Scooter Libby Convicted on Four Counts in CIA Leak Case

Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, is convicted on 4 of 5 federal counts related to the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity: obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. The conviction represents the highest White House official convicted since the Iran-Contra scandal. Evidence presented at trial showed Cheney authorized the leak of classified information, with prosecutors displaying Cheney’s handwritten notes on Joseph Wilson’s op-ed questioning Iraq WMD claims. Libby was sentenced on June 5, 2007 to 30 months in prison and a $250,000 fine, but President Bush commuted the prison sentence on July 2, 2007, while leaving the conviction intact. The commutation angered Cheney, who had pushed for a full pardon. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation revealed how the Bush administration used classified information to discredit critics of the Iraq War.