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Scooter Libby

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I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby

Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr. (born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and convicted criminal. He was the Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, assistant to the Vice President for national security affairs, and an assistant to President George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2005.[1][2]

On October 28, 2005, Libby resigned his government position, hours after being indicted on five felony counts (one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of making false statements, and two counts of perjury) by a U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel as part of the CIA leak grand jury investigation, a federal inquiry "into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity," a possible violation of criminal statutes, including the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 and Title 18, United States Code, Section 793.[3] Libby's indictment, while very serious, did not result in counts of his violating those particular statutes, which would carry far greater penalties and punishment for one convicted.

In January 2006, after his resignation from the Bush administration, Libby joined the Hudson Institute as a senior advisor, with a focus on "issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia."[4]

As a result of his indictment by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury investigation, Libby's criminal trial, United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby, began on January 16, 2007.

On March 6, 2007, Libby was found guilty on four of the five counts with which he was charged: two counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice, and one of making false statements to federal investigators. An appeal has been announced.[5]

Personal history

Background

Born into a prosperous Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut, his father was "an investment banker."[6] According to various news accounts, he first acquired his nickname "Scooter" as an infant, when his father, after seeing him move quickly across his crib, described him as "a scooter."[1][7] It has also been reported that the Libby "family lived in the Washington region, Miami and Connecticut before Scooter graduated from the Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts."[1] In 1972 he graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, where, reportedly, he was intensely influenced in his political thinking by Paul Wolfowitz, a professor who became his mentor.[1][6][4]. In 1975 he received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia Law School.

He is married to Harriet Grant, a former staff lawyer for the Senate Judiciary Committee when chaired by Democratic Senator Joe Biden. Libby and Grant have two children and live in McLean, Virginia.[8]

Law career

After graduating from Columbia, Libby was admitted to practice before the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976, and he practiced law in Philadelphia.[9] He was admitted to practice before the Bar of the District of Columbia on May 19, 1978.[citation needed]

One of Libby's most infamous clients in his work as a private lawyer was fugitive billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, who had been convicted of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran, and who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton: Libby "represented Rich dating back to 1985 but stopped working for him in the spring of 2000"; early in March of 2001, at a "contentious" Congressional hearing to review Clinton's pardons, Libby "testified...[that] he believes prosecutors of billionaire financier Marc Rich 'misconstrued the facts and the law' when they went after Rich on tax evasion charges."[10] According to Jackson Hogan, Libby's roommate at Yale University, as quoted in the already-cited U.S. News & World Report article by Walsh, "'He is intensely partisan...in that if he is your counsel, he'll embrace your case and try to figure a way out of whatever noose you are ensnared in.'" Walsh adds: "That might help explain Libby's aggressive representation" of Rich.[6]

Libby has also, at various times in his career, held positions with the American Bar Association, been on the advisory board of the RAND Corporation's Center for Russia and Eurasia, and been a legal advisor to the United States House of Representatives, as well as served as a consultant for the defense contractor Northrop Grumman.[9]

Government public service and political career

After working as a lawyer in Philadelphia, Libby "accepted a job offer from his old Yale political science professor, Paul Wolfowitz, and went to work for Wolfowitz at the State Department, from 1981 to 1985," as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff.[9] From 1982 to 1985, according to his official U.S. State Department biography, Libby served as director of special projects in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[2] Although in 1985 "he left the government to enter private legal practice.... By 1989 he was working again for Wolfowitz, this time at the Pentagon, as principal deputy under-secretary of defense for strategy and resources....For his government service [in 1993] Libby was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award and the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award. He also received the Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service [1985]."[9][2] During the George H. W. Bush administration, Libby was also confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy.[2] According to Curtiss, "When the Democrats took over in 1992, Libby crossed the Potomac to serve as legal adviser for the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China."[9] Libby co-authored the draft of the "Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994-99 fiscal years" (dated February 18, 1992) with Wolfowitz for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.

In 1995, as recounted by Curtiss, Libby "became managing partner at the Washington office of the Dechert, Price and Rhoads law firm, where he worked until 2001, when Vice President Cheney named him chief of staff and national security adviser."[9]

According to Stephen Smith, in the previously-cited CBS News report of October 28, 2005, "Along with Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, and Wolfowitz, Libby became part of a network of neo-conservatives who many know as the 'Vulcans' – Mr. Bush's core national security team."[7]

In 1997 Libby became a founding member of the Project for the New American Century, and, while he was still a partner at Dechert Price, and Rhoads, he joined Wolfowitz, William Kristol, Robert Kagan, and others in writing its 2000 report entitled, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century".[11][9][12]

Further information: Project for the New American Century § PNAC report: Rebuilding America's Defenses

After becoming Vice President Cheney's chief of staff in 2001, Libby was reportedly nicknamed "Germ Boy" at the White House, for insisting on universal smallpox vaccination.[13] His "constant presence behind the scenes in the Bush administration" reportedly also led to his nickname "Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney": "'He is to the vice president what the vice president is to the president,' said Mary Matalin, who worked with Libby as an adviser to Cheney during Bush's first term....Speaking before the indictments, she described Libby as a deep thinker and problem-solver who gives 'discreet advice.'"[7][12]

Libby was also active in the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee of the Pentagon when it was chaired by Richard Perle during the early years of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2003).[9]

On October 28, 2005, after his indictment by Fitzgerald's grand jury, he resigned as Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, as assistant to the Vice President for national security affairs, and as assistant to President Bush.

Creative writing

In 1996 Libby published a novel entitled The Apprentice. It concerns a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic.[14] After Libby's grand jury indictment, his publisher (St. Martin's Press [Griffin]) reprinted the novel, described as "an everyday tale of bestiality and paedophilia in 1903 Japan...[and] packed with sexual perversion, dwelling on prepubescent girls and their training as prostitutes": "One passage describes a girl being thrown into a cage 'with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons....They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest. Groups of men paid to watch.'"[15]

In an interview, after telling Larry King a more general account of the plot and describing how he turned a college project into this novel, he enthusiastically endorsed King's suggestion that one day it might become a "movie":

KING: This sounds like a movie.

LIBBY: Well, you know, say it louder.
KING: Your lips to God, right?

LIBBY: Right.[16]

The Plame affair, Libby, and Judith Miller

Further information: [[:CIA leak grand jury investigation, Plame affair, and Plame scandal timeline]]
Wikinews has news related to:

In 2003 and 2004, intense speculation about Libby centered on the possibility that he may have been the administration official who "leaked" the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, a CIA employee whose identity was classified.

The American Prospect revealed in August 2005 that Libby testified that he met with Judith Miller, a newspaper journalist, on July 8, 2003, and discussed Wilson's wife with Miller at that time, but later revealed to be misidentified in Miller's notes as "Valerie Flame".

Before that, Miller was jailed on July 7, 2005, for contempt of court after refusing to testify to the grand jury about this meeting despite a signed blanket waiver from Libby allowing journalists to discuss their conversations. Miller has argued that Libby's waiver to all journalists could have been coerced and that she would only testify if given an individual waiver, which Miller received after serving most of her sentence. The waiver was offered "voluntarily and personally" by Libby, accompanied by a letter which has been the subject of much speculation:

As noted above, my lawyer confirmed my waiver to other reporters in just the way he did with your lawyer. Why? Because as I am sure will not be news to you, the public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear that they did not discuss Ms. Plame's name or identity with me, or knew about her before our call.

. . . .
You went to jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover – Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats, bird flu and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work—-and life. Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

With admiration, Scooter Libby."[17]

After agreeing to testify, Miller was released on September 29, 2005. She appeared before the grand jury the next day, on September 30, 2005, but was not relieved of contempt until she testified again on 12 October 2005. For her second grand jury appearance, Miller produced a notebook from a previously-undisclosed meeting with Libby on 23 June 2003, several weeks before Wilson's New York Times editorial was published. According to Miller's notes from that earlier meeting, Libby disclosed that Joseph Wilson's wife was a CIA employee involved in her husband's trip to Niger. Miller's notebook from her July 8, 2003 meeting with Libby contains the name "Valerie Flame." (sic)[18]

On August 30, 2006, The New York Times reported that Deputy Secretary of State Department Richard Armitage was the "initial and primary source" for columnist Robert Novak's article of July 14, 2003, which named Valerie Plame as a CIA "operative".[19] CNN reported also that Armitage had been confirmed "by sources" as disclosing Mrs. Wilson's CIA role in a "casual conversation" with Robert Novak.[20][21]

According to lawyers close to Libby, "the information about Mr. Armitage’s role may help Mr. Libby convince a jury that his actions were relatively inconsequential."[22]

Fitzgerald has issued no statement about Armitage's involvement, and, as of February 2007, the CIA leak investigation remains open.

Indictment, resignation, and trial

Main article: United States v. Libby

On 28 October 2005 Libby resigned from his position in the White House, immediately after he was indicted on criminal felony charges by a grand jury. He was charged with five felonies:

Each count in the five-count indictment against Libby in United States v. Libby carries a $250,000 fine; thus, since convicted, Libby could face up to $1.25 million in fines. The charges also carry a maximum prison term of thirty years. Neither Libby nor any other Bush Administration officials have to date been charged with the crime of revealing the identity of a CIA agent, the original focus of the investigation. Rather, all charges to date are for allegedly lying to investigators and to the grand jury, for perjury, and for obstruction of justice.

Libby told investigators that he first heard of Plame's CIA employment from journalist Tim Russert and that he had forgotten that Vice President Dick Cheney had already told him that information.[23] The indictments charge that all of these alleged statements of Libby's were false, in that Libby had numerous conversations about Plame's CIA employment before speaking to Russert; Russert did not tell Libby about Plame's CIA employment; Libby knew for a certainty that Plame was employed by the CIA; and Libby told reporters that Plame worked for the CIA without any disclaimer that he did not know whether this was true or not.[24] The "false statements" charges in the Libby indictment stem from its allegation that he made these claims to the FBI; the "perjury" charges, from the allegation that he repeated these claims to the grand jury; and the "obstruction" charge, from the allegation that Libby made these statements in an effort to prevent Fitzgerald's grand jury investigation from uncovering the truth.[3]

Libby, who was questioned by the FBI in the fall of 2003 and testified before a Federal grand jury on March 5, 2004, and again on March 24, 2004, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. David Addington, Cheney's legal counsel during the CIA leak scandal, testified in January 2007 that Libby bluntly told him, "I just want to tell you, I didn't do it." [25]

Libby retains attorney Ted Wells of the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to represent him in the case. Wells is known for successfully defending Clinton Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy against a 30-count indictment and participating in the successful defense of former Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan.

On January 23, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Wells alleged "that administration officials sought to blame Libby for the leak to protect Bush political adviser Karl Rove's own disclosures."[26]

After Libby's motion to dismiss was denied, the press initially reported that he would testify at the trial.[27] In February 2007, during the trial, however, numerous press reports stressed that whether or not he will testify was still uncertain, and, ultimately, he did not testify at trial.

The jury received the case for their deliberation on 21 February 2007.

Guilty verdict

The jury rendered its verdict at noon on March 6, 2007.[28] It convicted Libby on four of the five counts against him—two counts of perjury, one count of obstructing justice in a grand jury investigation, and one of the two counts of making false statements to federal investigators—and acquitted him on one count of making false statements.[29] Given current federal sentencing guidelines, which are not mandatory, the convictions could result in a sentence ranging from no imprisonment to imprisonment of up to 25 years and a fine of one million US dollars.[5] Given those non-binding guidelines, according to lawyer, author, New Yorker staff writer, and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Anderson Cooper 360°, such a sentence could likely be between "one and a half to three years."[30] No sentencing date has yet been set.[29][31] News media reported that his lawyers have announced their intention to appeal Libby's conviction.[5]

Comment on guilty verdict by juror

As reported in CNN Newsroom, and subsequently on Larry King Live on CNN and by various other television networks, including MSNBC (on Scarborough Country), one juror––"Denis Collins, a Washington resident and self-described registered Democrat," who is a former reporter for The Washington Post and author of a book on espionage––"said he and fellow jurors found that passing judgment on Libby was 'unpleasant.' But in the final analysis, he said jurors found Libby's story just too hard to believe.... 'We're not saying we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of, but it seemed like ... he was the fall guy'.... Collins said the jury believed Libby was 'tasked by the vice president to go and talk to reporters.'"[5][32][33][34]

Press coverage of the trial

Main article: United States v. Libby § Press coverage of the trial

Blogs have played a prominent role in the press coverage of this trial. Scott Shane, in his article "For Liberal Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder," published in The New York Times on February 15, 2007, quotes Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association, who observes that United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby is "the first federal case for which independent bloggers have been given official credentials along with reporters from the traditional news media."[35]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Scott Shane, "As Trial Begins, Cheney’s Ex-Aide Is Still a Puzzle", The New York Times 17 January, 2007, accessed 3 March, 2007 (TimesSelect subscription required).Department of Defense as principal deputy under secretary (Strategy and Resources), and later was confirmed by the Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy.
  2. ^ a b c d U.S. Department of State Biography (February 2005), archived by web.archive.org, accessed 16 February, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c United States District Court for the District of Columbia Template:PDFlink in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. I. LEWIS LIBBY, also known as "SCOOTER LIBBY" 28 October, 2005, accessed 17 February, 2007. (Full text of Indictment also accessible in Wikisource.)
  4. ^ a b U.S. Newswire (a div. of PR Newswire), Hudson Institute press release, USNewsWire.com 6 January, 2006; see also: Biography for Lewis Libby at the Hudson Institute, accessed 20 February, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d "Libby Found Guilty of Perjury, Obstruction", CNN Newsroom, 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Kenneth T. Walsh, "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?" U.S. News & World Report 31 October, 2005, accessed 23 September, 2006.
  7. ^ a b c Smith, Stephen (October 28, 2005). "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author: Cheney's Chief Of Staff Both Political Insider And Acclaimed Novelist". CBS News. Retrieved 2007-02-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Mark Leibovich, "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More", Washington Post 23 October, 2005.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Richard S. Curtiss, "Neocon Corner: I. Lewis ('Scooter') Libby: The Nexus of Washington’s Neocon Network", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs September 2004: 18-20, accessed 4 March, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "wrmea" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ CNN, "GOP Lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich Case", CNN (Archives) 2 March, 2001, accessed 16 February, 2007.
  11. ^ Project for the New American Century, Template:PDFlink, September 2000, accessed 17 February, 2007.
  12. ^ a b MSNBC News Services "Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a Quiet Force: Vice President's Former Top Aide is Called 'Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney'", MSNBC, updated 28 October, 2005, accessed 16 February, 2007.
  13. ^ Jeremy Scahill, "Germ Boys and Yes Men", online posting, The Nation 9 November, 2005 (28 Nov. 2005 issue): 2, accessed 3 March, 2007 (3 pages).
  14. ^ Lewis Libby, The Apprentice (1996; New York: St. Martin's Press [Griffin], 2005), ISBN 0-312-28453-5 (10), ISBN 978-0312-28453-4 (13).
  15. ^ Julian Borger, "Indicted Libby's Publishers Plan 25,000 Reprint of 'steamy' Novel", The Guardian 11 November, 2005, accessed February 23, 2007.
  16. ^ "Rush Transcript: CNN Larry King Weekend: Interviews with Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Don Rickles, Mike Medavoy", Larry King Live, CNN, aired 16 February, 2002, accessed 27 February, 2007.
  17. ^ Lewis Libby, Template:PDFlink The New York Times 15 September, 2005), accessed 17 February, 2007.
  18. ^ Judith Miller, "A Personal Account: My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room", New York Times 16 October, 2005.
  19. ^ Neil A. Lewis, "First Source of C.I.A. Leak Admits Role, Lawyer Says", New York Times 30 August, 2006, National Desk, Late Ed–Final: A12, col. 5 (TimesSelect subscription required).
  20. ^ John King and Brian Todd, "Sources: State Department Official Source of Plame Leak", CNN 30 August, 2006.
  21. ^ David Corn, "Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA?" The Nation' 6 February, 2006.
  22. ^ David Johnston and Neil A. Lewis, "Leak Revelation Leaves Questions", The New York Times 2 September, 2006, accessed 24 January, 2007.
  23. ^ Clarice Feldman, "Libby's Defense Goes After Antique Media Reporters", The American Thinker 30 January, 2006, as confirmed by the playing of Libby's taped grand jury testimony in court on 7 February, 2007.
  24. ^ "Russert on Politics: GOP Has Serious National Security Fissure: Dems Can Stand On Sidelines, Watch Republicans Fight," interview with Tim Russert, MSNBC, accessed 23 January, 2007.
  25. ^ 'Scooter' Libby Reportedly Said 'I didn't do it'", Associated Press 30 January, 2007, accessed 15 February, 2007.
  26. ^ Associated Press, "Libby says White House Wanted to Sacrifice Him for Rove", Seattle Times 23 January, 2007, accessed 15 February, 2007.
  27. ^ Jeralyn Merritt, "Libby to Testify at His Trial", TalkLeft (accredited press blog) 23 September, 2006, accessed 24 January, 2007.
  28. ^ Jeralyn Merritt, "Verdict in the Libby Trial", The Washington Post ("Live Online" discussion) 6 March, 2007, 2:00–3:00 p.m., ET.
  29. ^ a b David Stout and Neil Lewis, "Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case", The New York Times 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.
  30. ^ Anderson Cooper 360°, 6 March, 2007, 10:00 p.m–12:00 a.m., ET, live; scheduled to be repeated on 7 March, 2007, 1:00 a.m.–3:00 a.m., ET.
  31. ^ Simon Jeffery, "Libby found guilty in CIA leak trial", The Guardian 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.
  32. ^ "Juror: Libby Is Guilty, But He Was Fall Guy", CNN Newsroom 6 March, 2007, accessed 6 March, 2007.
  33. ^ Cf. Larry King Live and Scarborough Country, first aired 9:00–10:00 p.m., ET, accessed live; repeated at 12:00–1:00 a.m., ET.
  34. ^ Joe Strupp, "Former Colleagues at 'Wash Post' Discuss (Now Famous) Libby Juror", Editor & Publisher, 6 March, 2007, 5:05 p.m., ET, accessed 6 March, 2007.
  35. ^ Scott Shane, "For Liberal Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder", The New York Times 15 February, 2007 [appended correction].

Bibliography

Preceded by Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
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