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Scooter found guilty on 4/5 counts

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  • Scooter found guilty on 4/5 counts

    WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been found guilty on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

    Libby was convicted of:

    obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame;
    making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert;
    perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert;
    a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters.
    Jurors cleared him of a second count of making a false statement relating to a conversation he had with Matt Cooper of Time magazine.

    Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

    CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, "He is virtually certain to go to prison if this conviction is upheld."

    After the verdict was read, Libby was fingerprinted and released on his own recognizance.

    Ted Wells, Libby's defense attorney, said he will file a motion for a new trial, or appeal the conviction if that motion is denied.

    "We intend to keep fighting to establish his innocence," Wells said outside the courthouse. (Watch Wells' statement outside the courthouse )

    As he walked into the courtroom to hear the verdict, Libby was calm and smiling, "there was almost a swagger," CNN's Brianna Keilar reported.

    As the verdicts were read, Libby blinked and "it seemed as if he was somewhat surprised," Keilar reported.

    As court concluded Tuesday, Libby's wife, Harriet Grant, hugged every member of the defense team. She was teary-eyed as she kissed Wells on the cheek. (Watch an account of reactions of Libby and his wife)

    The White House issued a statement that President Bush watched the verdict and was saddened for Libby and his wife.

    Libby, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, was not accused of exposing Plame. He resigned in 2005 after the grand jury indicted him.

    "It's sad that we had a situation where a high-level official, a person who worked in the office of vice president, obstructed justice and lied under oath, and we wish that had not happened but it did," Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said.

    No further charges are expected in the case, Fitzgerald said, and no further investigation was planned.

    "We're all going back to our day jobs," Fitzgerald said outside the courthouse. "If the information comes to light, or new information comes to us that would warrant us taking some action, we will do that."

    Prosecutors contended Libby disclosed Plame's covert profession to reporters as part of a plan to discredit her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who alleged that the Bush administration twisted some intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

    Wilson, who conducted a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger, wrote in a July 2003 New York Times editorial that he found no evidence Iraq sought to buy uranium from the African nation, as the administration claimed.

    A statement from lawyers representing Plame and Wilson said the couple was pleased by the verdict and believed justice had been served.

    But the Wilsons said they would continue to pursue a civil case against Cheney, Libby, Bush's adviser Karl Rove and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

    "The criminal trial was about whether or not Mr. Libby obstructed justice and committed perjury by lying to FBI agents and the grand jury about the fact that he had disclosed to reporters that Valerie Wilson worked for the CIA.

    "The civil suit, on the other hand, hinges on whether or not the defendants violated the constitutional rights of Valerie and Joe Wilson by making those disclosures in a concerted effort to retaliate against Joe Wilson for revealing the falsity of the president's rationale for the Iraq war," the statement said.

    One juror, Denis Collins, said "there was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby on the jury.

    "It was said, 'Where's Rove, where are these other guys?'

    "We're not saying that we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was the fall guy," Collins said.

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he welcomed the jury's verdict and called on Bush not to pardon Libby if the conviction stands.

    "It's about time someone in the Bush administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics." Reid said.

    "Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial revealed deeper truths about Vice President Cheney's role in this sordid affair. Now President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his criminal conduct."

    The jury was down to 11 members -- seven women and four men. A week ago, one of the jurors revealed that she had obtained outside information that prompted the judge to disqualify her.

    The defense said it would accept 11 jurors to avoid having to start deliberations over with an alternate. The prosecution objected, but U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton overruled, and the panel continued with one chair empty.

    Testimony and evidence in the trial began January 23.
    So another former Bush administration official is going to jail. At this rate, Bush may give Grant a run for his money.
    "Remember, there's good stuff in American culture, too. It's just that by "good stuff" we mean "attacking the French," and Germany's been doing that for ages now, so, well, where does that leave us?" - Elok

  • #2
    Re: Scooter found guilty on 4/5 counts

    Originally posted by Admiral

    I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
    Interesting... did he testify? I can imagine him swearing the oath.

    "I, I. Lewis Libby swear to tell the truth..."

    I'm sorry. That's not funny. Stuttering is a serious speech impediment and many people are very sensitive about it.

    Does he go by "Scooter" during the court proceedings?

    With a name like that, you know what is going to happen to him in prison.





    And that's just if he goes to a white-collar prison. I bet Jeffrey Skilling is the alpha dog on cell block D.

    "hey scooter... or should I call you 'fish'?"
    To us, it is the BEAST.

    Comment


    • #3
      25 years. He should seriously think about making a deal to rat out others.

      Comment


      • #4
        I'd think seriously about putting a hit out on Armitage if I were him. At least break his legs. That seems harsh for a person that isn't even the source of the leak.
        I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
        For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

        Comment


        • #5
          Has Bush given him a medal yet?
          Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. - Ben Franklin
          Iain Banks missed deadline due to Civ | The eyes are the groin of the head. - Dwight Schrute.
          One more turn .... One more turn .... | WWTSD

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by DinoDoc
            I'd think seriously about putting a hit out on Armitage if I were him. At least break his legs. That seems harsh for a person that isn't even the source of the leak.
            Given sentencing guidelines he'll more likely get around 1 and 1/2 to 3 years in jail. Keep in mind he didn't lie once, but repeatedly to investigators and a grand jury regarding different details.

            Comment


            • #7
              from the article:
              "We're not saying that we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was the fall guy," Collins said.


              QFT
              Order of the Fly
              Those that cannot curse, cannot heal.

              Comment


              • #8
                Well, Bush could always pardon him, given that the next election is years away and Bush isn't running again.
                "The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists."
                -Joan Robinson

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Lord Avalon
                  Has Bush given him a medal yet?
                  No, just another job...pays way more than his goverment job.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I hope he can work remotely, then...


                    And I first thought this was about a two bit german techno-artist...
                    I've allways wanted to play "Russ Meyer's Civilization"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      In other words....don't trust White House employees whose last names begin with "Li" and end with "y"

                      Asmodean
                      Im not sure what Baruk Khazad is , but if they speak Judeo-Dwarvish, that would be "blessed are the dwarves" - lord of the mark

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thankfully, I didn't get called for that jury when I did my day of jury duty last month!

                        I didn't get picked for the jury that I was up for. Gun violence.
                        I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          THEY!!111 OMG WTF LOL LET DA NOMADS AND TEH S3D3NTARY PEOPLA BOTH MAEK BITER AXP3REINCES
                          AND TEH GRAAT SINS OF THERE [DOCTRINAL] INOVATIONS BQU3ATH3D SMAL
                          AND!!1!11!!! LOL JUST IN CAES A DISPUTANT CALS U 2 DISPUT3 ABOUT THEYRE CLAMES
                          DO NOT THAN DISPUT3 ON THEM 3XCAPT BY WAY OF AN 3XTARNAL DISPUTA!!!!11!! WTF

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            .
                            Attached Files
                            "The French caused the war [Persian Gulf war, 1991]" - Ned
                            "you people who bash Bush have no appreciation for one of the great presidents in our history." - Ned
                            "I wish I had gay sex in the boy scouts" - Dissident

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              THEY!!111 OMG WTF LOL LET DA NOMADS AND TEH S3D3NTARY PEOPLA BOTH MAEK BITER AXP3REINCES
                              AND TEH GRAAT SINS OF THERE [DOCTRINAL] INOVATIONS BQU3ATH3D SMAL
                              AND!!1!11!!! LOL JUST IN CAES A DISPUTANT CALS U 2 DISPUT3 ABOUT THEYRE CLAMES
                              DO NOT THAN DISPUT3 ON THEM 3XCAPT BY WAY OF AN 3XTARNAL DISPUTA!!!!11!! WTF

                              Comment

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