Scooter Libby

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (first name generally given as Irv, Irve or Irving;[1] born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer[2][3] and former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Irving "Scooter" Libby
Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 2001 – October 28, 2005
Vice President	Dick Cheney
Preceded by	Charles Burson
Succeeded by	David Addington
Personal details
Born	August 22, 1950 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Harriet Grant
Children	2
Education	Yale University (BA) Columbia University (JD)

From 2001 to 2005, Libby held the offices of Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States,[4] and Assistant to the President during the administration of President George W. Bush.

In October 2005,[5] Libby resigned from all three government positions after he was indicted on five counts by a federal grand jury concerning the investigation of the leak of the covert identity of Central Intelligence Agency officer Valerie Plame Wilson.[6] He was subsequently convicted of four counts (one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, and one count of making false statements),[7] making him the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since John Poindexter, the national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan in the Iran–Contra affair.[8]

After a failed appeal, President Bush commuted Libby's sentence of 30 months in federal prison, leaving the other parts of his sentence intact.[9] As a consequence of his conviction in United States v. Libby, Libby's license to practice law was suspended until being reinstated in 2016.[3] President Donald Trump fully pardoned Libby on April 13, 2018.[10][11][12]

Personal history

Background and education

Libby was born to an affluent Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut; his late father, Irving Lewis Liebowitz, was an investment banker.[7][13][14][15]

Libby graduated from the Eaglebrook School, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, a junior boarding school, in 1965.[15] The family lived in the Washington region, Miami, and Connecticut prior to Libby's graduation from Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1968.[16]

He and his elder brother, Hank, a retired tax lawyer, were the first in the family to graduate from college.[16] Libby matriculated at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in Fall 1968, graduating magna cum laude in 1972.[17][18] 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."[17][18] 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."[18] Wolfowitz became a significant mentor in his later professional life.[7][19][16][18]

In 1975, as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Libby received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia Law School.[20][21]

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 & 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.'"[22][23] Libby and Grant married in the early 1990s, have a son and a daughter, and live in McLean, Virginia.[14][23][24]

First name and suffix

Libby has been secretive about his full name.[13][22] He was prosecuted as I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby". National Public Radio's Day to Day reported[13] that the 1972 Yale Banner (the yearbook of Yale University) gave his name as Irve Lewis Libby Jr.; it is unclear if Irve is his given name, or if it is short for Irving, as it was for his father. CBS,[20] the BBC,[25] and the New York Times's John Tierney have all used this spelling of his first name. The Times's Eric Schmitt spelled it Irv,[22] though he cited a phone interview with Libby's brother, and did not clarify if he had asked for a spelling.

At times, including in the Yale Banner, and as documented in a federal directory cited by Ron Kampeas and others, Libby has used the suffix Jr. after his name.[26][13][14] 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.[6] The Columbia Alumni Association online directory lists him as I. Lewis Libby, with a first name of "I." and birth first name of "Irve".[27]

Nickname

Libby has also been secretive about the origin of his nickname Scooter. The New York Times's Eric Schmitt, citing the aforementioned interview with Libby's brother, wrote that "His nickname 'Scooter' derives from the day [his] father watched him crawling in his crib and joked, 'He's a Scooter!'"[22]

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."[28]

The Apprentice

Libby's only novel, The Apprentice, about a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903, during a smallpox epidemic in the run-up to the Russo-Japanese War, 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).[29][30][31] An allegorical meditation on the legitimacy of concealed knowledge, The Apprentice has been described as "a thriller ... that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape."[31]

Law career

After earning his J.D. from Columbia in 1975, Libby joined the firm of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP.[23] He was admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976,[32][33][34] and to the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on May 19, 1978.[35][36]

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.[23] In 1985, returning to private practice, he joined the firm then known as Dickstein, Shapiro & 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.[23][32][34][37]

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 & 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. His work there was well regarded, with President Clinton recognizing Libby as one of three "distinguished Republican lawyers" who worked on the Marc Rich pardon case.[38]

In 2001 Libby left the firm to return to work again in government, as Vice President Cheney's chief of staff.[34][37][39]

Fugitive billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, who, along with his business partner Pincus Green, had been indicted 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.[40] 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".[41] 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.'"[7] According to a 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". (p. 162)[40]

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.[42] The Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals recommended disbarment upon confirmation of his conviction, which Libby had initially indicated that he would appeal.[43] 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 disbarment if his conviction were not overturned on appeal.[35][36][43] On December 10, 2007, Libby's lawyers announced his decision "to drop his appeal of his conviction in the CIA leak case".[44] On March 20, 2008, following the dropping of his appeal of his conviction, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals disbarred Libby.[45] 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";[46] 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.[18][34] From 1982 to 1985, Libby served as director of special projects in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[39] 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.[34] 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.[39]

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 to 1993.[39] In 1992 he also served as legal adviser for the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China.[34] 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.[20] 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).[20][47] 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".[20][34][48][49][50]

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.[51] He 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."[20][48]

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).[34] 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 adviser to the United States House of Representatives, as well as served as a consultant for the defense contractor Northrop Grumman.[34]

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.[52][53] 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).[54]

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[39]

Subsequent 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 adviser" 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".[19][55][56] His resignation was announced by the Hudson Institute in a press release dated March 8, 2007.[55] However, he has served as Senior Vice President of the Hudson Institute at least since 2010.[57]

Libby also serves as a member of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national biodefense. In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33 step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge, the Study Panel assembled in Washington D.C. for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the Vice President authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.

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 Plame, a covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent and the wife of Iraq War critic Joseph C. Wilson, to New York Times reporter Judith Miller and other reporters and later tried to hide his having done so.[58][59]

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.[60]

Although 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.[61]

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.[62]

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.[61][63][64]

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.[65] 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.[65] 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 CIA. 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 CIA. ... 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"...[65]

Her notation 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.[65]

A year and a half later, a jury convicted 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.[26][61][66]

On April 13, 2018, Libby was pardoned by President Donald Trump.[67]

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.[6][68][69][70] 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 he did not have that information.[71][72][73] 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.[6][72][73] The false statements counts in the Libby indictment charge that he intentionally made those false statements to the FBI; the perjury counts charge that he intentionally lied to the grand jury in repeating those false statements; 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.[6]

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.[26]

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.'"[74]

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.[75]

After Judge Reggie Walton denied Libby's motion to dismiss, the press initially reported that Libby would testify at the trial.[76] Libby's criminal trial, United States v. Libby, began on January 16, 2007. A parade of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists testified, including Bob Woodward, Walter Pincus and Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post and Judith Miller and David E. Sanger of The New York Times. Despite earlier press reports and widespread speculation, neither Libby nor Vice President Cheney testified.[61] The jury began deliberations on February 21, 2007.

Verdict

After deliberating for 10 days, the jury rendered its verdict on March 6, 2007.[77] 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.[26][78]

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."[79][80][81] The trial confirmed that the leak came first from then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage; since Fitzgerald did not charge Armitage and did not charge anyone else, Libby's conviction effectively ended the investigation.[66]

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.[82]

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.[81][82][83][84]

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.[79][85] Libby did not speak to reporters.[66] Libby's defense team eventually decided against seeking a new trial.[86]

Sentencing

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."[66] 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.[87]

On June 5, 2007, Judge Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison and fined him $250,000,[88] clarifying that Libby would begin his sentence immediately.[89] 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." [90][91] In addition, Judge Walton required Libby to provide "400 hours of community service" during his supervised release.[92] On June 5, 2007, after the announcement of Libby's sentencing, CNN News reported that Libby still "plans to appeal the verdict".[88]

That day, in response to the sentencing, Vice President 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."[93]

Joseph and Valerie Wilson posted their statement on Libby's sentencing in United States v. Libby on their website.[94]

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.[89] 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.[89] 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."[89] 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.[95] 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[:][96]

... 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."[96]

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 ... [T]hose types of things will have no impact ... I initially threw them away, but then there were more, some that were more hateful ... [T]hey are being kept."[89]

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.[97]

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

On June 20, 2007, Libby appealed Walton's ruling in federal appeals court.[98] The following day, Walton filed a 30-page expanded ruling, in which he explained his decision to deny Libby bail in more detail.[99][100]

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."[101][102]

Presidential commutation

Soon after the verdict, calls for Libby to be pardoned by President George W. Bush began to appear in some newspapers; some of them were posted online by the Libby Legal Defense Trust (LLDT).[103] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a press release about the verdict, urging Bush to pledge not to pardon Libby, and other Democratic politicians followed his lead.[104]

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.[105] 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 Washington Post, former federal prosecutor and conservative activist William Otis argued the sentence was too stringent and that, instead of pardoning Libby, Bush should commute his sentence.[106]

After the sentencing, Bush stated on camera that he would "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."[107] 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.[108][9]

After Libby was denied bail during his appeal process on July 2, 2007, 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.[9] That presidential commutation left in place the felony conviction, the $250,000 fine, and the terms of probation.[108][9] Some have criticized the move, as presidential commutations are rarely issued, but when granted they have generally occurred 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.[87] Others, notably Cheney himself who argued that Libby was unfairly charged by a politically motivated prosecution, believed that the commutation fell short, as Libby would likely never practice law again.[109]

At the time, 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.[108][110]

Bush's explanation was written by Fred F. Fielding, White House Counsel during the last two years of Bush's presidency. According to a Time Magazine article published six months after Bush left office, Fielding worded the commutation "in a way that would make it harder for Bush to revisit it in the future ... ; [the] language was intended to send an unmistakable message, internally as well as externally: No one is above the law." The article suggested that there was a fundamental difference between how Bush and Cheney viewed the "War on Terror", with aides close to Bush feeling that Cheney had misled the President and damaged the administration's moral character with the Plame leak.[109]

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'. ... "[111]

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, however, took issue with Bush's description of the sentence as 'excessive', saying it was "[i]mposed 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 ... [T]hat principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing," Fitzgerald said.[112]

The day after the commuting of Libby's sentence, James Rowley (Bloomberg News) reported that Bush had 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.'"[113][114]

Democratic politicians' responses stressed their outrage at what they called a disgraceful abrogation of justice, and, that evening CNN reported that Representative John Conyers, Jr., Democrat of Michigan, announced that there would be a formal Congressional investigation of Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence and other presidential reprieves.[115][116][117]

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.[118][119]

In his public statement accompanying his executive clemency proclamation, 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."[108][9] Libby paid the required fine of "$250,400, which included a 'special assessment' of costs" that same day.[120]

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. ... "[120] "If Judge Walton does not impose any supervised release, it could undercut ... [Bush's] argument that ... Libby still faced stiff justice."[120] 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.[121]

In response to Bush's justifications for clemency, liberal commentator Harlan J. Protass noted that in Rita v. United States,[122] 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.[123]

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."[112][114] 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."[118][119]

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.[124]

Several months after Bush's action, Judge Walton commented publicly on it. He spoke in favor of applying the law equally, stating: "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. ... "[125]

Bush took no further action with respect to Libby's conviction or sentence during his presidential term, despite entreaties from conservatives that he should be pardoned. Two days after their term expired, former Vice President Cheney expressed his regret that Bush had not pardoned Libby on his last day in office.[126]

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."[127][128] The trial was followed in the mass media and engaged the interest of both professional legal experts and the general public.[91] 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.[92][129]

Criticism of investigation

On August 28, 2006, Christopher Hitchens asserted that Richard Armitage was the primary source of the Valerie Plame leak and that Fitzgerald knew this at the beginning of his investigation.[130] This was supported a month later by Armitage himself, who stated that Fitzgerald had instructed him not to go public with this information.[131] Investor's Business Daily questioned 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."[132]

In a September 2008 Wall Street Journal editorial, attorney Alan Dershowitz cited the "questionable investigation[s]" of Scooter Libby as evidence of the problems brought to the criminal justice process by "politically appointed and partisan attorney[s] general".[133] In April 2015, also writing in The Wall Street Journal, Hoover Institution fellow Peter Berkowitz argued that statements by Judith Miller, in her recently published memoir, raised anew contentions that her testimony was inaccurate and that Fitzgerald's conduct as prosecutor was inappropriate.[134]

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)[135] for their role in the public disclosure of Valerie Wilson's classified CIA status.[136] Judge John D. Bates dismissed the Wilsons' lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds on July 19, 2007.[137][138][139][140] The Wilsons appealed Bates's district-court decision the next day.[141] Agreeing with the Bush administration, the Obama Justice Department argued that the Wilsons had no legitimate grounds to sue. Melanie Sloan, one of the Wilsons' attorneys, said: "We are deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the grievous harm top Bush White House officials inflicted on Joe and Valerie Wilson. The government's position cannot be reconciled with President Obama's oft-stated commitment to once again make government officials accountable for their actions."[142]

On June 21, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.[143]

Restoration of voting rights, law license, and presidential pardon

Libby's voting rights were restored on November 1, 2012 by then-Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell. Libby was part of a larger group of individuals who had their voting rights restored by McDonnell, all of whom were non-violent offenders.[144][145] Three years later, on November 3, 2016, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals granted Libby's petition for reinstatement to the D.C. Bar.[146] On April 13, 2018, President Donald Trump pardoned Libby.[10][11]

In popular culture

David Andrews played Scooter Libby in the 2010 film Fair Game, which is about the Plame affair.[147][148]

Justin Kirk played Libby in the 2018 film Vice.

See also

• List of disbarments in the United States
• Plame affair criminal investigation
• Project for the New American Century
• List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States

Notes

Citations

1. Hoyle, R. (2008). Going to War: How Misinformation, Disinformation, and Arrogance Led America Into Iraq. St. Martin's Press. p. 47. ISBN 9780312360351. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
2. "Lewis Libby". nndb.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
3. "Scooter Libby Can Practice Law Again, DC Court Says". National Law Journal. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
4. Dreyfuss, Robert (April 17, 2006). "Vice Squad". The American Prospect. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
5. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4979822&t=1579634585683
6. "Indictment" Archived 2008-05-28 at the Wayback Machine in United States of America vs. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby", United States Department of Justice, October 28, 2005; accessed December 10, 2007.
7. Kenneth T. Walsh, "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'? An Inside Player Takes Center Stage", U.S. News & World Report, October 31, 2005; accessed September 23, 2006.
8. See also: Associated Press, "A History of Indictments involving White House Staff", USA Today, October 26, 2007; accessed July 6, 2007.
9. Edwin Chen, "Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Term in CIA Leak Case (Update 2)", Bloomberg.com, July 2, 2007, accessed July 2, 2007.
10. Karl de Vries (April 13, 2018). "Trump pardons ex-Cheney aide Scooter Libby". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
11. Jonathan, Karl; Katharine, Faulders; John, Santucci. "President Trump poised to pardon Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, sources say". ABC News. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
12. Knowles, Michael. "Trump Rightly Pardons Scooter Libby a Decade After Bush Refused". Retrieved 14 April 2018.
13. Mike Pesca, "Guarding the 'I' in I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby", NPR October 19, 2005 (NPR audio player clip); accessed July 10, 2007.
14. Cf. Ron Kampeas, "Libby Jewish? Some Wonder How Neo-con’s Faith Impacts Leak Scandal", Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), November 2, 2005; rpt. in Ron Kampeas, "Did Libby's Jewishness Impact the CIA Leak Scandal?" Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), November 6, 2005; updated November 7, 2005; both accessed July 16, 2007.
15. Nick Bromell, "Scooter Libby and Me" Archived 2007-08-13 at Archive.today, The American Scholar (Phi Beta Kappa) (Winter 2007) and "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, January 24, 2007 (Premium content; restricted access); both accessed June 8, 2007.
16. Scott Shane, "As Trial Begins, Cheney’s Ex-Aide Is Still a Puzzle", The New York Times, January 17, 2007; accessed July 5, 2007.
17. Daniela Deane, with Mark Leibovich, "Cheney's Right Hand Man Never Sought Limelight", The Washington Post, October 28, 2005; accessed June 30, 2007.
18. Jack Mirkinson, "Libby '72 Leaned Left Before Serving As Cheney's Chief of Staff", Yale Daily News, October 5, 2005; accessed July 12, 2007.
19. Hudson Institute Communications, "Lewis Libby Joins Hudson Institute", official press release, Hudson Institute, January 6, 2006; accessed June 29, 2007; see also: "Staff bio" for Lewis Libby, Hudson Institute, n.d., accessed June 29, 2007. [The biography currently lists only "Senior Adviser"; cf. "I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby", Right Web (International Relations Center), last updated March 21, 2007; accessed July 1, 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."]
20. Stephen Smith, "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author: Cheney's Chief Of Staff Both Political Insider And Acclaimed Novelist", CBS News, October 28, 2005, accessed March 7, 2007.
21. "About Lewis 'Scooter' Libby". Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2016-11-19.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), archived biography at the Libby Legal Defense Trust, n.d., accessed July 16, 2007 and April 12, 2008 (now-obsolete information such as D.C. Bar membership needs updating)
22. Eric Schmitt, Public Lives: "Cheney Aide Will Eat Horse Guts Before He'll Spill Beans", The New York Times, April 30, 2001; accessed March 23, 2008.
23. Emma Schwarz, "Leniency Letters Showcase Scooter's 30-Year Legal Career", Law.com, June 11, 2007; accessed June 24, 2019.
24. Mark Leibovich, "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More", Washington Post, October 23, 2005; appended correction, accessed March 26, 2007.
25. Paul Reynolds, "Indictment Rocks Bush Administration", BBC News, October 28, 2007; accessed July 16, 2007.
26. "I. Lewis Libby Jr. (Index): The Counts", The New York Times, Times Topics, updated periodically, March 6, 2007, accessed July 6, 2007.
27. "Columbia University – Online Directory". Columbia Alumni Association. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
28. Larry King and Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, "Rush Transcript: CNN Larry King Weekend: Interviews with Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Don Rickles, Mike Medavoy", Larry King Live, CNN, aired February 16, 2002; accessed February 27, 2007.
29. 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 1-55597-245-4 (10) and ISBN 978-1-55597-245-5 (13); ISBN 0-312-28453-5 (10) and ISBN 978-0-312-28453-4 (13)
30. Julian Borger, "Indicted Libby's Publishers Plan 25,000 Reprint of 'steamy' Novel", The Guardian, November 11, 2005; accessed February 23, 2007.
31. Associated Press, "Publisher to Reissue I. Lewis Libby's Novel", USA Today, November 9, 2005; accessed July 3, 2007.
32. "I. Lewis Libby" (Attorney ID No.: 23330)", The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (public search facility), accessed June 5, 2007.
33. Emma Schwartz, "Scooter Libby's Law License Loses Its Wheels", Legal Times, April 6, 2007; accessed July 5, 2007.
34. Richard S. Curtiss, "Neocon Corner: I. Lewis ('Scooter') Libby: The Nexus of Washington's Neocon Network", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 2004: 18–20, accessed March 4, 2007.
35. D.C. Bar – 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 no longer a "member" of the D.C. Bar.
36. 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 "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 April 24, 2007, entitled "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 May 19, 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, op cit)
37. "Leonard Garment and Four Other Mudge Rose Lawyers Join Washington, D.C. Office of Decert Price & Rhoads", PR Newswire, November 20, 1995, Financial News, accessed via LexisNexis on July 16, 2007.
38. "My Reasons for the Pardons", W. J. Clinton, The New York Times, 18 February 2001
39. ""Biographies of White House Senior Staff: Lewis Libby"". Archived from the original on July 26, 2005. Retrieved 2006-01-23.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), United States Department of State, July 2005; accessed April 18, 2008.
40. "H. Rept. 107-454 - Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House". congress.gov 107th Congress (2001-2002). May 14, 2002. Retrieved November 21, 2020."House Committee on Government Reform: "Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House" report". March 14, 2002. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2007."'Take Jack's Word': The Pardons of International Fugitives Marc Rich and Pincus Green (Chap. One)" (PDF). findlaw.com. March 14, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2007. For a detailed commentary on the contexts of Libby's work on the Rich case, see 32–33 et passim (quotes Libby's testimony from government transcript) of "'Take Jack's Word': The Pardons of International Fugitives Marc Rich and Pincus Green" (Chap. One) from "Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House" report of the House Committee on Government Reform.
41. CNN, "GOP Lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich Case", CNN (Archives), March 2, 2001, accessed February 16, 2007.
42. District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility, "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.
43. D.C. Bar, "Order" ("In the Matter of I. Lewis Libby, Jr. ... Bar Registration No. 950758"), filed April 3, 2007; accessed June 17, 2007.
44. Scooter Libby Drops Appeal in CIA Leak Conviction, Associated Press (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.")
45. District of Columbia Court of Appeals, "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.
46. Carol D. Leonnig, "Court Disbars Cheney Ex-Aide: Libby Loses Right To Practice Law", The Washington Post, p. A2, March 21, 2008
47. Elliott Abrams, et al., "Statement of Principles", June 3, 1997; accessed May 28, 2007.
48. NBC News News Services "Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a Quiet Force: Vice President's Former Top Aide is Called 'Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney'", NBC News, updated October 28, 2005; accessed February 17, 2007.
49. Thomas Donnelly (Principal Author), et al. (Project for the New American Century), ""Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2002-09-23. (852 KiB,) September 2000; accessed June 5, 2007 (Project Co-Chairmen: Donald Kagan and Gary Schmitt; full list of "Project Participants" – 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.")
50. Karen Kwiatkowski, "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" Archived 2008-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, Slate, March 10, 2007; accessed April 19, 2007.
51. Jeremy Scahill, "Germ Boys and Yes Men", online posting, The Nation, November 9, 2005 (November 28, 2005 issue): 2; accessed March 3, 2007.
52. Matthew E. Berger, "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 ..."
53. Steven R. Weisman, "White House Is Pressing Israelis To Take Initiatives in Peace Talks", The New York Times April 17, 2003, accessed March 23, 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."
54. John J. Mearsheimer (Department of Political Science, University of Chicago) and Stephen M. Walt (John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" Archived 2008-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, online posting, Harvard University, March 2006 (RWP06‐011), accessed July 1, 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 (March 23, 2006), "available online at www.lrb.co.uk." The LRB version entitled "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 July 1, 2007.)
55. Tim Grieve, "The War Room: 'On Behalf of I. Lewis Libby'" ("Update"), Salon, May 31, 2007; accessed July 17, 2007.
56. David Johnston, "National Briefing: New Job for Libby", New York Times, January 7, 2006; accessed July 5, 2007.
57. "2010 Annual Report" (PDF). Hudson Institute.
58. Farhad Manjoo, "War Room: Did Scooter Libby Try to Hide His Meeting with Judith Miller?", Salon, October 11, 2005; accessed June 28, 2007.
59. David Corn, "Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA?", Capital Games (blog), The Nation, February 6, 2006; accessed April 18, 2007.
60. "Libby's Complete Grand Jury Testimony", transcript and NPR audio player clips, National Public Radio, February 9, 2007; accessed June 29, 2007.
61. 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 1-4027-5259-8 (10); ISBN 978-1-4027-5259-9 (13).
62. Margaret Carlson, "Time's Pearlstine Looks Back at Plamegate, Blames Floyd Abrams", Bloomberg.com, last updated June 27, 2007; accessed June 29, 2007.
63. Lewis Libby, ""Letter from Libby to Judith Miller"" (PDF)., (3.12 MiB) The New York Times, September 15, 2005, accessed February 17, 2007.
64. Murray Waas, "Libby Did Not Tell Grand Jury about Key Conversation", The National Journal, November 11, 2005; accessed June 29, 2007.
65. Judith Miller, "A Personal Account: My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room", New York Times, October 16, 2005; accessed March 23, 2008.
66. Michael J. Sniffen and Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press),"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.
67. Restuccia, Andrew; Gerstein, Josh (April 13, 2018). "Trump issues pardon for Lewis 'Scooter' Libby". Politico. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
68. "Transcript of General Hayden's Interview with WTOP", June 1, 2007
69. Joel Seidman, "Plame Was 'covert' Agent At Time of Name Leak", MSNBC.com, May 29, 2007; accessed June 10, 2007.
70. Neil A. Lewis, "Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role"
71. Clarice Feldman, "Libby's Defense Goes After Antique Media Reporters", The American Thinker, January 30, 2006, as confirmed by the playing of Libby's taped grand jury testimony in court on February 7, 2007.
72. "Russert Says He Didn't Give Libby Agent's ID", CNN.com, February 8, 2007, accessed July 14, 2007.
73. "Russert Testifies in Libby Perjury Trial: Packed Court Hears NBC Newsman Deny Identifying CIA Operative", NBC News, February 12, 2007, accessed July 14, 2007.
74. 'Scooter' Libby Reportedly Said 'I didn't do it'", Associated Press, January 30, 2007, accessed February 15, 2007.
75. Viveca Novak, "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.
76. Jeralyn Merritt, "Libby to Testify at His Trial", TalkLeft (accredited press blog), September 23, 2006; accessed January 24, 2007.
77. Jeralyn Merritt, "Verdict in the Libby Trial", transcript, The Washington Post ("Live Online" discussion), March 6, 2007
78. David Stout and Neil Lewis, "Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case", The New York Times, March 6, 2007
79. "Libby Lawyer Demands New Trial After Conviction", CNN Newsroom, March 6, 2007; accessed March 6, 2007.
80. "Jurors Convict Libby on Four of Five Charges: Cheney's Ex-aide Faces Jail Time in CIA Leak Case; Sentencing Set for June", NBC News, March 6, 2007, updated 9:18 p.m., ET, accessed March 7, 2007.
81. CNN video clip of Fitzgerald's remarks, March 6, 2007; accessed June 8, 2007. (Access limited to one viewing per day.)
82. Transcript of Special Counsel Fitzgerald's press conference, The Washington Post, October 28, 2005; accessed June 8, 2007.
83. Transcript and video clips presented on Hardball with Chris Matthews, NBC News, March 6, 2007
84. Jeralyn Merritt, "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.

85. "Libby Found Guilty of Perjury, Obstruction", CNN Newsroom, March 6, 2007, accessed March 6, 2007.
86. Ambassador Mel Sembler, Chairman, Libby Defense Trust, and the Advisory Committee, "Message from the Chairman", Libby Defense Trust, scooterlibby.com, June 1, 2007, accessed June 5, 2007.
87. Richard B. Schmitt and David G. Savage, "Libby Sentence Met Guidelines", The Baltimore Sun, July 4, 2007; accessed July 5, 2007.
88. Paul Courson, Brianna Keilar, Brian Todd, Jeffrey Toobin, and the Associated Press, "Libby Sentenced to 30 months in Prison", CNN.com, June 5, 2007
89. "Judge Orders Libby Jailed during Appeal", CNN News, June 14, 2007, accessed July 8, 2007.
90. Matt Apuzzo and Pete Yost (Associated Press), "Libby Sentenced to 2½ Years in Prison" Archived 2009-01-03 at the Wayback Machine, boston.com, June 5, 2007
91. See qualification in Jeralyn Merritt, "Scooter Libby: 30 Months in Prison, $250k Fine", TalkLeft (accredited press blog), June 5, 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."
92. Jeralyn Merritt, "Libby: Life on Supervised Release", TalkLeft (accredited press blog), July 5, 2007, accessed July 8, 2007. (Provides link to PDF of Judge Walton's "Judgment in a Criminal Case" Archived 2013-06-05 at the Wayback Machine in United States v. Libby, filed June 22, 2007, accessed July 8, 2007.)
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96. Cf. Josh Gerstein, "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.
97. Neil A. Lewis and David Stout, "Judge Won't Delay Libby Prison Term", The New York Times, June 14, 2007; accessed June 16, 2007.
98. Associated Press, "Libby Appeals Sentencing Ruling", New York Times, June 20, 2007
99. Josh Gerstein, "Libby Judge Files Expanded Opinion: Details Decision Not Allowing Libby to Remain Free", New York Sun, June 22, 2007
100. Reggie B. Walton, "Memorandum Opinion", filed June 21, 2007; accessed July 8, 2007.
101. Cary O'Reilly, "Libby, Ex-Cheney Aide, Must Go to Jail During Appeal (Update2)", Bloomberg.com, July 2, 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)."
102. Cf. Matt Apuzzo (Associated Press), "Court to Libby: Go Directly to Jail" Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, The Globe and Mail, July 2, 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."]
103. "Libby Legal Defense Trust: In the News"; the LLDT website featured a "Message from the Chairman", former Ambassador Mel Sembler, and the Advisory Committee, June 1, 2007; accessed March 7, 2007.
104. Harry Reid, press release, democrats.senate.gov March 6, 2007; accessed April 5, 2007; cf. news account in "Democrats to Bush: Don't Pardon Libby", CNN News, March 7, 2007; accessed April 5, 2007
105. Dan Froomkin, "Many Newspapers Oppose Pardon", White House Watch (column and blog), washingtonpost.com, June 7, 2007; accessed June 7, 2007.
106. "Neither Prison Nor Pardon: Justice in the Libby Case Lies With Bush's Third Option" by William Otis, The Washington Post, June 7, 2007: A-27; posted online June 7, 2007; accessed June 7, 2007.
107. Jim Rutenberg, "Bush in Dilemma on Libby Pardon", International Herald Tribune, June 7, 2007; accessed June 7, 2007.
108. George W. Bush, "Grant of Executive Clemency: A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America", The White House, July 2, 2007
109. Calabresi, Massimo; Weisskopf, Michael (July 24, 2009). "Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days". Time. Retrieved July 24, 2009. [A]mong Bush aides, the presidential statement was seen as a fail-safe, a device that would prevent a backtrack later on. Fielding crafted the commutation in a way that would make it harder for Bush to revisit it in the future. ... Bush's allies would say later that the language was intended to send an unmistakable message, internally as well as externally: No one is above the law.
110. "Statement by the President on Executive Clemency for Lewis Libby". 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
111. Shane, Scott; Lewis, Neil (July 3, 2007). "Bush Spares Libby from 30-Month Prison Term". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2007.
112. Qtd. by CNN, "Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Sentence", CNN News, July 2, 2007 (updated periodically), accessed July 3, 2007.
113. James Rowley, "Bush Won't Rule Out Pardon for Libby as Aide Defends Clemency", Bloomberg.com July 3, 2007.
114. For his full published statement in response to the commutation and the press conference about it by Bush's press spokesman Tony Snow, see Joseph C. Wilson, "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response to Bush Spokesman Tony Snow's Comments at Today's White House Briefing" Archived 2007-07-10 at Archive.today, online posting, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), July 3, 2007, accessed July 4, 2007; online posting, "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response ... " and "Read more", Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust (Home page); accessed July 8, 2007.
115. Anderson Cooper, "Breaking News", Anderson Cooper 360°, broadcast on CNN, July 3, 2007; accessed July 3, 2007; cf. "Political Bulletin: Bush Bashed Over Libby Commutation: Archived 2012-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Furious Democrats Will Hold Hearings", US News and World Reports, July 3, 2007; accessed July 3, 2007.
116. "Political Bulletin: Bush Bashed Over Libby Commutation: Archived 2012-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Furious Democrats Will Hold Hearings", US News and World Reports, Washington News, July 3, 2007; accessed July 3, 2007.
117. See also "President Commutes Libby's Sentence", Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, July 3, 2007; accessed July 4, 2007.
118. "The Use and Misuse of Clemency Powers by Officials of the Executive Branch". judiciary.house.gov. United States House Committee on the Judiciary. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
119. Hirschfeld Davis, Julie (July 11, 2007). "Bush Refuses to Explain Libby Order". Fox News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
120. Lewis, Neil; Rutenberg, Jim (July 6, 2007). "Libby Pays Fine; Judge Poses Probation Query". The New York Times.
121. Lewis, Neil A. (July 10, 2007). "Issue of Supervised Release for Libby Is Cleared Up". The New York Times.
122. Rita v. United States, online posting in Supreme Court Collection, Legal Resource Institute, Cornell University Law School; accessed July 4, 2007.
123. Protass, Harlan J. (July 3, 2007). "The Quality of Mercy Is Strained: Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence, While His Lawyers Come Down Hard On Everyone Else". Slate. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
124. Jeffrey M. Jones (Gallup News Service), "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, July 10, 2007, accessed July 10, 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."
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128. The Scooter Libby Trial, Media Bloggers Association, February 20, 2007 – June 28, 2007 (updated periodically), accessed June 30, 2007.
129. Jeralyn Merritt, "All Sides Agree Libby Should Serve Supervised Release", TalkLeft (accredited press blog), July 9, 2007; accessed July 10, 2007 (Provides links to PDF versions of the various legal briefs.)
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147. Fair Game (2010) IMDb
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References

• "Biographies of White House Senior Staff: Lewis Libby" at the Wayback Machine (archived February 11, 2005). United States Department of State, February 2005. Accessed July 8, 2007.
• Bromell, Nick. "Scooter Libby and Me". The American Scholar (Phi Beta Kappa) (Winter 2007). Accessed June 8, 2007.
• –––. "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, January 24, 2007. Accessed June 8, 2007. (Premium content; restricted access).
• Dickerson, John. "Who Is Scooter Libby? The Secretive Cheney Aide at the Heart of the CIA Leak Case". Slate, October 21, 2005. Accessed June 28, 2007.
• Frankel, Max. "The Washington Back Channel". The New York Times, March 25, 2007. Accessed March 23, 2008.
• Garfield, Bob. "'Former New York Times Staffer Judith Miller'". On the Media from NPR, National Public Radio, WCNY-FM, November 11, 2005. Accessed March 5, 2007. (Transcript and RealAudio link.)
• "I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby". Right Web (International Relations Center). Last updated March 21, 2007. Accessed July 1, 2007.
• "Indictment" in United States of America vs. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby". United States Department of Justice, October 28, 2005. Accessed July 5, 2007.
• Libby, Lewis. The Apprentice: A Novel. Rpt. ed. 1996; New York: Griffin, 2005. ISBN 0-312-28453-5 (10). ISBN 978-0-312-28453-4 (13).
• Markels, Alex. "Legal Affairs: I. Lewis Libby: The Plight of a Disciplined Risk-Taker". National Public Radio, October 28, 2005. Accessed March 5, 2007.
• Merritt, Jeralyn, moderator. "Verdict in the Libby Trial". Transcript. The Washington Post ("Live Online" discussion), March 6, 2007, 2:00–3:00 p.m., ET. Accessed March 6, 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."
• ""Order"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-04. (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 January 10, 2007. Accessed February 10, 2007. ["USA-v-Libby_Rules-of-Order.pdf".]
• "President Commutes Libby's Sentence: Calls 30-month Term for Ex-Cheney Aide 'excessive'". Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, July 3, 2007. Accessed July 4, 2007.
• "Scooter Libby – White House: Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President" at the Wayback Machine (archived October 11, 2004). White House biography from 2004. Accessed February 10, 2007.
• Waas, Murray. "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 1-4027-5259-8 (10). ISBN 978-1-4027-5259-9 (13). ("Edited & with reporting by Murray Waas" and with research assistance by Jeff Lomonaco.)
• Weisman, Steven. "White House Is Pressing Israelis To Take Initiatives in Peace Talks". The New York Times, April 17, 2003. Accessed March 23, 2008.
• Wilson, Joseph C. "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), July 3, 2007. Accessed July 4, 2007. Online posting. "Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson's Response ... " and "Read more", Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust (Home page), n.d. Accessed July 8, 2007. (Concerning Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence.)
• –––. "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), March 6, 2007. Accessed March 6, 2007. Posted as "CREW Statement on Libby Conviction: No Man Is Above the Law." Citizens ^Blogging for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (blog), March 6, 2007. Accessed April 18, 2007. Also posted as "Wilsons' Attorney Statement in Response to Jury's Verdict in U.S. v. I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby". Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust, March 6, 2007, home page. Accessed April 18, 2007.

External links

• Background on the Plame Investigation at The Washington Post.
• CNN Special Reports: CIA Leak Investigation compiled by CNN Newsroom; incl. interactive timeline in Case History.
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• "Legal Affairs: Lewis Libby's Complete Grand Jury Testimony". Full audio clip and transcript provided by National Public Radio on npr.org,
• "The Lewis Libby Case". Archive of articles concerning Libby broadcast on National Public Radio.
• Libby Legal Defense Trust at the Wayback Machine (archived June 27, 2007).
• United States v. I. Lewis Libby. Photo gallery with news captions at The Washington Post.
• Membership at the Council on Foreign Relations