White House Official faces jail term: 07/03/07
Lewis
Libby, former key aide to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, has been found
guilty of four out of five charges against him, including perjury and
obstruction of justice.
Libby is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the national security adviser John Poindexter, in the Iran-Contra affair two decades ago. The White House official faces a prison term of up to 25 years. He will be sentenced in June.
Libby, who goes by the nickname "Scooter", was one of the administration officials that revealed former CIA agent Valerie Plames's identity to journalists. He was accused of lying to the FBI and a grand jury over revelations about CIA agent’s identity.
The jurors also rejected the Libby’s main defence: that he had not lied but merely had a bad memory.
Defence lawyers said they were "very disappointed" at the verdict, and would ask for a new trial, and if that should fail, would appeal against the conviction.
Libby was expressionless as the verdict was announced on the 10th day of jury deliberations. Mr Cheney expressed his deep disappointment, saying he was "saddened" for Libby's family.
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