'Scooter' Libby guilty on four of five counts

[wordsmythe]

'Scooter' Libby guilty on four of five counts - CNN.com

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.

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.

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.

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 has continued with one chair empty.

Testimony and evidence in the trial began January 23.

[Army_of_One]

I wonder if he will get a presidential pardon. Slick Willy...ahem..pardon the bias. Former president Clinton pardoned 100's of criminals to include his own brother and Susan Mcdougal.

[wordsmythe]

Of course he will. W won't let a buddy suffer too long.

[lurker]

Former President Clinton lied to ....., to ....., to ....., too.

[wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by lurker

Former President Clinton lied to ....., to ....., to ....., too.

yes and he was impeached and cleared.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

yes and he was impeached and cleared.

Oh, jerkin' his lawyer license was a reward?

[wordsmythe]

He was impeached and not removed.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

He was impeached and not removed.

Sadly, you're correct; although one out of two ain't bad. Unless we include his exclusion for lawyerdom wherein it becomes two out of three!!!

Can you imagine being kicked out of a room full of lawyers because you're too slimey?

Oh, your avatar.... I 'pose you could wear a big girl pad.

[wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by lurker

Sadly, you're correct; although one out of two ain't bad. Unless we include his exclusion for lawyerdom wherein it becomes two out of three!!!

Can you imagine being kicked out of a room full of lawyers because you're too slimey?

Oh, your avatar.... I 'pose you could wear a big girl pad.

You guys' personal attacks and subject changes are a great way of telling us you don't have anything more to say. Thanks.

[lurker]

OK. In some cultures lying to the gobbermint is considered to be an art form..... and I consider the clinton's to be among the best.

It's tinkle time.