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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 6th,
2007 - Libby Given 30 Months for Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case |
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Libby Given 30 Months for
Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case By Neil A. Lewis New York Times June 6, 2007 Washington, June 5 - I.
Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and
one of the principal architects of President Bush’s foreign policy, was
sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying during a C.I.A. leak
investigation that became part of a fierce debate over the war in Iraq. The sentence ordered by
Judge Reggie B. Walton of Federal District Court and his refusal so far to
delay its enactment means that Mr. Libby may have to report to prison in
about two months. That was expected to prompt Mr. Libby’s supporters to
accelerate their calls for Mr. Bush to grant him a pardon, although a White
House spokeswoman offered a discouraging view of that possibility Tuesday. Mr. Libby, who was once one
of the most powerful men in government and was heavily involved in planning
both Iraq wars, stood calmly in the well of the court as Judge Walton said he
appreciated his long service to the country, the record of which was put
forward by his lawyers as an argument for probation and no prison time. But, the judge said, “People
who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security
of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything
that might create a problem.” Judge Walton, who presided
over the trial that ended in March with Mr. Libby’s conviction on four felony
counts, said the evidence was overwhelming that Mr. Libby had obstructed
justice and lied to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents investigating the
disclosure of the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative,
Valerie Wilson. The sentence was several
months longer than the minimum recommended by federal sentencing guidelines,
based on what Judge Walton said was his agreement with prosecutors that Mr.
Libby’s crimes obscured an investigation into a serious matter and that his
lies obliged the government to engage in a long and costly investigation that
might have been avoided had he told the truth. If Mr. Libby goes to prison,
he will be the first senior White House official to do so since the days of
Watergate, when several of President Richard M. Nixon’s top aides, including
H. R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, served prison terms. In the second setback to Mr.
Libby, Judge Walton refused a request by defense lawyers to delay the
sentence until Mr. Libby’s appeals are exhausted. Unless the judge reverses
his position, as Mr. Libby’s lawyers will press for in arguments next week,
or unless Mr. Bush grants a pardon, the Bureau of Prisons is expected to
order Mr. Libby to report to a federal prison in the next 45 to 60 days. Mr. Bush, who learned of the
sentence while traveling in Europe, expressed sympathy for Mr. Libby and his
family through a spokeswoman, Dana Perino, who was accompanying the president
on Air Force One from the Czech Republic to Germany. But as to the
possibility of a pardon, Ms. Perino said only, “The president has not
intervened so far in this or any other criminal matter, so he’s going to
decline to do so now as well.” Several Republicans advisers
close to the White House, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday
that they were perplexed as to why Mr. Bush seemed reluctant to acquiesce in
pardoning Mr. Libby. Mr. Bush has pardoned more than 100 people so far, but
none have been prominent. An intriguing question for
many is what role Mr. Cheney will play in pressing Mr. Bush to grant a
pardon. In a statement, Mr. Cheney noted that Mr. Libby was appealing the
verdict and said that he and his wife, Lynne, “hope that our system will
return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man.” Judge Walton issued his
sentence after intense arguments by both sides over the significance of Mr.
Libby’s crimes, and after sifting through scores of letters asking for
leniency that were sent to the court by notable figures, including former
Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, former Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld, and Paul D. Wolfowitz, who recently resigned as president of the
World Bank and who is a former professor and government supervisor of Mr.
Libby. Neither Mr. Bush nor Mr. Cheney were among the 150 people who wrote
letters of support. In addition, Mr. Libby, who
did not testify in his own defense at the trial, delivered a brief statement,
asking Judge Walton to “consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole
life.” Mr. Libby, who has continued to maintain his innocence, did not offer
any words that would have hinted at an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Mr. Libby was not charged
with leaking Ms. Wilson’s name, which first appeared in a column by Robert D.
Novak on July 14, 2003. Mr. Novak’s sources were later revealed to be Richard
L. Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state, and Karl Rove, Mr. Bush’s
senior political adviser in the White House, neither of whom was charged with
violating the law prohibiting the disclosure of the identities of C.I.A.
officers. But Mr. Libby was indicted
on charges of lying about his conversations with reporters about Ms. Wilson.
Mr. Libby argued that the three reporters who contradicted his grand jury
testimony were incorrect and that, in any event, he was too pressed by other
business to remember details about any conversations concerning Ms. Wilson. A Libby defense lawyer,
Theodore V. Wells Jr., asked Judge Walton to sentence Mr. Libby to probation
or home confinement. He urged the judge to take account of Mr. Libby’s long
record as a public official, saying that was not an appeal for special
treatment but for consideration of the way he had lived his life. Mr. Wells
said Mr. Libby had already been punished, through “public humiliation,” hate
mail, the virtually certain loss of his license to practice law and the
desire of some people to make him “the poster child” for all that has gone
wrong with the Iraq war. “He has fallen from public
grace,” Mr. Wells said, his voice dropping to a hush. “It is a tragic fall.” Many of Mr. Libby’s
supporters have hoped he would remain free on bail for more than a year
during any appeals. In that view, Mr. Bush might find it more palatable to
issue a pardon down the road, perhaps just before leaving office. A spokeswoman for a legal
defense fund on behalf of Mr. Libby would not comment Tuesday. But several of
the fund’s organizers have urged that Mr. Libby be pardoned if necessary to
avoid a prison sentence, including Fred D. Thompson, the actor and former
senator from Tennessee who has made it clear that he is likely to seek the
Republican nomination for president. In court on Tuesday, the
chief prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, urged Judge Walton to issue a stiff
sentence that would “send a message that the truth matters.” Mr. Fitzgerald
said Mr. Libby’s misstatements had made it difficult for law enforcement
officers to figure out the truth “in a hall of mirrors.” In addition to the prison
sentence, Judge Walton fined Mr. Libby $250,000. There is no parole in the
federal system, but an inmate may be eligible for a reduction of up to 54
days a year for good behavior. Judge Walton, who is
generally regarded as a firm, by-the-book jurist, rejected the request to
delay enacting the sentence. The judge said there was no issue that Mr.
Libby’s lawyers could appeal that seemed to present a reasonable chance of
succeeding. But he relented somewhat and said they could file briefs next
week detailing their arguments that there were two reasonable grounds for
appeal: that Mr. Fitzgerald’s appointment as a special counsel was improper
and that Judge Walton had erred in prohibiting the defense team from
presenting experts on the fallibility of human memory. The only other figure from
the Bush White House to have been convicted of a serious crime is David
Safavian, a lower-ranking official who has been sentenced to 18 months in
connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Mr. Safavian’s sentence
has been stayed pending his appeal. Jim Rutenberg contributed
reporting. Copyright 2007 The New York
Times Company External link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/washington/06libby.html |