Libby's Bid for Leniency Hits Snag
Tuesday June 5, 2007 3:31 PM
AP Photo WX105
By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House aide I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby's hopes of avoiding prison in the CIA leak case began to dim Tuesday as a federal judge ruled he could face a longer sentence because the investigation he obstructed was so serious.
Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is the highest-ranking official convicted of a crime since the Iran Contra affair.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wants to put Libby in prison for up to three years because the investigation he was convicted of obstructing - the leak of a CIA operative's identity - was so serious. Libby's attorneys are seeking no jail time and argue that it's unfair to increase the sentence simply because the investigation was serious.
``No one was ever charged. Nobody ever pleaded guilty,'' attorney William Jeffress said. ``The government did not establish the existence of an offense.''
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton didn't accept that. By that reasoning, Walton said, witnesses benefit if they aggressively obstruct investigations so prosecutors can't make their case.
``I just can't buy in on that being good social policy,'' said Walton, who has a reputation as a tough sentencing judge. ``It's one thing if you obstruct a petty larceny. It's another thing if you obstruct a murder investigation.''
Walton's preliminary ruling doesn't necessarily foretell Libby's sentence. But it does make it harder for Libby's attorneys to argue for no jail time because it raises the seriousness of his offense.
Click for Full Text!
