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The
Washington
Post
Libby Files Motion to
Dismiss Appeal
By Debbi Wilgoren,
washingtonpost.com from the Web, December 10, 2007
Former vice presidential chief of
staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby this morning gave up the appeal of his perjury
and obstruction convictions in connection with the CIA leak case, his attorney
said.
Libby, whose 30-month prison sentence was commuted by President Bush just before
he was to begin serving it, continues to maintain his innocence, attorney
Theodore V. Wells Jr. said in a statement. But, Wells said, "the burden on
Mr. Libby and his young family of continuing to pursue his complete vindication
are too great to ask them to bear."
As a result, Wells said, Libby filed a motion in U.S. District Court in
Washington today to dismiss the appeal.
A federal jury convicted Libby in March of four felonies for lying to FBI agents
and the grand jury that investigated the leak of the identity of then-covert CIA
operative Valerie Plame. Libby was found guilty of two perjury counts and
one count each of obstructing justice and making false statements -- about when
and how he learned Plame's identity, and what he told journalists about her.
Libby has already paid the $250,000 fine levied upon him, Wells said. He
will remain on supervised release for a total of two years and must complete 400
hours of community service as part of his criminal sentence.
Bush has never ruled out a full pardon of Libby, who was the only person charged
in connection with the leak case. Unless such a pardon is issued, Libby
will remain a convicted felon.
Although the investigation of the leak was launched with the intent of finding
out who revealed Plame's identity and whether that person did so knowing that
Plame was a covert operative, no one was ever charged with that crime.
Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, allege that the leak was
political retaliation for Wilson's criticism of President Bush's policies on
Iraq.
The case continues to be a political flashpoint up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) last week asked
new Attorney General Michael B. Mukasy to overrule the White House and release
transcripts of interviews of Bush, Cheney and other senior officials conducted
as part of an internal probe into the leak.
In the court case, Wells noted today that a successful appeal would likely only
lead to the case being retried, adding to the already enormous time and cost
Libby has spent defending himself.
The process "would last even beyond the two years of supervised release, cost
millions of dollars more than the fine he has already paid, and entail many more
hundreds of hours preparing for an all-consuming appeal and retrial," Wells
said.
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