US News
Cheney's former top aide accepts conviction photo (Roundup)
Dec 10, 2007, 18:48 GMT
Washington - US Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide will not fight his conviction on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from the leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Monday.
I Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, was spared a 30-month prison term when President George W Bush commuted his sentence in July. He had pursued his appeal in federal court in a bid to clear his name.
But Libby now decided that seeking 'complete vindication' placed too great a burden on his family, his lawyer, Ted Wells, said in a statement. Libby has two young children.
'We remain firmly convinced of Mr Libby's innocence,' Wells said.
Libby, 57, was convicted of lying during a probe of whether the Bush administration intentionally exposed CIA operative Valerie Plame in retaliation for her diplomat husband's criticism of the Iraq war.
After Bush's act of clemency, Libby was left with a 250,000-dollar fine, 400 hours of community service and two years' probation.
Bush, who said prison time for Libby would be 'excessive,' could issue a pardon, wiping the conviction off the books. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino refused to speculate on the issue Monday.
'If he chooses to pursue a pardon, there is that route,' she told reporters.
The Plame affair became a cause celebre in Washington political circles and a rallying point for the Bush administration's critics.
Her name appeared in a 2003 newspaper column after her husband, former US diplomat Joseph Wilson, criticised the Iraq war.
Wilson claims his wife was unmasked in retaliation for a newspaper article he wrote that refuted one of the administration's arguments for the Iraq war - that Saddam Hussein tried to buy yellowcake uranium from the African country of Niger.
Libby's defenders point out that the case's federal prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, knew beforehand that the leak came from the US State Department's number-two official, Richard Armitage, not Libby.
Revealing the name of a US secret agent can be a crime. Armitage has not been charged.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Lou Libby never outed Plame. He was never charged with that, and the person who did, Richard Armitige admitted to doing it, and told the prosecutor, who gagged the evidence to convict Libby.
What he was charged for was obstruction of justice, which old Lou has a better case than the government on.
Bill Crinton, walked up to a federal judge, and lied under oath, HE got away with it, unlike Libby, who never really lied in the first place.
It seems as if you don't get it. Libby was charged, tried convicted and sentenced in accordance with the laws of your country. He is therefore a criminal. 'He never really lied.' You raving idiot. You lunatic. You are out of touch with reality. He either lied or he didn't. The courts said he did. Stop being a revisionist. All your shucking and jiving and transference and molly coddling and apologizing for all things republican will not change that fact. He is a criminal closely tied to other, as yet unconvicted, criminals like Cheney and Bush.
You are such an idiot!
'Bill Crinton, walked up to a federal judge, and lied under oath, HE got away with it, unlike Libby, who never really lied in the first place.'
He did not 'get away with it'. He lost his license to practice law and disgraced the office. Libby did everything in his power to keep the truth about the outing of Plame, and he was convicted of 'obstruction of justice' (look it up you dumb as-, he was convicted of exactly what he did). Now he will get a pardon and the neo-cons can sit around and laugh while they count their money. Unfortunately you are to stupid to take part in this game, and have only enough education to spout things without any supporting facts.
I am envious.
The entry dated: Dec 11th, 2007 - 00:31:50 said it so elegantly, that I turned green with envy.
Humbled, I can offer only a heartfelt: 'AMEN!'
...why not wait for the Clintons to come back and just BUY one, like Marc Rich?!
Libby was convicted of Obstruction in testimony for something that was not even against the law. My, how easy it is for the federal government to destroy a man.
Yes SP4 'Libby was convicted of Obstruction in testimony for something that was not even against the law. My, how easy it is for the federal government to destroy a man.'
The scumball got exactly what he deserved!
page: 1
so..Dec 10th, 2007 - 22:41:09
The Republicans hounded Clinton for Lewinski and then let someone who put a dutiful government agent at risk off with a fine and community service. No proportion.
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