who is scooter libby's lawyer?

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I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby (first name generally given as Irv, Irve or Irving; born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. [X] …

Personal history

Libby was born to an affluent Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut; his late father, Irving (or Irve) Lewis Liebowitz, was an investment banker.

The Apprentice

Libby's only novel, The Apprentice, about a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic, was first published in a hardback edition, by Graywolf Press, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1996 and reprinted as a trade paperback, by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books, in 2002.

Legal career

After earning his J.D. from Columbia in 1975, Libby joined the firm of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP, becoming a partner the following year (1976). He was admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976, and to the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on May 19, 1978.

Government public service and political career

In 1981, after working as a lawyer in the Philadelphia firm Schnader LLP, Libby accepted the invitation of his former Yale University political science professor and mentor Paul Wolfowitz to join the U.S. State Department's policy planning staff. From 1982 to 1985, according to his official U.S.

Involvement in the Plame affair

Between 2003 and 2005 intense speculation centered on the possibility that Libby may have been the administration official who had "leaked" classified employment information about Valerie E.

Indictment and resignation

On October 28, 2005, as a result of the CIA leak grand jury investigation, Special Counsel Fitzgerald indicted Libby on five counts: one count of obstruction of justice two counts of making false statements when interviewed by agents of the FBI, and two counts of perjury in his testimony before the grand jury.

Trial, conviction, and sentencing

On March 6, 2007, the jury convicted him on four of the five counts but acquitted him on count three, the second charge of making false statements when interviewed by federal agents about his conversations with Time reporter Matthew Cooper.

Who is Scooter Libby?

Libby is an attorney who served in the George W. Bush administration, most notably as Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. The 67-year-old lawyer served in the Bush administration from 2001 to 2005, but resigned after he was indicted by a grand jury on five counts for perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to the FBI.

Is Scooter Libby in jail?

No. Libby was convicted in 2007 for obstruction and perjury over his role in the Plame investigation. He was given a prison sentence of 2 and a half years, but President George W. Bush granted him clemency, although it was not a full pardon.

Who is Libby's lawyer?

Joseph Tate, Libby's lawyer, "is outlining a possible criminal defense that is a time-honored tradition in Washington scandals: A busy official immersed in important duties cannot reasonably be expected to remember details of long-ago conversations," the Associated Press's Pete Yost wrote October 29, 2005. "The lack-of-memory defense has worked with varying degrees of success in controversies from Iran-Contra to Whitewater ."

When did Libby appear in court?

Libby, who made his first court appearance on Thursday, November 3, 2005, before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton "on criminal charges stemming from the CIA leak investigation," as expected, plead innocent.

When did the CIA leak start?

"In the opening days of the CIA leak investigation in early October 2003, FBI agents working the case already had in their possession a wealth of valuable evidence," Washington Post writers Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei reported November 13, 2005.

Who was the prosecutor for the Libby case?

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom after the verdict, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said that "The jury worked very long and hard and deliberated at length ... [and] was obviously convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had lied and obstructed justice in a serious manner. ... 'I do not expect to file any further charges,' Fitzgerald said. 'We're all going back to our day jobs.'" As "the trial confirmed [that the leak] came first from then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ", and since Fitzgerald did not charge Armitage and expects to charge no one else, Libby's conviction "closed ... the nearly four-year investigation into how the name of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, and her classified job at the CIA were leaked to reporters in 2003 just days after Wilson publicly accused the administration of doctoring prewar intelligence."

When was Libby indicted?

On October 28, 2005, after twenty-two months of the investigation, a federal grand jury indicted Libby in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On November 3, 2005, Libby appeared at his arraignment before Judge Reggie B. Walton and pleaded not guilty.

How long is Libby's sentence?

Given current federal sentencing guidelines, which are not mandatory, if he had been convicted on all five counts, Libby's sentence could have ranged from no imprisonment to imprisonment of up to 25 years and a fine of $US1,000,000. Given those non-binding guidelines, according to lawyer, author, New Yorker staff writer, and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Anderson Cooper 360°, the sentence based on Libby's conviction on four counts could have been between "one and a half to three years."

Who was the prosecutor for the Plame affair?

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former high-ranking official in the George W. Bush administration, for interfering with special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald 's criminal investigation of the Plame affair . Libby served as Assistant to the President under George W. Bush and Chief of Staff to the Vice President ...

When did the prison term for Libby go to prison?

After denial of Libby's bond by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, President Bush commuted the prison term portion of Libby's sentence on July 2, 2007, leaving in place the felony conviction, the $250,000 fine, and the terms of probation (supervised release).

Who was the Special Counsel in the Plame case?

On December 30, 2003, Patrick J. Fitzgerald was named Special Counsel by Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey and charged with conducting the investigation into the Plame affair. Fitzgerald was granted the full plenary power of the Attorney General in the Libby case, as clarified by Comey in letters of February 6, 2004, and August 12, 2005.

Did Libby's lawyers say he was innocent?

After the verdict, initially, Libby's lawyers announced that he would seek a new trial, and that, if that attempt were to fail, they would appeal Libby's conviction. "'We have every confidence Mr. Libby ultimately will be vindicated,' defense attorney Ted Wells told reporters. He said that Libby was 'totally innocent and that he did not do anything wrong.' Libby did not speak to reporters." His lawyers took no questions.

Personal History

• Background and education
  Libby was born to an affluent Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut; his late father, Irving (or Irve) Lewis Liebowitz, was an investment banker. Libby graduated from the Eaglebrook School, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, a middle school, in 1965, according to his old friend, former roommat…
• Marriage and family
  Libby is married to Harriet Grant, whom he met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the late 1980s while he was a partner and she an associate in the law firm then known as Dickstein, Shapiro, and Morin: When he and Harriet became serious,' Dickstein partner Kenneth Simon wrote, 'she chose …

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The Apprentice

Legal Career

Government Public Service and Political Career

Involvement in The Plame Affair

Indictment and Resignation

Trial, Conviction, and Sentencing

The Wilsons' Civil Suit

See Also

Notes