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Judge orders jail time for Libby in CIA leak case
The former White House aide was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in jail, plus a fine of $250,000.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the June 6, 2007 edition
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Washington - US federal judge to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby: Your lies blocked an extremely serious investigation, and as a result you will indeed go to prison.
That may be the bottom line from Tuesday's sentencing hearing for Mr. Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Libby's lawyers had asked for probation for their client, who in March was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in the 2003 outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame.
Instead, US District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 2-1/2 years in jail, plus a fine of $250,000.
"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," said Judge Walton.
A tough sentence for Libby was unfair, his attorneys argued in court, because of the nature of the investigation into the politically charged Plame affair. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald never proved that someone knowingly leaked to the press Ms. Plame's identity as a covert CIA employee. Indeed, no one – besides Libby – was ever charged in the case.
"The government did not establish the existence of an [underlying] offense," attorney William Jeffress said.
But the judge did not buy this line of argument. It is one thing to obstruct a petty larceny, he said. "It's another thing if you obstruct a murder investigation," said Walton.
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