Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Your Move, Mr. President...
The judge sentenced Libby...after a federal jury found Cheney's one-time top aide guilty of four felonies for failing to tell the truth to a federal grand jury and the FBI about the disclosure of former CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. Libby was convicted of two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements to FBI agents, and one count of obstructing justice. He was acquitted of a fifth count.
[...]
In the court filing that sought Libby's prison term, Fitzgerald emphasized that ibby's lies prevented investigators from learning the full truth about the campaign to discredit Wilson, and may have helped conceal another administration official's criminal leaks.
Fitzgerald noted that Cheney was one of the first people to tell Libby about Plame, and that Libby has testified that Cheney and he may have talked about sharing information about Plame with reporters.Libby may well have to serve his sentence sooner--rather than later. Walton said he saw no reason why Libby should not begin serving his sentence now and would rule on the issue.
Walton instructed both sides to submit arguments about whether Libby should remain free pending appeal and said he would rule after a hearing June 14. Walton's remarks were a surprise to several legal experts who had expected that Walton would follow frequent court practice of releasing white collar criminals pending appeal.
When will Walton rule, ¿quién sabe? But Bush may have to decide, sooner--rather than later--whether Libby goes to prison or not.
Update: Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post writes that Walton will not decide "until a June 14 hearing."
Update II: Not on the list of FOS was Karl Rove, Harriet Miers or Dan Bartlett. In fact, Think Progress via The Swamp reports that Bush claimed he wasn't going to intervene in the case. Yep, just like Rummy wasn't going anywhere.
Update III: The wingnuts at National Review Online are on the war path and demanding an "immediate pardon"for poor blameless Libby.
