Presidential candidate] for his boyhood conviction for a BB gun shooting. Romney said no — twice —despite the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons." ... "At age 13, Circosta was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun, a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle." ... "In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer." ... ""I've done everything I can to give back to my state and my community and my country and to get brushed aside is very frustrating," said Circosta, 29, of Agawam, Mass. "I'm not some shlub off the street."" ... "Asked in last week's debate if he would consider pardoning [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted of lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation, Romney said: "It's worth looking at that. I will study it very closely if I'm lucky enough to be president. And I'd keep that option open."" -By Steve LeBlanc -AP via -Yahoo
I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Politics - "Fitzgerald wants Libby imprisoned now: Urges judge not to delay former White House aide's prison sentence." ... "Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, in a 43-page response to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's argument to the judge to remain free on bond pending the appeal of his conviction, said, "The government respectfully requests that this Court deny defendant's motion for release pending appeal."" ... "Fitzgerald writes that Libby has only a remote chance for reversal of his conviction, "the chance of reversal by the Court of Appeals is, at best, remote — certainly not "substantial."" ... "Judge Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison for lying to authorities and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of [undercover] CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, has said he sees no reason to grant Libby's request." -By Joel Seidman -AP -MSNBC

20070605

I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - US - Iraq - Government - Military - Intelligence - Politics - Law - "Libby Gets 30 Months in Prison in C.I.A. Leak Case." ... "I. Lewis Libby Jr., once one of the most powerful men in government as [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for lying to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents who were investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative, Valerie Wilson, during a fierce debate over the war in Iraq." ... "Mr. Libby’s chief lawyer, Theodore V. Wells Jr., asked Judge Walton to place his client on probation, or at least place him under home confinement or in a halfway house, rather than send him to prison." ... "But the prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, argued that the defendant had shown “absolutely no contrition,” and that the court needed to send a message that lying in a criminal investigation can never be excused." ... "“Truth matters,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “The whole system depends on that.”" ... "Mr. Libby’s conduct was inexcusable, the prosecutor said, because as a lawyer he is “educated and experienced in these matters.”" ... "Nor was the defendant’s lying a spur-of-the-moment decision, Mr. Fitzgerald went on. Rather, he said, Mr. Libby lied repeatedly over a period of weeks, rejecting numerous opportunities to change his account and avoid charges." ... "Mr. Fitzgerald argued that it does not really matter than no one has been prosecuted for actually leaking the C.I.A. affiliation of Ms. Wilson, also known by her maiden name, Valerie Plame. The defendant knowingly impeded the inquiry, Mr. Fitzgerald said, and made it difficult for investigators to determine “who’s telling the truth in this house of mirrors he created.”" -By David Stout -NYTimes
US - Iraq - I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Government - Military - Intelligence - Politics - Law - History - "Libby sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison." ... "Former White House aide [to Republican Vice President Dick Cheney] I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation." ... "The highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra affair [during Republican President Reagan's administration], Libby has steadfastly maintained his innocence." ... "The verdict came after a seven-week trial that focused new attention on the [Republican President George] Bush administration's much-criticized handling of intelligence reports about weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the Iraq war." ... "Their [the jurors] decisions made Libby 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." ... "It was Cheney who first revealed Plame's identity to Libby in June 2003 after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, began questioning the administration's prewar [Iraq] intelligence." ... "Libby's supporters criticized [Special Prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald for pushing ahead with the investigation despite knowing the source of the leak early on. Fitzgerald said he needed to know whether the leak was authorized by senior government officials and spoke in court about "a cloud" over Cheney." ... "In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Wilson said he and his wife were sorry for Libby's family." ... ""That he would knowingly lie, perjure himself and obstruct a legitimate criminal investigation is incomprehensible," Wilson said. "It is our hope that he will now cooperate with Special Counsel Fitzgerald in his efforts to get to the truth. As Mr. Fitzgerald has said, a cloud remains over the vice president."" -By Matt Apuzzo -AP via -Yahoo
I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Karl Rove - US - Iraq - Government - Military - Intelligence - Media - Politics - "Libby sentenced to 30 months in prison." ... "I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators looking into the leak of a CIA operative's identity." ... "[Republican] President Bush "has not intervened so far in this," [Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana] Perino said." ... "The case involves statements Libby made to the FBI and a grand jury during their probe into how the covert identity of CIA operative [Valerie] Plame Wilson was leaked." ... "Plame Wilson's name became public when Robert Novak named her in his column on July 14, 2003. Her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had openly questioned the Bush administration's basis for invading Iraq." ... "Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has admitted he disclosed the information to a reporter. Novak pointed to another "senior administration official" -- Bush political adviser Karl Rove -- as the second source for his column." -Contributed to by Paul Courson, Brianna Keilar, Jeffrey Toobin and Brian Todd -CNN
I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Intelligence - Politics - "Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison, Fined $250K." ... "I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Cheney, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 for lying to investigators about his role in leaking the identity of an undercover CIA officer." ... "The federal judge who presided over the case indicated that he may not be sympathetic to allowing Libby to remain free pending appeal, but scheduled a hearing on the matter for next week." ... ""Evidence in this case overwhelmingly indicated Mr. Libby's culpability," U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said moments before he handed out the sentence. The judge said he was sentencing Libby "with a sense of sadness. I have the highest respect for people who take positions in our government and appreciate tremendously efforts they bring to bear to protect this country."" ... "At the same time, Walton said, "I also think it is important we expect and demand a lot from people who put themselves in those positions. Mr. Libby failed to meet the bar. For whatever reason, he got off course." ... "The judge sentenced Libby three months after a federal jury found Cheney's one-time top aide guilty of four felonies for failing to tell the truth to a federal grand jury and the FBI about the disclosure of former CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. Libby was convicted of two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements to FBI agents, and one count of obstructing justice. He was acquitted of a fifth count." (1, 2, 3) -By Amy Goldstein and Carol D. Leonnig -WashingtonPost

20070601

Secret - I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Government - Military - Intelligence - Employee - Free Speech - Book - Politics - New York - "Plame Sues C.I.A. for Blocking Her Memoir." ... "Valerie Wilson [nee Plame], the former intelligence operative at the heart of an investigation that reached into the White House, sued the Central Intelligence Agency in federal court in New York yesterday over its refusal to allow her to publish a memoir that would discuss how long she had worked for the agency." ... "Although that information is set out in an unclassified letter to Ms. Wilson that has been published in the Congressional Record, the C.I.A. contends that her dates of service remain classified and may not be mentioned in “Fair Game,” the memoir Ms. Wilson hopes to publish in October." ... "The letter [published in the Congressional Record] said that Ms. Wilson had worked for the government since Nov. 9, 1985, for a total of “20 years, 7 days,” including “six years, one month and 29 days of overseas service.”" ... "The C.I.A. has been adamant in refusing to confirm the dates or details of Ms. Wilson’s service before 2002. In July 2003, the syndicated columnist Robert Novak disclosed her identity as “an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.” Mr. Novak referred to Ms. Wilson by her maiden name, Valerie Plame." ... "The investigation into that disclosure led to the conviction of I. Lewis Libby Jr., formerly [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in March." ... "On Friday, the special prosecutor in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, submitted an unclassified summary of Ms. Wilson’s “C.I.A. employment and cover history” to the judge who will sentence Mr. Libby." ... "The summary said that Ms. Wilson was a covert C.I.A. employee at the time of Mr. Novak’s disclosure. Between the beginning of 2002 and Ms. Wilson’s resignation from the agency at the end of 2005, the summary said, she traveled overseas “under a cover identity, sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias” at least “seven times to more than 10 countries.”" -By Adam Liptak -NYTimes

20070529

Dick Cheney - I Lewis Libby - Political - Secrecy - Media - Government - Intelligence - Employment - Law - Opinion - "Fitzgerald Again Points to Cheney." ... "Special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald has made it clearer than ever that he was hot on the trail of a coordinated campaign to out CIA agent Valerie Plame until that line of investigation was cut off by the repeated lies from [Republican] Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby." ... "Libby was convicted in February [correction: March] of perjury and obstruction of justice. Fitzgerald filed a memo on Friday asking U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who will sentence Libby next week, to put him in prison for at least two and a half years." ... "Despite all the public interest in the case, Fitzgerald has repeatedly asserted that grand-jury secrecy rules prohibit him from being more forthcoming about either the course of his investigation or any findings beyond those he disclosed to make the case against Libby. But when his motives have been attacked during court proceedings, Fitzgerald has occasionally shown flashes of anger -- and has hinted that he and his investigative team suspected more malfeasance at higher levels of government than they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt." ... "In Friday's eminently readable court filing [PDF], Fitzgerald quotes the Libby defense calling his prosecution "unwarranted, unjust, and motivated by politics." In responding to that charge, the special counsel evidently felt obliged to put Libby's crime in context. And that context is Dick Cheney." ... "Libby's lies, Fitzgerald wrote, "made impossible an accurate evaluation of the role that Mr. Libby and those with whom he worked played in the disclosure of information regarding Ms. Wilson's CIA employment and about the motivations for their actions."" ... "It was established at trial that it was Cheney himself who first told Libby about Plame's identity as a CIA agent, in the course of complaining about criticisms of the administration's run-up to war leveled by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. And, as Fitzgerald notes: "The evidence at trial further established that when the investigation began, Mr. Libby kept the Vice President [Dick Cheney] apprised of his shifting accounts of how he claimed to have learned about Ms. Wilson's CIA employment."" ... "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 [Dick Cheney]." (My [Froomkin's] italics.)" ... "Not clear on the concept yet? Fitzgerald adds: "To accept the argument that Mr. Libby's prosecution is the inappropriate product of an investigation that should have been closed at an early stage, one must accept the proposition that the investigation should have been closed after at least three high-ranking government officials were identified as having disclosed to reporters classified information about covert agent Valerie Wilson, where the account of one of them was directly contradicted by other witnesses, where there was reason to believe that some of the relevant activity may have been coordinated, and where there was an indication from Mr. Libby himself that his disclosures to the press may have been personally sanctioned by the Vice President [Dick Cheney]." (My [Froomkin's] italics.)" (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -By Dan Froomkin -WashingtonPost
I Lewis Libby - Dick Cheney - Political - Media - Secret - Government - Intelligence - Employee - Law - "Plame was ‘covert’ agent at time of name leak: Newly released unclassified document details CIA employment." ... "An unclassified summary of outed CIA officer Valerie Plame's employment history at the spy agency, disclosed for the first time today in a court filing by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, indicates that Plame was "covert" when her name became public in July 2003." ... "The summary is part of an attachment to Fitzgerald's memorandum to the court supporting his recommendation that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, [Republican] Vice President Cheney's former top aide, spend 2-1/2 to 3 years in prison for obstructing the CIA leak investigation." ... "The unclassified summary of Plame's employment with the CIA at the time that syndicated columnist Robert Novak published her name on July 14, 2003 says, "Ms. Wilson was a covert CIA employee for who the CIA was taking affirmative measures to conceal her intelligence relationship to the United States."" ... "Plame worked as an operations officer in the Directorate of Operations and was assigned to the Counterproliferation Division (CPD) in January 2002 at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia." ... "The employment history indicates that while she was assigned to CPD, Plame, "engaged in temporary duty travel overseas on official business." The report says, "she traveled at least seven times to more than ten times." When overseas Plame traveled undercover, "sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias -- but always using cover -- whether official or non-official (NOC) -- with no ostensible relationship to the CIA."" -By Joel Seidman -MSNBC
"Read Plame employment report (pdf)." [Legal document recognizing Valerie Plame's secret government intelligence employment.] via -MSNBC

20070405

US- Iraq - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - Politics - Douglas Feith - Cheney - Libby - Mich