I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Cheney’s Chief of Staff Indicted by Feds over CIA Leak Probe
By HNN Staff
Washington, DC (HNN) – Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted Friday, Oct. 28, 2005 on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in a case that goes to the heart of the Bush administration's reasons for invading Iraq. Libby quickly resigned.
He was charged in connection with statements he made to FBI agents and to a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Wilson, also known by her unmarried name, Valerie Plame.
The five felony counts were handed up by a federal grand jury, as the panel's term expired. If convicted on all charges, Libby would face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. The indictment accuses Libby of lying to a grand jury about how and when he learned about Plame's identity in 2003 and then told reporters about it. The information was classified. Libby is not charged with actually leaking the information.
Libby's claim that he learned of Plame's identity from journalist Tim Russert "would be a compelling story if it were true. It is not true," Fitzgerald said at a news conference Friday (see below for complete text of news conference)..
Libby and Karl Rove, Bush's deputy chief of staff his closest political advisor, have been at the center of the nearly two-year-long investigation by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
"The special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he has made no decision about whether or not to bring charges and that Mr. Rove's status has not changed," Rove's lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, said in a statement Friday morning, Oct. 28, 2005.