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Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:50:57 -0400
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From: "James M. Atkinson" <jm..._at_tscm.com>
Subject: Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison
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http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/libby-sentenced-to-30-months-in-prison/20070605022009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Updated:2007-06-05 12:04:40
Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison
By MATT APUZZO
AP
WASHINGTON (June 5) -- Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter"
Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for lying and
obstructing the CIA leak investigation.
Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney ,
stood calmly before a packed courtroom as a federal judge said the
evidence overwhelmingly proved his guilt.
"People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the
welfare and security of nation in their hands, have a special
obligation to not do anything that might create a problem," U.S.
District Judge Reggie B. Walton said.
Libby is the highest-ranking official convicted of a crime since the
Iran Contra affair.
At the start of the proceedings, Special Prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald indicated he wanted to put Libby in prison for up to three
years because the investigation he was convicted of obstructing --
the leak of a CIA operative's identity -- was so important.
"We need to make the statement that the truth matters ever so much,"
Fitzgerald said.
Libby's attorneys were seeking no jail time. They argue it's unfair
to increase the sentence simply because of the nature of the
investigation, particularly since Fitzgerald never proved the leak
was a crime.
"No one was ever charged. Nobody ever pleaded guilty," attorney
William Jeffress said. "The government did not establish the
existence of an offense."
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who has a reputation as a tough
judge, didn't accept that. By that reasoning, Walton said, witnesses
benefit if they aggressively obstruct investigations so prosecutors
can't make their case.
"I just can't buy in on that being good social policy," said Walton,
who has a reputation as a tough sentencing judge. "It's one thing if
you obstruct a petty larceny. It's another thing if you obstruct a
murder investigation."
Walton's preliminary ruling doesn't necessarily foretell Libby's
sentence. But it does make it harder for Libby's attorneys to argue
for no jail time because it raises the seriousness of his offense.
Theodore Wells, another of Libby's defense attorneys, urged Walton to
consider Libby's career of government service. Before joining the
White House staff, Libby served in the State Department and Pentagon
and is known as an expert on weapons of mass destruction and
biological threats.
"There are a lot of lawyers, people who go to law school, who come
from privileged backgrounds, who do squat for their country, who do
nothing for others," Wells said.
In support of Libby's bid for probation, many prominent people wrote
letters to Walton. Among the letter writers were: former Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff; former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger;
and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
"My hope and prayer is that his outstanding record, his many
contributions to our country and his value as a citizen, will be
considered carefully," Rumsfeld wrote.
Libby was to have the opportunity to speak publicly about the charges
later in the day. He has not discussed the case since his 2005
indictment. Throughout his monthlong trial, and following his
conviction in March, he always let his lawyers do the talking.
Defense attorneys have not said whether Libby actually will speak.
It's a delicate decision, one made more difficult because Libby has
maintained his innocence and is appealing his conviction.
"The only thing any sentencing judge wants to hear is remorse, and if
they don't think it comes from the heart or they think they're only
sorry for getting caught, for losing their job, or for going to jail,
it doesn't count," said Hugh Keefe, a Connecticut defense attorney
who teaches trial advocacy at Yale University.
Libby was convicted of lying to investigators about what he told
reporters regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose identity was
leaked to reporters in 2003 after her husband began criticizing the
Bush administration's war policies.
He can't offer too much of an apology, however, without jeopardizing
his appeal. A general apology, one in which Libby expresses regret
for the drawn-out litigation and the pain he's caused his family,
leaves him exposed to another Fitzgerald attack for not showing
genuine remorse.
If Walton sends Libby to prison, he must decide whether to put that
sentence on hold while the appeal plays out. If he grants such a
delay, it would give Bush more time to consider a pardon for Libby.
The president has said he's going to stay out of it until the legal
case is over, a decision that's harder if his former aide is headed to prison.
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