Lewis Libby

Infobox Criminal
subject_name=I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby


image_size=150px
image_caption=
birthname=
date_of_birth=birth date and age|1950|08|22
place_of_birth= New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.
date_of_death=
place_of_death=
charge=Obstruction of justice
Perjury
Making false statements
penalty=30 months in prison (commuted by President George W. Bush)
$250,000 fine
Two years of supervised release, including 400 hours of community service
status=convicted (of four of five charges)
place_of_death=
occupation=unemployed; former Lawyer (1976–2007; suspended from the practice of law in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. in 2007; disbarred by the D.C. Court of Appeals on March 20, 2008)
Hudson Institute policy advisor (2006–2007)
Government official and policy advisor (1981–2005)
spouse=Harriet Grant
parents=
children=Two
Religion=Jewish

Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby (born August 22 1950) is a former Assistant to the President of the United States, George W. Bush, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, serving from 2001 to 2005. [cite web
url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=11423
title=Vice Squad
last=Dreyfuss
first=Robert
publisher=The American Prospect
date=2006-04-17
accessdate=2008-07-01] [http://web.archive.org/web/20050726003359/http://fpc.state.gov/8488.htm "Biographies of White House Senior Staff: Lewis Libby] ", "United States Department of State", July 2005, archived by "web.archive.org", accessed 18 April, 2008.] [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf "Indictment"] in "United States of America vs. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby", "United States Department of Justice", 28 October, 2005, accessed December 10, 2007.] He resigned all three government positions immediately after he was indicted on federal obstruction and perjury charges resulting from the grand jury investigation into the CIA identity leak known as the Plame Affair, which led to his criminal trial in United States v. Libby.Kenneth T. Walsh, [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31libby.htm "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?] An Inside Player Takes Center Stage", "U.S. News & World Report", 31 October, 2005, accessed 23 September, 2006. (2 pages.)] The day after his conviction in that trial, he resigned his later appointment as senior advisor at the Hudson Institute (January 1, 2006 – March 7, 2007).Tim Grieve, [http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/05/31/libby_sentencing/index.html "The War Room: 'On Behalf of I. Lewis Libby'"] ("Update"), "Salon", 31 May, 2007, accessed 17 July, 2007.]

In "United States v. Libby", the jury convicted Libby on four of the five counts in the indictment: one count of obstruction of justice; two counts of perjury; and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/i_lewis_libby_jr/index.html "I. Lewis Libby Jr. (Index): The Counts"] , "The New York Times", Times Topics, updated periodically, 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 July, 2007.] Libby 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."Michael J. Sniffen and Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press), [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2927810 "Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial:] Ex-Cheney Aide Libby Found Guilty of Obstruction, Perjury, Lying to the FBI in CIA Leak Case", "ABC News", March 6 2007, accessed June 10 2007.] See also: Associated Press, [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-26-white-house_x.htm "A History of Indictments involving White House Staff"] , "USA Today", 26 October, 2007, accessed 6 July, 2007.]

On June 5, 2007, the presiding trial judge, Reggie B. Walton, sentenced Libby to 30 months in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and two years of supervised release, including 400 hours of community service,Paul Courson, Brianna Keilar, Brian Todd, Jeffrey Toobin, and the Associated Press, [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/05/cia.leak.trial/index.html "Libby Sentenced to 30 months in Prison"] , "CNN.com", 5 June, 2007, accessed 5 June, 2007.] Matt Apuzzo and Pete Yost (Associated Press), [http://boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/06/05/judge_libby_could_face_longer_sentence/?page=full "Libby Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years in Prison"] , "boston.com", 5 June, 2007, accessed 5 July, 2007.] See qualification in Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/6/5/115845/4240 "Scooter Libby: 30 Months in Prison, $250k Fine"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), 5 June, 2007, accessed 5 June, 2007: "Note: CNN [in its television broadcasts and some online reports] erroneously reported that Libby's sentence included 2 years probation. In fact, it was supervised release, which is similar but different from probation, and replaced parole in the federal system in 1987."] Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/7/5/12846/90740 "Libby: Life on Supervised Release"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), 5 July, 2007, accessed 8 July, 2007. (Provides link to PDF of Judge Walton's [http://www.talkleft.com/libbyjudgment.pdf "Judgment in a Criminal Case"] in United States v. Libby, filed 22 June, 2007, accessed 8 July, 2007.)] and then ordered Libby to begin his sentence immediately. [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/14/libby.hearing/index.html "Judge Orders Libby Jailed during Appeal"] , "CNN News", 14 June, 2007, accessed 8 July, 2007.] On July 2, 2007, when Libby's appeal of Judge Walton's order failed, President Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence, leaving the other parts of his sentence intact.George W. Bush, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070702-4.html "Grant of Executive Clemency: A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America"] , "The White House", 2 July, 2007, accessed 2 July, 2007.] Edwin Chen, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aA.bUy89_1hk&refer=home "Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Term in CIA Leak Case (Update 2)"] , "Bloomberg.com", 2 July, 2007, accessed 2 July, 2007.] In commuting Libby's prison term, Bush stated: "I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison. ... My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged." After Libby paid his monetary fine and penalty totaling $250,400, Judge Walton queried aspects of the presidential commutation,Neil Lewis and Jim Rutenberg, " [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/washington/06libby.html "Libby Pays Fine; Judge Poses Probation Query"] , "The New York Times", 6 July, 2007, accessed 6 July, 2007.] and lawyers filed their briefs supporting Libby's serving supervised release, resolving the issue and thus clearing the way for Libby to begin the rest of his sentence, the two years of supervised release and 400 hours of community service.Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/7/9/21838/66055 "All Sides Agree Libby Should Serve Supervised Release"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), 9 July, 2007, accessed 10 July, 2007. (Provides links to PDF versions of the various legal briefs.)] Neil A. Lewis, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/washington/10libby.html?_r=1&oref=slogin "Issue of Supervised Release for Libby Is Cleared Up"] , "The New York Times", 10 July, 2007, accessed 10 July, 2007.]

On December 10, 2007, Libby's lawyers announced that he would drop his appeal of his conviction in "the CIA leak case," leaving intact his remaining sentence and fine and leaving on his record his felony conviction, unless he were granted a full Presidential pardon.Matt Apuzzo (AP), [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TEN3SO0&show_article=1 "Libby to Drop Appeal in CIA Leak Case"] , "The Associated Press", via "Breitbart.com", December 10, 2007, accessed December 10, 2007. ("President Bush could wipe away the conviction with a full pardon, something he has refused to rule out. [Theodore] Wells [one of his lawyers] said Monday [December 10, 2007] that he has not spoken to the White House about a pardon and does not know what Bush will do.")] The next day, December 11, 2007, President Bush issued 29 pardons but did not include Libby among them. [Associated Press, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/washington/12pardon.html "29 Convicts, None Named Libby, Receive Bush Pardons"] , "The New York Times", December 12, 2007, accessed December 12, 2007.] Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/12/11/182914/04 "Bush Issues 29 Pardons, None for Scooter Libby"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), December 11, 2007, accessed December 13, 2007: "That doesn't mean one won't be forthcoming now that Libby has dropped his appeal. Bush has said previously he wouldn't give a pardon while the appeal was pending. Since Libby only announced his intent to withdraw the appeal yesterday [December 10, 2007] , it could just be a matter of timing. Bush can grant pardons until he leaves office in 2009."] As a consequence of his conviction in U.S. v. Libby, his license to practice law was suspended by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in December 2007. [http://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/pa_attorney_results.php?ss=Libby&st=Last_Name&Submit=Submit Listing for "Lewis Libby": "History"] , Search Facility, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, accessed April 12, 2008.] On April 3, 2007, the District of Columbia Bar suspended his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., and recommended his disbarment pending his appeal of his conviction.D.C. Bar, " [http://www.dcbar.org/find_a_member/index.cfm Find a Member] " search facility. Libby is listed in the general "name" search (erroneously) as "I L Lewis Libby Jr." and in hyperlinked documents as "I. Lewis Libby, Jr." Since 2007 he has been identified as "disbarred" and is no longer a "member" of the D.C. Bar.] The D.C. Bar revised its "Professional Rules of Conduct" on February 1 2007, according to its "Bar News" section of its website, accessed June 5 2007. On April 3 2007, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals filed an [http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/dc/libby_order.pdf "Order"] ("In the Matter of I. Lewis Libby, Jr. ... Bar Registration No. 950758"), suspending Libby "immediately from the practice of law in the District of Columbia pending resolution of this matter [in United States v. Libby] ," which the Office of Bar Counsel (D.C. Bar) received on April 4 2007, directing it to "inform the Court if the matter is resolved without the necessity of further court action." In that order, "the Board directed the Bar Counsel to file a brief addressing whether [Libby's] crimes inherently involve moral turpitude." In its brief, filed on 24 April, 2007, entitled [http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/dc/arbitraryjustice_book137.pdf "Statement of Bar Counsel"] , the D.C. Bar stated that his crimes amounted to "moral turpitude" and recommended to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility that Libby "be disbarred pursuant to D.C. Code § 11-2503(a)," which reads "in pertinent part": "When a member of the bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, ... the court shall, pending final determination of an appeal from the conviction, suspend the member of the bar from practice.... If a final judgment of conviction is certified to the court, the name of the member of the bar so convicted shall be struck from the roll of the members of the bar and such person shall thereafter cease to be a member." Pursuant to the policy on "Moral Turpitude" contained therein, it is also noted (n. 4) that Libby's "disbarment should be deemed to commence, for reinstatement purposes, on April 11, 2007, the date that [he] filed an affidavit in compliance with D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g)." The brief lists Libby's admission to practice law in that jurisdiction as 19 May, 1978. At that time Libby's lawyers filed notification of his intention to appeal his conviction within ten days after his sentencing with the D.C. Bar, an appeal that he subsequently decided to drop (Cf. Apuzzo's account of December 10, 2007, as cited).] On March 20, 2008, after he dropped his appeal, he was disbarred by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, in Washington, D.C., at least until 2012, when he is eligible to apply for reinstatement.Carol D. Leonnig, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032001757.html "Court Disbars Cheney Ex-Aide: Libby Loses Right To Practice Law"] , "The Washington Post", March 21, 2008: A2, "washingtonpost.com", accessed March 20, 2008.]

Personal history

Background and education

Libby was born to an affluent Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut; his late father, Irving (or Irve) Lewis Liebowitz, was an investment banker.Mike Pesca, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965501 "Guarding the 'I' in I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"] , NPR 19 October, 2005 (NPR audio player clip); accessed 10 July, 2007.] Cf. Ron Kampeas, [http://www2.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20051102LibbyJewishSomew.html "Libby Jewish? Some Wonder How Neo-con’s Faith Impacts Leak Scandal] ", "Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)", 2 November, 2005; rpt. in Ron Kampeas, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131043733253&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Did Libby's Jewishness Impact the CIA Leak Scandal?"] "Jerusalem Post", Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 6 November, 2005; updated 7 November, 2005; both accessed 16 July, 2007.] Nick Bromell, [http://www.theamericanscholar.org/archives/wi07/scooterandme-bromell.html "Scooter Libby and Me"] , "The American Scholar" (Phi Beta Kappa) (Winter 2007) and [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/24/scooter_libby/index_np.html "Scooter's Tragic Innocence:] Why My Friend Scooter Libby Is Loyal to Bush, Cheney and an Arrogant Administration Whose Values Are Not His Own", "Salon", 24 January, 2007 (Premium content; restricted access); [http://www.umass.edu/english/facProfiles/Bromell.htm "Nick Bromell"] , faculty profile at "umass.edu" (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts); all accessed 8 June, 2007.]

Libby graduated from the Eaglebrook School, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, a middle school, in 1965, according to his old friend, former roommate, and debating team co-captain Nick Bromell, who is now professor of English and director of graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts. According to "New York Times" reporter Scott Shane, "The family lived in the Washington region, Miami and Connecticut," prior to Libby's graduation from Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1968.Scott Shane, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/washington/17libby.html?ex=1183694400&en=138163e78e91b2e1&ei=5070 "As Trial Begins, Cheney’s Ex-Aide Is Still a Puzzle"] , "The New York Times", 17 January, 2007, accessed 5 July, 2007.]

He and his older brother, Hank, "a retired tax lawyer," Shane reports, "were the first in the family to graduate from college." Libby matriculated at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in Fall 1968, graduating "magna cum laude" in 1972.Jack Mirkinson, [http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/15491 "Libby '72 Leaned Left Before Serving As Cheney's Chief of Staff"] , "Yale Daily News", 5 October, 2005, accessed 12 July, 2007.] As "Yale Daily News" reporter Jack Mirkinson observes, "Even though he would eventually become a prominent Republican, Libby's political beginnings would not have pointed in that direction. He served as vice president of the Yale College Democrats and later campaigned for Michael Dukakis when he was running for governor of Massachusetts." According to Mirkinson: "Two particular Yale courses helped guide Libby's future endeavors. One of these was a creative writing course, which started Libby on a 20-year mission to complete a novel ... [later published as] "The Apprentice" ... [and] a political science class with professor and future Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. In an interview with author James Mann, Libby said Wolfowitz was one of his favorite professors, and their professional relationship did not end with the class." Wolfowitz would become a significant mentor in his later professional life.Hudson Institute Communications, [http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=3830&pubType=HI_NEW@HUDSON "Lewis Libby Joins Hudson Institute"] , official press release, "Hudson Institute", 6 January, 2006, accessed 29 June, 2007; see also: [http://www.hudson.org/learn/index.cfm?fuseaction=staff_bio&eid=LibbLew "Staff bio" for Lewis Libby] , "Hudson Institute", n.d., accessed 29 June, 2007. [The biography currently lists only "Senior Advisor"; cf. [http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1271 "I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"] , "Right Web" (International Relations Center), last updated 21 March, 2007, accessed 1 July, 2007: "As of mid-March 2007 ... Libby's bio page was no longer available on the (Hudson Institute) website, and his name was not included on the organization's list of scholars."] ]

In 1975, as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Libby received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Columbia Law School.Stephen Smith, [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/27/politics/main989970.shtml "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author:] Cheney's Chief Of Staff Both Political Insider And Acclaimed Novelist", "CBS News", 28 October, 2005, accessed 7 March, 2007.] [http://web.archive.org/web/20070625090417/www.scooterlibby.com/bio/ "About Lewis 'Scooter' Libby] , archived biography at the "Libby Legal Defense Trust", n.d., accessed 16 July, 2007 and 12 April, 2008 (now-obsolete information such as D.C. Bar membership needs updating).]

Marriage and family

Libby is married to Harriet Grant, whom he met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the late 1980s while he was a partner and she an associate in the law firm then known as Dickstein, Shapiro, and Morin: "'When he and Harriet became serious,' Dickstein partner Kenneth Simon wrote, 'she chose to leave the firm rather than maintain the awkward situation of an associate dating a partner.'"Emma Schwarz, [http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1181034325626 "Leniency Letters Showcase Scooter's 30-Year Legal Career"] , "Legal Times", 11 June 2007, accessed 1 July, 2007.] Libby and Grant married in the early 1990s, have a son and a daughter, and live in McLean, Virginia.

Libby was a litigation associate at the Philadelphia law firm of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, but left to work in Washington for Paul Wolfowitz. He later became a partner and head of the Washington, DC office of the Philadelphia law firm of Dechert Price & Rhoades. His first criminal defense lawyer in the Plame leak case was Joseph Tate, a Dechert partner, who had been an acquaintance of Libby's at the Schnader law firm in Philadelphia, where Libby was an associate and Tate was a litigation partner.

Name and nicknames

At times, according to various news accounts, and as documented in a federal directory cited by Ron Kampeas and others, Libby has used "Jr." after his name. At other times, however, as listed in his federal indictment and United States v. Libby, which give his alias as "Scooter Libby", there is no "Jr." after Libby's name. Libby has been secretive about both his actual first name (what the initial "I" stands for) and about the origin of his nickname "Scooter." In an article published in "The New York Times" in late April 2001, Eric Schmitt divulged Libby's "two secrets," saying parenthetically: "It takes a phone call to Mr. Libby's older brother, Hank, to learn that the 'I' stands for Irv. His nickname 'Scooter' derives from the day Mr. Libby's father watched him crawling in his crib and joked, 'He's a Scooter!'"Eric Schmitt, " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E4DE1F39F933A05757C0A9679C8B63"Public Lives: Cheney Aide Will Eat Horse Guts Before He'll Spill Beans"] , "The New York Times", 30 April, 2001, accessed 23 March, 2008.]

In their February 2002 interview on "Larry King Live", King asked Libby specifically, "Where did 'Scooter' come from?"; Libby replied: "Oh, it goes way back to when I was a kid. Some people ask me if ... [crosstalk] ... as you did earlier, if it's related to Phil Rizzuto [nicknamed 'The Scooter'] . I had the range but not the arm."Larry King and Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, [http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/16/lklw.00.html "Rush Transcript:] CNN Larry King Weekend: Interviews with Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Don Rickles, Mike Medavoy", "Larry King Live", CNN, aired 16 February, 2002, accessed 27 February, 2007.]

Just prior to and after his indictment in the CIA leak grand jury investigation on October 28, 2005, others in the news media gave various, sometimes contradictory, accounts of his first name, its spelling, and the origin of his nickname "Scooter" (sometimes citing, with or without attribution, information conveyed earlier by Schmitt's 2001 telephone interview with Libby's older brother Hank and King's 2002 television interview with Libby).Daniela Deane, with Mark Leibovich, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102800986_pf.html "Cheney's Right Hand Man Never Sought Limelight] ", "The Washington Post", 28 October, 2005, accessed 30 June, 2007.] Mark Leibovich, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/22/AR2005102201439.html "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More"] , "Washington Post", 23 October, 2005; appended correction, accessed 26 March, 2007.] National Public Radio, the BBC, "The New York Times", and "Slate" reported that the initial "I" stands for either Irving (his father's first name); and/or, alternatively, abbreviations of "Irving" — "Irv" or "Irve" (his father's nickname).John Dickerson, [http://www.slate.com/id/2128530/ "Who Is Scooter Libby?] The Secretive Cheney Aide at the Heart of the CIA Leak Case", "Slate", 21 October, 2005, accessed 28 June, 2007.] Paul Reynolds, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4386076.stm "Indictment Rocks Bush Administration"] , BBC News, 28 October, 2007, accessed 16 July, 2007.] John Tierney, [http://select.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/opinion/01tierney.html?scp=1&sq=let%27s+have+a+big+hand+for&st=nyt "Let's Have A Big Hand For"] , "The New York Times", 1 November, 2005, accessed 23 March, 2008.] Juan Cole, [http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/10/14/neocon/index.html "Judith Miller and the Neocons"] , "Salon", October 14, 2005, accessed December 20, 2007. (Refers to I. Lewis Libby as "Irving Lewis Libby.")]

"The Apprentice"

Libby's first and only novel, "The Apprentice", about a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic, was first published in a hardback edition, by Graywolf Press, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1996 and reprinted as a trade paperback, by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books, in 2002. After Libby's indictment in the CIA leak grand jury investigation, in 2005, St. Martin's Press reissued "The Apprentice" as a mass market paperback (Griffin imprint).Lewis Libby, "The Apprentice" (St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 1996; rpt. New York: St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books, 2002; rpt. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2005); ISBN 1555972454 (10) and ISBN 978-1555972455 (13); ISBN 0312284535 (10) and ISBN 978-0312284534 (13).] Julian Borger, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1640145,00.html#article_continue "Indicted Libby's Publishers Plan 25,000 Reprint of 'steamy' Novel"] , "The Guardian", 11 November, 2005, accessed 23 February, 2007.] Associated Press, [http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-11-09-libby-novel_x.htm "Publisher to Reissue I. Lewis Libby's Novel"] , "USA Today", 9 November, 2005, accessed 3 July, 2007.] It has been generally described as "a thriller ... that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape."Associated Press, [http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-11-09-libby-novel_x.htm "Publisher to Reissue I. Lewis Libby's Novel"] , "USA Today", 9 November, 2005, accessed 3 July, 2007.]

Legal career

After earning his J.D. from Columbia in 1975, Libby joined the firm of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, becoming a partner the following year, in 1976. He was admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976, [http://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/pa_attorney_info.php?id=23330&pdcount=0 "I. Lewis Libby" (Attorney ID No.: 23330] )", "The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania" (public search facility), accessed 5 June, 2007.] Emma Schwartz, [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1175763840958 "Scooter Libby's Law License Loses Its Wheels"] , "Legal Times", 6 April, 2007, accessed 5 July, 2007.] Richard S. Curtiss, [http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Sept_2004/0409018.html "Neocon Corner: I. Lewis ('Scooter') Libby:] The Nexus of Washington’s Neocon Network", "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs", September 2004: 18–20, accessed 4 March, 2007.] and to the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on May 19, 1978.

Libby practiced law at Schnader for six years before joining the U.S. State Department policy planning staff, at the invitation of his former Yale professor, Paul Wolfowitz, in 1981. In 1985, returning to private practice, he joined the firm then known as Dickstein, Shapiro, and Morin (now Dickstein Shapiro LLP), becoming a partner in 1986 and working there until 1989, when he left to work in the U.S. Defense Department, again under his former Yale professor Paul Wolfowitz, until January 1993.Richard S. Curtiss, [http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Sept_2004/0409018.html "Neocon Corner: I. Lewis ('Scooter') Libby:] The Nexus of Washington’s Neocon Network", "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs", September 2004: 18–20, accessed 4 March, 2007.] "Leonard Garment and Four Other Mudge Rose Lawyers Join Washington, D.C. Office of Decert Price & Rhoads", "PR Newswire", 20 November, 1995, Financial News, accessed via LexisNexis on 16 July, 2007. ]

In 1993, returning to private legal practice from government, Libby became the managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Ferdon (formerly Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, and Alexander); in 1995, along with his Mudge Rose colleague, Leonard Garment––who had replaced John Dean as acting Special Counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon for the last two years of his presidency dominated by Watergate, and who had hired Libby at Mudge Rose twenty years later––and three other lawyers from that firm, Libby joined the Washington, D.C. office of Dechert, Price, and Rhoads (now part of Dechert LLP), where he was a managing partner, a member of its litigation department, and chaired its Public Policy Practice Group, until 2001, when he left to return to work again in government, as Vice President Cheney's chief of staff.

Fugitive billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, who, along with his business partner Pincus Green, had been convicted of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran, and who, with Green, was ultimately pardoned by President Bill Clinton, was a client whom Leonard Garment had hired Libby to help represent around the spring of 1985, after Rich and Green had first engaged Garment.For a detailed commentary on the contexts of Libby's work on the Rich case, see 32-33 of [http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/clinton/pardonrpt/ch1031302hcgrcprdrpt.pdf "'Take Jack's Word': The Pardons of International Fugitives Marc Rich and Pincus Green"] (Chap. One), " [http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/clinton/pardonrpt/ Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House] ", report of the House Committee on Government Reform, online posting, "findlaw.com", 14 March, 2002, "et passim", accessed 16 July, 2007 (quotes Libby's testimony from government transcript).] Libby stopped representing Rich in the spring of 2000; early in March 2001, at a "contentious" Congressional hearing to review Clinton's pardons, Libby testified that he thought the prosecution's case against Rich "misconstrued the facts and the law."CNN, [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/02/clinton.library/ "GOP Lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich Case"] , "CNN" (Archives), 2 March, 2001, accessed 16 February, 2007.] According to Jackson Hogan, Libby's roommate at Yale University, as quoted in the already-cited "U.S. News & World Report" article by Walsh, " 'He is intensely partisan...in that if he is your counsel, he'll embrace your case and try to figure a way out of whatever noose you are ensnared in.' " According to House Committee on Government Reform report, however, "The arguments made by Garment, [William Bradford] Reynolds and Libby [in their testimony] focused on the claim that the SDNY was criminalizing what should have been a civil tax case. They did not make, compile, or in any other way lay the groundwork for, or make a case for a Presidential pardon. When former President Clinton stated that they 'reviewed and advocated' 'the case for the pardons,' he suggested that they were somehow involved in arguing that Rich and Green should receive pardons. This was completely untrue" (162).

Bar suspension and disbarment

Before his indictment in United States v. Libby, Libby had been a licensed corporate lawyer, admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, although his Pennsylvania law license was inactive, and he had already been suspended from the Washington, D.C. Office of Bar Counsel (D.C. Bar) for non-payment of fees.District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility, [http://www.dcbar.org/bprReports/reports/ILewisLibby37205.pdf "In the Matter of I. LEWIS LIBBY, JR., D.C. App. No. 07-BG-179 Respondent] : Bar Docket No. 372-05: A Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (Bar Registration No: 950758): REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD ON PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY", May 14, 2007, accessed April 18, 2008.] The Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals recommended permanent disbarment upon confirmation of his conviction, which Libby had initially indicated that he would appeal. Having suspended his license to practice law on April 3, 2007, the D.C. Bar "disbarred [him] pursuant to D.C. Code § 11-2503(a)" on legal grounds of "moral turpitude," effective April 11, 2007, and recommended to the D.C. Court of Appeals his permanent disbarment if his conviction were not overturned on appeal.D.C. Bar, [http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/dc/libby_order.pdf "Order"] ("In the Matter of I. Lewis Libby, Jr. ... Bar Registration No. 950758"), filed April 3, 2007, accessed June 17, 2007.] For information about the law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, see its website at [http://www.schnader.com Schnader] , n.d., accessed 30 June, 2007.] On December 10, 2007, Libby's lawyers announced his decision "to drop his appeal of his conviction in the CIA leak case." On March 20, 2008, following the dropping of his appeal of his conviction, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals disbarred Libby. District of Columbia Court of Appeals, [http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/pdf/07-BG-179.PDF "No. 07-BG-179: IN RE I. LEWIS LIBBY, JR., RESPONDENT. A Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (Bar Registration No. 950758) On Report and Recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility (BD No. 372-05)"] , submitted March 6, 2008, decided March 20, 2008, accessed April 18, 2008.] As a result of the Court's ruling, "Libby will lose his license to practice or appear in court in Washington until at least 2012," and, "As is standard, he will probably lose any bar membership he holds in other states"; that is, in Pennsylvania.

Government public service and political career

In 1981, after working as a lawyer in the Philadelphia firm Schnader LLP, Libby accepted the invitation of his former Yale University political science professor and mentor Paul Wolfowitz to join the U.S. State Department's policy planning staff. From 1982 to 1985, according to his official U.S. State Department biography, Libby served as director of special projects in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. In 1985, he received the Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service from the United States Department of Defense, and he resigned from government to enter private legal practice at Dickstein, Shapiro, and Morin. In 1989, he went to work at the Pentagon, again under Wolfowitz, as principal deputy under-secretary for strategy and resources at the U.S. Defense Department.

During the George H. W. Bush administration, Libby was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy, serving from 1992–1993. In 1992, he also served as legal advisor for the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China. Libby co-authored the draft of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994–99 fiscal years (dated February 18, 1992) with Wolfowitz for Dick Cheney, who was then Secretary of Defense. In 1993 Libby received the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Defense Department and the Distinguished Public Service Award from the U.S. State Department before resuming private legal practice first at Mudge Rose and then at Dechert. Libby was part of a network of neo-conservatives known as the "Vulcans" — its other members included Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, and Donald Rumsfeld. While he was still a managing partner of Dechert Price & Rhoads, he was a signatory to the "Statement of Principles" of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) (a document dated June 3, 1997).Elliott Abrams, et al., [http://newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm "Statement of Principles"] , June 3, 1997, "newamericancentury.org", accessed May 28, 2007.] He joined Wolfowitz, PNAC co-founders William Kristol, Robert Kagan, and other "Project Participants" in developing the PNAC's September 2000 report entitled, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century".MSNBC News Services [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9827156/ "Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a Quiet Force:] Vice President's Former Top Aide is Called 'Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney'", "MSNBC", updated 28 October, 2005, accessed 17 February, 2007.] Thomas Donnelly (Principal Author), et al. (Project for the New American Century), PDFlink| [http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century"] |852 KiB , September 2000, accessed 5 June, 2007. (Project Co-Chairmen: Donald Kagan and Gary Schmitt; full list of "Project Participants", inc. "I. Lewis Libby Dechert Price & Rhoads", appears on page 90, followed by this note: "The above list of individuals participated in at least one project meeting or contributed a paper for discussion. The report is a product solely of the Project for the New American Century and does not necessarily represent the views of the project participants or their affiliated institutions.")] Karen Kwiatkowski, [http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/feature/2004/03/10/osp_moveon/index.html "The New Pentagon Papers:] A High-ranking Military Officer Reveals How Defense Department Extremists Suppressed Information and Twisted the Truth to Drive the Country to War"] , "Slate", 10 March, 2007, accessed 19 April, 2007.]

After becoming Cheney's chief of staff in 2001, Libby was reportedly nicknamed "Germ Boy" at the White House, for insisting on universal smallpox vaccination.Jeremy Scahill, [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051128/scahill "Germ Boys and Yes Men"] , online posting, "The Nation", 9 November, 2005 (28 November 2005 issue): 2, accessed 3 March, 2007 (3 pages).] His was also nicknamed "Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney" for his close working relationship with the Vice President. Mary Matalin, who worked with Libby as an adviser to Cheney during Bush's first term, said of him "He is to the vice president what the vice president is to the president."

Libby was active in the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee of the Pentagon when it was chaired by Richard Perle during the early years of the George W. Bush administration (2001–2003). At various points in his career, Libby has also held positions with the American Bar Association, been on the advisory board of the RAND Corporation's Center for Russia and Eurasia, and been a legal advisor to the United States House of Representatives, as well as served as a consultant for the defense contractor Northrop Grumman.

Libby was also actively involved in the Bush administration's efforts to negotiate the Israeli-Palestinian "road map" for peace; for example, he participated in a series of meetings with Jewish leaders in early December 2002 and a meeting with two aides of then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in mid-April 2003, culminating in the Red Sea Summit on June 4, 2004.Matthew E. Berger, [http://www.rjchq.org/News.asp?Formmode=Detail&ID=437 "As White House Menorah Is Lit, Bush Speaks of His Resolve Against Terror"] , "Jewish Telegraphic Agency", December 2, 2002, accessed March 24, 2007: "some Jewish leaders also met Wednesday [November 30, 2002] with Bush administration officials, including the deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, and Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. ... The message from those meetings, attendees said, was that the United States will not deviate from Bush's June 24 speech, in which he called for new Palestinian leadership and, possibly, a Palestinian state within three years...."] Steven R. Weisman, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE3DC163AF934A25757C0A9659C8B63 "White House Is Pressing Israelis To Take Initiatives in Peace Talks"] , "The New York Times" 17 April, 2003, accessed 23 March, 2008: "It was considered significant that the White House meeting with Mr. Sharon's aides on Tuesday [April 15, 2003] was attended on the American side not only by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, but by others in the administration whom Israel considers more sympathetic. ... These other officials included Elliott Abrams, the top White House adviser on the Middle East, as well as I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and Douglas J. Feith, under secretary of defense for policy."] Former British Foreign Secretary (2001–2006), current Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw said of Libby: "It's a toss-up whether [he] is working for the Israelis or the Americans on any given day."Qtd. by Geoffrey Wheatcroft, [http://www.newstatesman.com/200504250048 "A State Like No Other:] Israel, Once Seen As a Refuge, Has Become One of the Few Places Where Jews Are Attacked Simply for Being Jews", ("Geoffrey Wheatcroft on the troubled history of a homeland."), "The New Statesman", 25 April, 2005, accessed June 30, 2007; a book review of "Jacob's Gift: A Journey into the Heart of Belonging", by Jonathan Freedland (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2005), ISBN 0241142431; "The Question of Zion", by Jacqueline Rose (Princeton: Princeton UP, 2005); and "The Return of Anti-Semitism", by Gabriel Schoenfeld (London: Politico's, 2005); Wheatcroft quotes Straw:

....neoconservatism "is" an episode, an important and interesting one, in the intellectual and political history of Jewish America, and it is impudent to call anyone who mentions this a bigot. Schoenfeld suggests that only racist crackpots ever query the commitment of senior Washington officials, but it was Jack Straw, himself a descendant of Jewish immigrants, who said of Lewis Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff: "It's a toss-up whether Libby is working for the Israelis or the Americans on any given day."

Wheatcroft's book "The Controversy of Zion: Jewish Nationalism, the Jewish State, and the Unresolved Jewish Dilemma" (London: Perseus Books, 1996), ISBN 0201562340 (10); ISBN 978-0201562347 (13), won a National Jewish Book Award (US); the former editor of "The Spectator" (UK), he is also the author of "The Strange Death of Tory England" (London: Allen Lane, 2005); ISBN 0713998016 (10); ISBN 978-0713998016 (13). That remark by Straw is quoted by "New Statesman" editor John Kampfner in his book "Blair's Wars" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003; London: Free Press, 2004); ISBN 0743248295 (10); ISBN 978-0743248297 (13); cf. Charles Grant, [http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/grant_prospect_oct03.html "Prospect: Blair's Five Wars"] , "Centre for European Reform" (UK), October 2003, accessed 30 June, 2007 (6 pages):

Kampfner's book contains some wonderful vignettes. He describes how badly the Blair camp gets on with Vice-President Dick Cheney and his office, and particularly with Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, who is close to Israel's Likud party. In 2002, while Colin Powell was having a difficult trip in the Middle East, he complained to Jack Straw that Ariel Sharon always seemed to have advance notice of the US position. Kampfner reports that Straw later remarked, "It is a toss up whether Libby is working for the Israelis or the Americans on any given day."

] In their highly-controversial and widely-contested "Working Paper" entitled "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", University of Chicago political science professor John J. Mearsheimer and academic dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Stephen M. Walt argue that Libby was among the Bush administration's most "fervently pro-Israel ... officials" (20).John J. Mearsheimer (Department of Political Science, University of Chicago) and Stephen M. Walt (John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), [http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011/$File/rwp_06_011_walt.pdf "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy"] , online posting, "Harvard University", March 2006 (RWP06‐011), accessed 1 July, 2007. (Document features institutional disclaimer and notes that "An edited and reworked version of this paper" was published in "London Review of Books", 28.6 (23 March, 2006), "available online at www.lrb.co.uk." The LRB version entitled [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html "The Israel Lobby"] contains the same passage qtd. above in this text; it is rpt. as part of the LRB feature article entitled "The Israel Lobby Debate", incorporating a video link to "Israel lobby: does it have too much influence on American foreign policy?"; "The panellists [sic] were Shlomo Ben-Ami, Martin Indyk, Tony Judt, Rashid Khalidi, John Mearsheimer and Dennis Ross, and the moderator was Anne-Marie Slaughter." Also accessed 1 July, 2007.)] See|The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

On June 5, 2007, after Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) Washington, D.C. bureau chief Ron Kampeas observed that former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician and writer Natan Sharansky was one of many "Jews pleading leniency for Libby -- without success," and that Arye Genger, who served as a liaison between Sharon and the Bush administration, credited Libby with trying to reduce civilian casualties among Israelis and Palestinians during the second intifada.Ron Kampeas, [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20070605natanlibby.html "Sharansky Leads Jews Pleading Leniency for Libby -- Without Success"] , "Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)", 5 June, 2007, accessed, 15 June, 2007; rpt. in Ron Kampeas (JTA), [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/32743/format/html/displaystory.html "Sharansky and 173 Others Plead Leniency for Libby"] , "The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California", 8 June, 2007, accessed 15 June, 2007. All 174 sentencing letters have been released to the public; these letters have been posted and/or referred to in various online news sites and in the compiled indices of Libby-related news articles hosted by major mass media sites such as "CNN News" and "The New York Times". A central source of all the letters cited by Kampeas is the PDFlink| [http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/libby/letters.pdf "Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Project" Libby sentencing letters] |17.9 MiB , "Secrecy News" (online newsletter of the Federation of American Scientists), n.d., accessed 15 June, 2007. They are presented alphabetically, according to the last name of the writer(s).] According to the JTA, "Libby is Jewish, and a significant portion of those who had pleaded with the judge for a lenient sentence are leaders in Washington's Middle East policy community." [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/102815.html "Breaking News: Bush Commutes Libby Sentence"] , "Jewish Telegraphic Agency", 2 July, 2007, accessed 13 July, 2007.]

Awards for government service

*Distinguished Service Award, United States Department of Defense, 1993
*Distinguished Public Service Award, United States Department of the Navy, 1993
*Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service, United States Department of State, 1985

ubsequent work experience

From January 2006 until March 7, 2007, the day after his conviction in United States v. Libby, when he resigned, Libby served as a "senior advisor" at the Hudson Institute, focusing on "issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia ... offer [ing] research guidance and ... advis [ing] the institute in strategic planning."David Johnston, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E7DF1F30F934A35752C0A9609C8B63 "National Briefing: New Job for Libby"] , "The New York Times", 7 January, 2006, accessed 5 July, 2007.] His resignation was announced by the Hudson Institute in a press release dated March 8, 2007.

Involvement in the Plame affair

Between 2003 and 2005 intense speculation centered on the possibility that Libby may have been the administration official who had "leaked" classified employment information about Valerie E. Wilson (aka "Valerie Plame"), the wife of Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson and a formerly covert CIA agent, to "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller and other reporters and later tried to hide his having done so.Farhad Manjoo, [http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2005/10/11/waas/index.html "War Room: Did Scooter Libby Try to Hide His Meeting with Judith Miller?"] , "Salon", 11 October, 2005, accessed 28 June, 2007.] David Corn, [http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=57174 "Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA?"] , "Capital Games" (blog), "The Nation", 6 February, 2006, accessed 18 April, 2007.]

In August 2005, as revealed in grand jury testimony audiotapes played during the trial and reported in many news accounts, Libby testified that he met with Judith Miller, a reporter with the "New York Times", on July 8, 2003, and discussed Plame with her. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7262723 "Libby's Complete Grand Jury Testimony"] , transcript and NPR audio player clips, "National Public Radio", 9 February, 2007, accessed 29 June, 2007.] See main|Plame affair#Judith MillerAlthough Libby signed a "blanket waiver" allowing journalists to discuss their conversations with him pursuant to the CIA leak grand jury investigation, Miller maintained that such a waiver did not serve to allow her to reveal her source to that grand jury; moreover, Miller argued that Libby's general waiver pertaining to all journalists could have been coerced and that she would only testify before that grand jury if given an individual waiver.For transcripts of the trial testimony, including that by Judith Miller, "edited & with reporting by Murray Waas,", see Murray Waas, ed., with Jeff Lomonaco, "The United States v. I. Lewis Libby" (New York: Union Square Press (imprint of Sterling Publishing), 2007); ISBN 1402752598 (10); ISBN 978-1402752599 (13).]

After refusing to testify about her July 2003 meeting with Libby, Judith Miller was jailed on July 7, 2005 for contempt of court. Months later, however, her new attorney, Robert Bennett, told her that she already had possessed a written, voluntary waiver from Libby all along.Margaret Carlson, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aPiGrodGdxWo&refer=muse "Time's Pearlstine Looks Back at Plamegate, Blames Floyd Abrams"] , "Bloomberg.com", last updated June 27 2007, accessed June 29 2007.]

After Miller had served most of her sentence, Libby reiterated that he had indeed given her a "waiver" both "voluntarily and personally." He attached the following letter, which, when released publicly, became the subject of further speculation about Libby's possible motives in sending it:

As noted above, my lawyer confirmed my waiver to other reporters in just the way he did with your lawyer. Why? Because as I am sure will not be news to you, the public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear that they did not discuss Ms. Plame's name or identity with me, or knew about her before our call.
. . . .
You went to jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover – Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats, bird flu and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work — and life. Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.
With admiration, Scooter Libby.Lewis Libby, PDFlink| [http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/nat_MILLER_051001.pdf "Letter from Libby to Judith Miller"] ,|3.12 MiB "The New York Times", 15 September, 2005), accessed 17 February, 2007.] Murray Waas, [http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/1011nj1.htm "Libby Did Not Tell Grand Jury about Key Conversation"] , "The National Journal", 11 November, 2005, accessed 29 June, 2007.]

After agreeing to testify, Miller was released on September 29, 2005, appearing before the grand jury the next day, but the charge against her was rescinded only after she testified again on October 12, 2005. For her second grand jury appearance, Miller produced a notebook from a previously-undisclosed meeting with Libby on June 23, 2003, two weeks before Wilson's "New York Times" op-ed was published.Judith Miller, [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/national/16miller.html "A Personal Account: My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room"] , "New York Times", 16 October, 2005, accessed 23 March, 2008.] In her account published in the "Times" on October 16, 2005, based on her notes, Miller reports:

... in an interview with me on June 23 [2003] , Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, discussed Mr. Wilson's activities and placed blame for intelligence failures on the C.I.A. In later conversations with me, on July 8 and July 12 [2003] , Mr. Libby, ... [at the time] Mr. Cheney's top aide, played down the importance of Mr. Wilson's mission and questioned his performance. ... My notes indicate that well before Mr. Wilson published his critique, Mr. Libby told me that Mr. Wilson's wife may have worked on unconventional weapons at the C.I.A. ... My notes do not show that Mr. Libby identified Mr. Wilson's wife by name. Nor do they show that he described Valerie Wilson as a covert agent or "operative" ....

Her notes on her July 8, 2003 meeting with Libby does contain the name "Valerie Flame [sic] ," which she added retrospectively. While Miller reveals publicly that she herself had misidentified the last name of Wilson's wife (aka "Valerie Plame") in her own marginal notes on their interview as "Flame" instead of "Plame," in her grand jury (and later trial testimony), she remained uncertain when, how, and why she arrived at that name and did not attribute it to Libby:

I was not permitted to take notes of what I told the grand jury, and my interview notes on Mr. Libby are sketchy in places. It is also difficult, more than two years later, to parse the meaning and context of phrases, of underlining and of parentheses. On one page of my interview notes, for example, I wrote the name "Valerie Flame." Yet, as I told Mr. Fitzgerald, I simply could not recall where that came from, when I wrote it or why the name was misspelled. ... I testified that I did not believe the name came from Mr. Libby, in part because the notation does not appear in the same part of my notebook as the interview notes from him.

A year and a half later, a jury would convict Libby of obstruction of justice and perjury in his grand jury testimony and making false statements to federal investigators about when and how he learned that Plame was a CIA agent. [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/03/06/washington/06cnd-libby_counts_subgraph.jpg"The Counts"] , Multimedia graphic in " [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/i_lewis_libby_jr/index.html Times Topics: I. Lewis Libby Jr.] ","The New York Times", 5 March, 2007, accessed 29 June, 2007.]

Indictment and resignation

On October 28, 2005, as a result of the CIA leak grand jury investigation, Special Counsel Fitzgerald indicted Libby on five counts: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of making false statements when interviewed by agents of the FBI, and two counts of perjury in his testimony before the grand jury. Pursuant to the grand jury investigation, Libby had told FBI investigators that he first heard of Mrs. Wilson's CIA employment from Cheney, and then later heard it from journalist Tim Russert, and acted as if did not have that information.Clarice Feldman, [http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/01/libbys_defense_goes_after_anti.html "Libby's Defense Goes After Antique Media Reporters"] , "The American Thinker", 30 January, 2006, as confirmed by the playing of Libby's taped grand jury testimony in court on 7 February, 2007.] [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/07/cia.leak/index.html "Russert Says He Didn't Give Libby Agent's ID"] , "CNN.com", 8 February, 2007, accessed 14 July, 2007.] [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17020411/ "Russert Testifies in Libby Perjury Trial:] Packed Court Hears NBC Newsman Deny Identifying CIA Operative", "MSNBC", 12 February, 2007, accessed 14 July, 2007.] The indictment alleges that statements to federal investigators and the grand jury were intentionally false, in that Libby had numerous conversations about Mrs. Wilson's CIA employment, including his conversations with Judith Miller (see above), before speaking to Russert; Russert did not tell Libby about Mrs. Wilson's CIA employment; prior to talking with such reporters, Libby knew with certainty that she was employed by the CIA; and Libby told reporters that she worked for the CIA without making any disclaimer that he was uncertain of that fact. The false statements counts in the Libby indictment charge that he intentionally made those false claims to the FBI; the perjury counts charge that he intentionally lied to the grand jury in repeating those false claims; and the obstruction of justice count charges that Libby intentionally made those false statements in order to mislead the grand jury, thus impeding Fitzgerald's grand jury investigation of the truth about the leaking of Mrs. Wilson's then-classified, covert CIA identity.

Trial, conviction, and sentencing

On March 6, 2007, the jury convicted him on four of the five counts but acquitted him on count three, the second charge of making false statements when interviewed by federal agents about his conversations with "Time" reporter Matthew Cooper .

After being questioned by the FBI in the fall of 2003 and testifying before a Federal grand jury on March 5 2004, and again on March 24 2004, Libby pleaded not guilty to all five counts. According to the Associated Press, David Addington, Cheney's legal counsel, described a September 2003 meeting with Libby around the time that a criminal investigation began, saying that Libby had told him, "'I just want to tell you, I didn't do it'... I didn't ask what the 'it' was.'" [http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/1/30/122302.shtml 'Scooter' Libby Reportedly Said 'I didn't do it'"] , "Associated Press", January 30 2007, accessed February 15 2007.]

Libby retained attorney Ted Wells of the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to represent him. Wells had successfully defended former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy against a 30-count indictment and had also participated in the successful defense of former Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan.Viveca Novak, [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1998/12/07/independant.council.html "Was This a Bad Idea?] A Verdict Clearing Espy Is the Latest Sign That the Independent-Counsel Statute Is Likely to Perish", "CNN News", December 17 1998, accessed July 3 2007.]

After Judge Reggie Walton denied Libby's motion to dismiss, the press initially reported that Libby would testify at the trial.Jeralyn Merritt, [http://talkleft.com/new_archives/015796.html "Libby to Testify at His Trial"] , "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), September 23 2006, accessed January 24 2007.] Libby's criminal trial, "United States v. Libby", began on January 16 2007.

Despite earlier press reports and widespread ongoing speculations, neither Libby nor Vice President Cheney testified. The jury began deliberations on February 21, 2007.

Verdict

After deliberating for 10 days, the jury rendered its verdict on March 6, 2007.Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/03/06/DI2007030600559.html "Verdict in the Libby Trial"] , transcript, "The Washington Post" ("Live Online" discussion), 6 March, 2007, 2:00–3:00 p.m., ET.] It convicted Libby on four of the five counts against him: two counts of perjury, one count of obstruction of justice in a grand jury investigation, and one of the two counts of making false statements to federal investigators––and acquitted him on one count of making false statements.David Stout and Neil Lewis, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/washington/06cnd-libby.html "Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case] ", "The New York Times", 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.]

Comment on the verdict by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom after the verdict, Fitzgerald said that "The jury worked very long and hard and deliberated at length ... [and] was obviously convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had lied and obstructed justice in a serious manner. ... I do not expect to file any further charges". [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17479718/from/RS.2/ "Jurors Convict Libby on Four of Five Charges:] Cheney’s Ex-aide Faces Jail Time in CIA Leak Case; Sentencing Set for June", "MSNBC", 6 March, 2007, updated 9:18 p.m., ET, accessed 7 March, 2007.] [http://www.cnn.com/video/portable/promoplayer.html?mode=vod&video=/video/law/2007/03/06/sot.fitzgerald.libby.verdict.cnn&source=pop/ CNN video clip of Fitzgerald's remarks] , March 6 2007, accessed June 8 2007. (Access limited to one viewing per day.)] The trial confirmed that the leak came first from then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage; since Fitzgerald did not charge Armitage and expects to charge no one else, Libby's conviction effectively ended the investigation.Michael J. Sniffen and Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press), [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2927810 "Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial:] Ex-Cheney Aide Libby Found Guilty of Obstruction, Perjury, Lying to the FBI in CIA Leak Case", "ABC News", March 6 2007, accessed June 10 2007.]

In his October 28 2005 press conference about the grand jury's indictment, Fitzgerald had already explained that Libby's obstruction of justice through perjury and false statements had prevented the grand jury from determining whether the leak violated federal law. [http://mediamatters.org/items/200703060008 "Libby's Guilty Verdict: Media Myths and Falsehoods to Watch for"] , "Media Matters for America", March 6 2007, accessed June 8 2007.] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801340.html Transcript of Special Counsel Fitzgerald's press conference] , "The Washington Post", October 28 2005, accessed June 8 2007.]

During his media appearance outside the courtroom after the verdict in the Libby case, Fitzgerald fielded questions from the press about others involved in the Plame affair and in the CIA leak grand jury investigation, such as Armitage and Cheney, whom he had already described as "under a cloud", as already addressed in his conduct of the case and in his closing arguments in court. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17500261/ Transcript] and video clips presented on "Hardball with Chris Matthews", MSNBC, March 6 2007, 7:00–8:00 p.m., ET; repeated on March 7 2007, 3:00–4:00 a.m., ET.] Jeralyn Merritt, [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/2/24/141015/646 "Fitz Closing in Libby; Cheney Is Under a Cloud"] "TalkLeft" (accredited press blog), February 24 2007, accessed June 8 2007, observes that "Fitzgerald squarely blames Libby for putting the cloud on the Vice President," quoting from Fitzgerald's closing arguments, e.g.:

There is a cloud over the vice president. He sent Libby off to [meet with former New York Times reporter] Judith Miller at the St. Regis Hotel. At that meeting, the two hour meeting, the defendant [Libby] talked about the wife [Plame] . We didn't put that cloud there. That cloud remains because the defendant obstructed justice and lied about what happened. ... He's put the doubt into whatever happened that week, whatever is going on between the Vice President and the defendant, that cloud was there. That's not something that we put there. That cloud is something that we just can't pretend isn't there.

]

Comment on the verdict by Libby's defense team

After the verdict, initially, Libby's lawyers announced that he would seek a new trial, and that, if that attempt were to fail, they would appeal Libby's conviction. [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/cia.leak/index.html "Libby Found Guilty of Perjury, Obstruction"] , "CNN Newsroom", 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.] [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/06/cia.leak/index.html "Libby Lawyer Demands New Trial After Conviction"] , "CNN Newsroom", 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 march, 2007.] Libby did not speak to reporters."

Libby's defense team eventually decided against seeking a new trial.Ambassador Mel Sembler, Chairman, Libby Defense Trust, and the Advisory Committee, [http://www.scooterlibby.com/ "Message from the Chairman"] , "Libby Defense Trust", "scooterlibby.com", 1 June, 2007, accessed 5 June, 2007.]

entencing

Given current federal sentencing guidelines, which are not mandatory, the conviction could have resulted in a sentence ranging from no imprisonment to imprisonment of up to 25 years and a fine of $1,000,000; yet, as Sniffen and Apuzzo observe, "federal sentencing guidelines will probably prescribe far less." In practice, according to federal sentencing data, three-fourths of the 198 defendants found guilty of obstruction of justice in 2006 served jail time. The average length of jail time on this charge alone was 70 months.Richard B. Schmitt and David G. Savage, [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.libby04jul04,0,1607593.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines "Libby Sentence Met Guidelines"] , "The Baltimore Sun", 4 July 2007, accessed 5 July, 2007.]

On June 5, 2007, Judge Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison and fined him $250,000. According to Apuzzo and Yost, the judge also "placed him on two years probation after his prison sentence expires. There is no parole in the federal system, but Libby would be eligible for release after two years." In addition, Judge Walton required Libby to provide "400 hours of community service" during his supervised release.

On June 5, 2007, after the announcement of Libby's sentencing, "CNN News" reported that Libby still "plans to appeal the verdict."

That day, in response to the sentencing, Cheney issued a statement in Libby's defense on The White House website. The statement concluded: "Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070605-12.html "Vice President Statement on Libby Sentencing"] , "whitehouse.gov", June 5, 2007, accessed June 6, 2007.]

Prior to the sentencing, along with Natan Sharansky, as cited earlier, 173 others had sent Walton letters "plead [ing] for leniency" for Libby.Ron Kampeas, [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20070605natanlibby.html "Sharansky Leads Jews Pleading Leniency for Libby -- Without Success"] , "Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)", June 5, 2007, accessed June 15, 2007; rpt. in Ron Kampeas (JTA), [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/32743/format/html/displaystory.html "Sharansky and 173 Others Plead Leniency for Libby"] , "The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California", June 8, 2007, accessed June 15, 2007. All 174 "sentencing letters" (some jointly authored) have been released to the public by Judge Walton, who presided in United States v. Libby and who sentenced him on June 5, 2007; these now-public letters have been posted and/or referred to in various online news sites and in the compiled indices of Libby-related news articles hosted by major mass media sites such as "CNN News" and "The New York Times". A central source of all the letters cited by Kampeas is the PDFlink| [http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/libby/letters.pdf "Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Project" Libby sentencing letters] |17.9 MiB , "Secrecy News" (online newsletter of the Federation of American Scientists), accessed 15 June, 2007. They are presented alphabetically, according to the last name of the writer(s).]

Joseph and Valerie Wilson posted their statement on Libby's sentencing in "United States v. Libby" on their website.Joseph and Valerie Wilson, [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/node/417 "Statement from Joseph Wilson on Libby Sentencing"] , " [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] ", June 5, 2007, News, accessed June 6, 2007.]

Order to report to prison pending appeal of verdict

After the June 5 sentencing, Walton said he was inclined to jail Libby after the defense laid out its proposed appeal, but the judge told attorneys he was open to changing his mind"; however, on June 14, 2007, Walton ordered Libby to report to prison while his attorneys appealed the conviction. [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/14/libby.hearing/index.html "Judge Orders Libby Jailed during Appeal"] , "CNN News", 14 June, 2007, accessed 14 June, 2007.] Libby's attorneys asked that the order be stayed, but Walton denied the request and told Libby that he would have 10 days to appeal the ruling. In denying Libby's request, which had questioned Fitzgerald's authority to make the charges in the first place, Walton supported Fitzgerald's authority in the case. He said: "'Everyone is accountable, and if you work in the White House, and if it's perceived that somehow (you're) linked at the hip, the American public would have serious questions about the fairness of any investigation of a high-level official conducted by the attorney general.'" The judge was also responding to an Amicus curiae brief that he had permitted to be filed, which had not apparently convinced him to change his mind, as he subsequently denied Libby bail during his appeal.Cf. [http://www.scooterlibby.com/news/briefs/AmicusBrief.pdf "Motion for Leave to File Brief As Amici Curiae] and Brief of Law Professors Vikram Amar, Randy E. Barnett, Robert H. Bork, Alan M. Dershowitz, Viet D. Dinh, Douglas W. Kmiec, Gary S. Lawson, Earl M. Maltz, Thomas W. Merrill, Robert F. Nagel, Richard D. Parker, and Robert J. Pushaw As Amici Curiae in Connection with Defendant's Motion for Bail Pending Appeal", filed June 8 2007, online posting, "Scooter Libby Defense Trust", June 7 2007, accessed June 15 2007.] His "order grant [ing] the [legal academic] scholars permission to file their brief ... contained a caustic footnote questioning the motivation of the legal academics and suggesting he might not give a great deal of weight to their opinion [:] Cf. Josh Gerstein, [http://www.nysun.com/article/56207 "National: Professors Back Libby on Appeal:] Group Includes Dershowitz, Bork", "The New York Sun", June 8 2007, updated June 9 2007, accessed June 15 2007.]

... It is an impressive show of public service when twelve prominent and distinguished current and former law professors are able to amass their collective wisdom in the course of only several days to provide their legal expertise to the court on behalf of a criminal defendant. The Court trusts that this is a reflection of these eminent academics' willingness in the future to step to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this Court and throughout the courts of this nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions even in instances where failure to do so could result in monetary penalties, incarceration, or worse. The Court will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries, as necessary in the interests of justice and equity, whenever similar questions arise in the cases that come before it."

Moreover, when the hearing started, "'in the interest of full disclosure,'" Walton informed the court that he had "'received a number of harassing, angry and mean-spirited phone calls and messages. Some wishing bad things on me and my family,'" adding "'Those types of things will have no impact. ... I initially threw them away, but then there were more, some that were more hateful ... They are being kept.'" [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/14/libby.hearing/index.html "Judge Orders Libby Jailed during Appeal"] , "CNN News", 14 June, 2007, accessed 14 June, 2007.]

"New York Times" reporters Neil Lewis and David Stout estimated subsequently that Libby's prison sentence could begin within "two months," explaining that

Judge Walton’s decision means that the defense lawyers will probably ask a federal appeals court to block the sentence, a long-shot move. It also sharpens interest in a question being asked by Mr. Libby’s supporters and critics alike: Will President Bush pardon Mr. Libby? ... So far, the president has expressed sympathy for Mr. Libby and his family but has not tipped his hand on the pardon issue. ... If the president does not pardon him, and if an appeals court refuses to second-guess Judge Walton’s decision, Mr. Libby will probably be ordered to report to prison in six to eight weeks’ time. Federal prison authorities will decide where. "Unless the Court of Appeals overturns my ruling, he will have to report," Judge Walton said.Neil A. Lewis and David Stout, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/washington/14cnd-libby.htm "Judge Won't Delay Libby Prison Term"] , "The New York Times", 14 June, 2007, accessed 16 June, 2007.]

Failure of Libby's appeal of order to begin prison sentence

On June 20, 2007, Libby appealed Walton's ruling in federal appeals court.Associated Press, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/washington/20brfs-libby.htm "Libby Appeals Sentencing Ruling"] , "New York Times", 20 June, 2007, accesssed 20 June, 2007.] The next day, Walton filed a 30-page expanded ruling, in which he explained his decision to deny Libby bail in more detail.Josh Gerstein, [http://www.nysun.com/article/57156?page_no=1 "Libby Judge Files Expanded Opinion:] Details Decision Not Allowing Libby to Remain Free", "New York Sun", June 22, 2007, accessed June 22, 2007.] Reggie B. Walton, [https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2005cr0394-373 "Memorandum Opinion"] , filed 21 June, 2007, accessed 8 July, 2007.] On July 2, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Libby's request for a delay and release from his prison sentence, stating that Libby "'has not shown that the appeal raises a substantial question' under federal law that would merit letting him remain free," increasing "pressure on President George W. Bush to decide soon whether to pardon Libby ... as the former White House official's supporters have urged."Cary O'Reilly, " [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3Fg82u4qIok&refer=home Libby, Ex-Cheney Aide, Must Go to Jail During Appeal (Update2)] ", "Bloomberg.com", 2 July, 2007, accessed 2 July, 2007. According to O'Reilly, "The appeals court case is U.S. v. Libby, 07-3068, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Washington)."] Cf. Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press), [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070702.wlibby0702/BNStory/International/home "Court to Libby: Go Directly to Jail"] , "The Globe and Mail", 2 July, 2007, accessed 2 July, 2007. ["The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has not yet assigned Mr. Libby a prison or given him a date to surrender, but last week it designated him as federal inmate No. 28301-016."] ]

Presidential pardon issue

Soon after the verdict, calls for Libby to be pardoned by President George W. Bush began to appear in some newspapers; some of them are posted online by the Libby Legal Defense Trust." [http://www.scooterlibby.com/news/ Libby Legal Defense Trust: In the News] "; the Libby Legal Defense Trust also features a "Message from the Chairman", former Ambassador Mel Sembler, and the Advisory Committee, 1 June, 2007, accessed 7 March, 2007.] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a press release about the verdict, urging President Bush to pledge not to pardon Libby, and other Democratic politicians followed his lead.Harry Reid, [http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=270165& press release] , "democrats.senate.gov" 6 March, 2007, accessed 5 April, 2007; cf. news account in [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/06/cia.leak/index.html "Democrats to Bush: Don't Pardon Libby"] , CNN News 7 March, 2007, accessed 5 April, 2007.]

Surveying "the pardon battle" and citing both pro and con publications, "The Washington Post" online columnist Dan Froomkin concludes that many U.S. newspapers opposed a presidential pardon for Libby.Dan Froomkin, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/06/07/BL2007060701120.html "Many Newspapers Oppose Pardon"] , "White House Watch" (column and blog), "washingtonpost.com", June 7 2007, accessed June 7 2007.] Much of this commentary obscured the fact that the clemency power provided the President with several options short of a full, unconditional pardon. In an op-ed published in the "The Washington Post", former federal prosecutor and conservative activist William Otis argued the sentence was too stringent and that, instead of pardoning Libby, President Bush should commute his sentence.William Otis, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060602292.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 "Neither Prison Nor Pardon: Justice in the Libby Case Lies With Bush's Third Option"] , "The Washington Post", June 7 2007: A-27; online posting, "washingtonpost.com", June 7 2007, accessed June 7 2007.]

After the sentencing, President Bush stated on camera: "... [I] will not intervene until Libby's legal team has exhausted all of its avenues of appeal ... It wouldn't be appropriate for me to discuss the case until after the legal remedies have run its course."Jim Rutenberg, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/07/news/leak.php "Bush in Dilemma on Libby Pardon"] , "International Herald Tribune", June 7 2007, accessed June 7 2007.]

But, ultimately, less than a month later, on July 2, 2007, Bush chose Otis's "third option" — "neither prison nor pardon" — in commuting Libby's prison sentence.

After Libby was denied bail during his appeal process on July 2 2007, President Bush commuted Libby's 30-month federal prison sentence, calling it "excessive," but he did not change the other parts of the sentence and their conditions. That presidential commutation left in place the felony conviction, the $250,000 fine, and the terms of probation. Yet, it has been highly controversial; not only are presidential commutations rarely granted, but, when granted, they generally occur after the convicted person has already served a substantial portion of his or her sentence: "We can't find any cases, certainly in the last half-century, where the president commuted a sentence before it had even started to be served," said former Justice Department pardon attorney Margaret Colgate Love.

At the time, President Bush explained his "Grant of Executive Clemency" to Libby, in part, as follows:

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.
I respect the jury's verdict. 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 thirty months in prison.
My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

Libby's lawyer, Theodore V. Wells, Jr. "issued a brief statement saying Mr. Libby and his family 'wished to express their gratitude for the president’s decision. ... We continue to believe in Mr. Libby’s innocence,' Mr. Wells said."Scott Shane and Neil Lewis, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/washington/03libby.html "Bush Spares Libby from 30-Month Prison Term"] , "The New York Times", 3 July, 2007, accessed 3 July, 2007.]

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, however, took issue with Bush's description of the sentence as 'excessive,' saying it was 'imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. ... It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals,' Fitzgerald said. 'That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.'"Qtd. by CNN, [http://us.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/02/libby.sentence/index.html "Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Sentence"] , "us.cnn.com", 2 July, 2007 (updated periodically), accessed 3 July, 2007.]

The day after the commuting of Libby's sentence, James Rowley (Bloomberg News) reported that President Bush has not ruled out pardoning Libby in the future and that Bush's press spokesman, Tony Snow, denied any political motivation in the commutation. Quoting Snow, Rowley added: "'The president is getting pounded on the right because he didn't do a full pardon.' If Bush were 'doing the weather-vane thing' he 'would have done something differently.'"James Rowley, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=abKC.Z877YPk&refer=home "Bush Won't Rule Out Pardon for Libby as Aide Defends Clemency"] , "Bloomberg.com" 3 July, 2007, accessed 3 July, 2007.] For his full published statement in response to the commutation and the press conference about it by President Bush's press spokesman Tony Snow, see Joseph C. Wilson, [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29261 "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response to Bush Spokesman Tony Snow's Comments at Today's White House Briefing"] , online posting, "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" (CREW), 3 July, 2007, accessed 4 July, 2007; online posting, [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response ... "] and [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/node/422 "Read more"] , " [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] " (Home page), n.d., accessed 8 July, 2007.]

Nevertheless, Democratic politicians' responses stressed their outrage at what they called a disgraceful abrogation of justice, and, that evening CNN reported that Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D, Michigan) announced that there would be a formal Congressional investigation of Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence and other presidential reprieves.Anderson Cooper, "Breaking News", "Anderson Cooper 360°", broadcast on CNN, 3 July, 2007, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. EDT, accessed July 3 2007; cf. [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_070703.htm "Political Bulletin: Bush Bashed Over Libby Commutation:] Furious Democrats Will Hold Hearings", "US News and World Reports", July 3 2007, accessed July 3 2007.] [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_070703.htm "Political Bulletin: Bush Bashed Over Libby Commutation:] Furious Democrats Will Hold Hearings", "US News and World Reports", Washington News, July 3 2007, accessed July 3 2007.] See also [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29255 "President Commutes Libby's Sentence"] , "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington", July 3 2007, accessed July 4 2007.] The hearing on "The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials" was held by the United States House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Conyers, on July 11, 2007. [http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=346 "The Use and Misuse of Clemency Powers by Officials of the Executive Branch"] , "judiciary.house.gov", 11 July, 2007, accessed 11 July, 2007.] Julie Hirschfeld Davis (Associated Press), [http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jul11/0,4670,LibbyClemency,00.html "Bush Refuses to Explain Libby Order"] , "FoxNews.com", 11 July, 2007, accessed 11 July, 2007.]

In his public statement accompanying his executive clemency proclamation, President Bush stated that he believes the sentence "harsh ... based in part on allegations never presented to the jury," that "The reputation [Libby] gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," and that "The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting." Libby paid the required fine of "$250,400, which included a 'special assessment' of costs" that same day.

Just a few days later, however, Judge Walton questioned "whether ... [Libby] will face two years of probation, as [President Bush] said he would," because the supervised release time is conditioned on Libby's serving the prison sentence, and he "directed the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, and ... [Libby's] lawyers to file arguments on the point...." "If Judge Walton does not impose any supervised release, it could undercut ... [Bush's] argument that ... Libby still faced stiff justice." That issue was resolved on July 10, 2007, clearing the way for Libby to begin serving the rest of his sentence, the supervised release and 400 hours of community service.

In response to President Bush's justifications for clemency, liberal commentator Harlan J. Protass noted that in "Rita v. United States"," [http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/06-5754.ZO.html Rita v. United States] ", online posting in "Supreme Court Collection", Legal Resource Institute, Cornell University Law School, "law.cornell.edu", accessed July 4 2007.] the case of a defendant convicted of perjury in front of a grand jury which had been decided two weeks earlier by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. government had successfully argued that sentences that fall within Federal Sentencing Guidelines are presumed to be "reasonable", regardless of individual circumstances. [Harlan J. Protass, [http://www.slate.com/id/2169792/fr/flyout/ "The Quality of Mercy Is Strained:] Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence, While His Lawyers Come Down Hard On Everyone Else", "Slate", July 3 2007, accessed July 4 2007.]

Reportedly "outraged" by Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence, on July 2, 2007, Wilson told CNN: "I have nothing to say to Scooter Libby. ... I don't owe this administration. They owe my wife and my family an apology for having betrayed her. Scooter Libby is a traitor. Bush's action ... demonstrates that the White House is corrupt from top to bottom." He reiterated this perspective on the commutation in the House Judiciary Committee hearing on July 11, 2007, vehemently protesting that a Republican congressman was engaging in "yet a further smear of my wife's good name and my good name."

According to a "USA Today/Gallup Poll" conducted from July 6 to July 8, 2007, "most Americans disagree with President George W. Bush's decision to intervene" on Libby's behalf in the case.Jeffrey M. Jones (Gallup News Service), [http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28090 "Two in Three Say Bush Should Not Have Intervened in Libby Case:] Only 13% Say Commuting Sentence Was Right Thing to Do", "USA Today/Gallup Poll", 10 July, 2007, accessed 10 July, 2007: "The July 6-8 poll finds 66% of Americans saying Bush should not have intervened on Libby's behalf. Only 13% say Bush was 'right to commute Libby's sentence,' while even fewer, 6%, say Bush 'should have gone farther and granted [Libby] a full pardon.' About one in six have no opinion of the matter."]

Several months after Bush's action, Judge Walton commented publicly on it. He spoke in favor of applying the law equally, and said:

The downside [of the commutation] is there are a lot of people in America who think that justice is determined to a large degree by who you are and that what you have plays a large role in what kind of justice you receive.... [Citation| last = Diedrich| first = John| title = http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=745289| newspaper = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel| year = 2008| date = April 30, 2008| url = http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=745289]

Press coverage of Libby's trial

Blogs played a prominent role in the press coverage of Libby's trial. Scott Shane, in his article "For Liberal Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder", published in "The New York Times" on February 15, 2007, quotes Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association, who wrote that the trial was "the first federal case for which independent bloggers have been given official credentials along with reporters from the traditional news media."Scott Shane, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/washington/15bloggers.html "For Brigade of Liberal Bloggers, the Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder"] , "The New York Times", February 15 2007; updated with appended correction, 17 February, 2007, accessed March 24, 2007 ).] " [http://www.mediabloggers.org/scooter-libby-trial The Scooter Libby Trial] ", "Media Bloggers Association", February 20 2007–June 28 2007 (updated periodically), accessed June 30 2007.] The trial was followed in the mass media and engaged the interest of both professional legal experts and the general public. While awaiting the Judge's ruling pertaining to supervised release and the "400 hours of community service that Judge Walton imposed," for example, bloggers discussed the legal issues involved in these non-commuted parts of Libby's sentence and their effects on Libby's future life experiences.

Criticism of Investigation

On August 28 2006, Christopher Hitchens claimed that Richard Armitage was the primary source of the Valerie Plame leak and that Fitzgerald knew this at the beginning of his investigation. [cite web | last = Hitchens | first= Christopher | authorlink =Christopher Hitchens | title =Plame Out: Plamegate's ridiculous conclusion | publisher =Slate | date =2006-08-29 | url =http://www.slate.com/id/2148555 | accessdate =2006-09-16] "Investor's Business Daily" questioned Mr. Fitzgerald's truthfulness in an editorial, stating "From top to bottom, this has been one of the most disgraceful abuses of prosecutorial power in this country's history...The Plame case proves [Fitzgerald] can bend the truth with the proficiency of the slickest of pols." [cite news | title =Did Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald Lie? | publisher =Investor's Business Daily | date =2006-08-29 | url =http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=241744137262638 | accessdate =2006-09-16]

In September 2008, Attorney Alan Dershowitz cited the "questionable investigation" of Scooter Libby as an example of a serious structural flaw inherent in the U.S. criminal justice process. [cite news | first =Alan | last =Dershowitz | title =Indictments Are Not The Best Revenge | publisher =Wall Street Journal | date =2008-09-12 | url =http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122117524229925725.html ]

The Wilsons' civil suit

On July 13, 2006, Joseph and Valerie Wilson filed a civil lawsuit against Libby, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and other unnamed senior White House officials (among whom they later added Richard Armitage [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/13/politics/main2006236.shtml "Armitage Added to Plame Law Suit"] , "CBS News", September 13, 2006, accessed September 25, 2006; includes PDF. Cf. [http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/plame/wilsonlibby91306acmp.html Amended complaint] at "FindLaw.com".] ) for their role in the public disclosure of Valerie Wilson's classified CIA status. [Proskauer Rose LLP, [http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060713/20060713005646.html?.v=1 "Valerie Plame Wilson and Ambassador Joseph Wilson Initiate a Civil Action] Against Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby for Violations of their Constitutional and Other Legal Rights", "Yahoo Business Wire" (Press Release), July 13, 2006, accessed July 15, 2006; cf. PDFlink| [http://howappealing.law.com/PlameAddressOrder.pdf "Lame Plame Game Flames Out"] |41.8 KiB , rpt. in "How Appealing" (blog), July 13, 2006, accessed July 15. 2006.] Judge John D. Bates dismissed the Wilson's lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds on July 19, 2007.Associated Press, [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-19-plame-lawsuit_N.htm "Valerie Plame's Lawsuit Dismissed"] , "USA Today", July 19, 2007, accessed 19 July, 2007.] [ [http://us.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/19/cia.leak/index.html "Judge Tosses Out Ex-Spy's Lawsuit Against Cheney in CIA Leak Case"] , "CNN.com", July 19, 2007, accessed July 19, 2007.] Carol D. Leonnig, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071901395.html?hpid=topnews "Plame's Lawsuit Against Top Officials Dismissed"] , "The Washington Post", 20 July, 2007, accessed 20 July, 2007.] [https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2006cv1258-52 "Memorandum Opinion"] , in "Valerie Wilson, et al., Plaintiffs, v. I. Lewis Libby, Jr., et al., Defendants", "Civil Action No. 06-1258 (JDB)", "United States District Court for the District of Columbia", 19 July, 2007, accessed 20 July, 2007.] The Wilsons appealed Bates's district-court decision the next day. [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] Home Page, [July 20, 2007] , accessed July 27, 2007. Cf. [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29517 "Statement on Ambassador Joseph and Valerie Wilsons' Appeal Filed on July 20"] , "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" (CREW), July 20, 2007, accessed July 27, 2007.]

ee also

*Iraq War
*List of disbarred attorneys
*Neoconservativism
*Plame affair criminal investigation
*Plame affair timeline
*Project for the New American Century

Notes

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050211141618/http://www.fpc.state.gov/8488.htm "Biographies of White House Senior Staff: Lewis Libby] ". "United States Department of State", February 2005. Archived by "web.archive.org". Accessed 8 July, 2007.
*Bromell, Nick. [http://www.theamericanscholar.org/archives/wi07/scooterandme-bromell.html "Scooter Libby and Me"] . "The American Scholar" (Phi Beta Kappa) (Winter 2007). Accessed 8 June, 2007.
*–––. [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/24/scooter_libby/index_np.html "Scooter's Tragic Innocence:] Why My Friend Scooter Libby Is Loyal to Bush, Cheney and an Arrogant Administration Whose Values Are Not His Own". "Salon", 24 January, 2007. Accessed 8 June, 2007. (Premium content; restricted access).
*Dickerson, John. [http://www.slate.com/id/2128530/ "Who Is Scooter Libby?] The Secretive Cheney Aide at the Heart of the CIA Leak Case". "Slate", 21 October, 2005. Accessed 28 June, 2007.
*Frankel, Max. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine/25Libby.t.html?ref=magazine "The Washington Back Channel"] . "The New York Times", 25 March, 2007. Accessed 23 March, 2008.
*Garfield, Bob. [http://onthemedia.org/yore/transcripts/transcripts_111105_judith.html "'Former New York Times Staffer Judith Miller'"] . "On the Media from NPR", National Public Radio, WCNY-FM, 11 November, 2005. Accessed 5 March, 2007. (Transcript and RealAudio link.)
* [http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1271 "I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"] . "Right Web" (International Relations Center). Last updated 21 March, 2007. Accessed 1 July, 2007.
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf "Indictment"] in "United States of America vs. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby". "United States Department of Justice", 28 October, 2005. Accessed 5 July, 2007.
*Libby, Lewis. "The Apprentice: A Novel". Rpt. ed. 1996; New York: Griffin, 2005. ISBN 0312284535 (10). ISBN 978-0312284534 (13).
* [http://mediamatters.org/items/200703060008 "Libby's Guilty Verdict: Media Myths and Falsehoods to Watch for"] . "Media Matters for America", 6 March, 2007. Accessed 8 June, 2007.
*Markels, Alex. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4974546 "Legal Affairs: I. Lewis Libby: The Plight of a Disciplined Risk-Taker"] . "National Public Radio", 28 October, 2005. Accessed 5 March, 2007.
*Merritt, Jeralyn, moderator. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/03/06/DI2007030600559.html "Verdict in the Libby Trial"] . Transcript. "The Washington Post" ("Live Online" discussion), 6 March, 2007, 2:00–3:00 p.m., ET. Accessed 6 March, 2007. (Duration: one hour.) N.B.: "Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties."
*PDFlink| [http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/USA-v-Libby_Rules-of-Order.pdf "Order"] |36.9 KiB in "United States of America, v. I. Lewis Libby, Defendant". Criminal No. 05-394 (RBW). United States District Court for the District of Columbia, filed 10 January, 2007. Accessed 10 February, 2007. ["USA-v-Libby_Rules-of-Order.pdf".]
* [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29255 "President Commutes Libby's Sentence:] Calls 30-month Term for Ex-Cheney Aide 'excessive'". "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington", 3 July, 2007. Accessed 4 July, 2007.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041011015018/http://www.results.gov/leadership/bio_268.html "Scooter Libby -- White House] : Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President". Archived White House biography from 2004. Accessed February 10, 2007.
*Waas, Murray. [http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0209nj1.htm "Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information".] "National Journal", February 9 2006. Accessed March 6 2007.
*–––, ed., with Jeff Lomonaco. "The United States v. I. Lewis Libby". New York: Union Square Press (imprint of Sterling Publishing), 2007. ISBN 1402752598 (10). ISBN 978-1402752599 (13). ("Edited & with reporting by Murray Waas" and with research assistance by Jeff Lomonaco.)
*Weisman, Steven. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE3DC163AF934A25757C0A9659C8B63 "White House Is Pressing Israelis To Take Initiatives in Peace Talks"] . "The New York Times", 17 April, 2003. Accessed 23 March, 2008.
*Wilson, Joseph C. [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29261 "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response to Bush Spokesman Tony Snow's Comments at Today's White House Briefing"] . Online posting. "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" (CREW), 3 July, 2007. Accessed 4 July, 2007. Online posting. [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response ... "] and [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/node/422 "Read more"] , " [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] " (Home page), n.d. Accessed 8 July, 2007. (Concerning President Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence.)
*–––. [http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=205 "Statement in Response to Jury's Verdict in U.S. v. I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"] (now outdated URL). Press release. Originally posted online. "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" (CREW), 6 March, 2007. Accessed 6 March, 2007. Posted as [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/27276 "CREW Statement on Libby Conviction: No Man Is Above the Law."] "Citizens ^Blogging for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" (blog), 6 March, 2007. Accessed 18 April, 2007. Also posted as [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/node/313 "Wilsons' Attorney Statement in Response to Jury's Verdict in U.S. v. I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"] . " [http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] ", 6 March, 2007, home page. Accessed 18 April, 2007.

External links

*" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/09/29/LI2005092901976.html Background on the Plame Investigation] " at "The Washington Post". Accessed 20 July, 2007.
*" [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/cia.leak/index.html CNN Special Reports: CIA Leak Investigation] " compiled by "CNN Newsroom"; incl. interactive timeline in "Case History". Updated periodically. Accessed 10 July, 2007. (Includes events relating to Lewis Libby's federal trial.)
*"I L [sic] Lewis Libby". Listing for "I. Lewis Libby, Jr.", via "For Lawyers > Ethics > Attorney Discipline > Attorney Discipline Database" at the [http://www.dcbar.org/ District of Columbia Bar] official searchable website. Accessed 19 April, 2008.
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7262723 "Legal Affairs: Lewis Libby's Complete Grand Jury Testimony"] . Full audio clip and transcript provided by National Public Radio on "npr.org", 7 February, 2007. Accessed 17 February, 2007. (8 hours.)
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7339581 "The Lewis Libby Case"] . Archive of articles concerning I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby broadcast on National Public Radio. Updated periodically. Accessed 10 July, 2007.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070627151434/http://www.scooterlibby.com/ Libby Legal Defense Trust] – Archived at "web.archive.org", June 21, 2007. Website sponsored by friends and supporters of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, which incorporated links to a brief biography and "News" (Press releases; news reports; "Legal Filings" and "Statements" relating to Libby's defense in United States v. Libby; only some links archived). [Prior to Libby's dropping his appeal of his conviction, this site was updated periodically. No longer active at when access attempted on January 9, 2008.]
* [http://dir.salon.com/topics/scooter_libby/index.html "Scooter Libby" Index] at "Salon.com".
*" [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/i_lewis_libby_jr/index.html Times Topics: I. Lewis Libby Jr.] " (Index of news articles pertaining to Libby published in "The New York Times"; incorporates: "The Counts", a summary of the Libby trial verdict; [http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/LIBBYDIARY.html "Diary of the Leak Trial"] , a graphical timeline; and multimedia links. Accessed 10 July, 2007.
*" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/070306/GAL-07Mar06-67257/index.html United States v. I. Lewis Libby] ". Photo gallery with news captions at "The Washington Post". Accessed 17 July, 2007.

Persondata
NAME=Libby, I. Lewis, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Scooter
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH=August 22, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH=New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=