Vice President's Former Chief of Staff is Guilty!

The jury just found Scooter Libby guilty on four of the five counts against him!

He's planning an appeal. But this is still a very GOOD day! And I have to echo the statement of the jurors below, who were apparently sympathetic to Libby. They pegged him as a scapegoat, and noted that the info couldn't have gotten out if it hadn't been deliberately leaked by SOMEONE, several someones, it seems.

When will they get their day in court?

Link: Libby guilty on 4 of 5 counts - CNN.com.

Libby guilty on 4 of 5 counts

Story Highlights

• Libby faces 25 years in prison, $1 million fine
• Libby attorney says appeals planned
• President Bush says he's saddened by verdict
• Vice President Dick Cheney's ex-aide lied about outing of CIA operative

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been found guilty on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

Libby was convicted of:

• obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame;
• making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert;
• perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert;
• a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters.

Jurors cleared him of a second count of making a false statement relating to a conversation he had with Matt Cooper of Time magazine.

Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, "He is virtually certain to go to prison if this conviction is upheld."

[Yeah, unless he's somehow, miraculously pardoned, by his bosses, thus revealing that he was doing what they wanted him to do. But if that happens, I'd have to wonder if anyone linked too closely to the Bush administration could ever get elected or re-elected to anything.]

[...]

As he walked into the courtroom to hear the verdict, Libby was calm and smiling, "there was almost a swagger," CNN's Brianna Keilar reported.

As the verdicts were read, Libby blinked and "it seemed as if he was somewhat surprised," Keilar reported.

[...]

A statement from lawyers representing Plame and Wilson said the couple was pleased by the verdict and believed justice had been served.

But the Wilsons said they would continue to pursue a civil case against Cheney, Libby, Bush's adviser Karl Rove and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

"The criminal trial was about whether or not Mr. Libby obstructed justice and committed perjury by lying to FBI agents and the grand jury about the fact that he had disclosed to reporters that Valerie Wilson worked for the CIA.

"The civil suit, on the other hand, hinges on whether or not the defendants violated the constitutional rights of Valerie and Joe Wilson by making those disclosures in a concerted effort to retaliate against Joe Wilson for revealing the falsity of the president's rationale for the Iraq war," the statement said.

One juror, Denis Collins, said "there was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby on the jury.

"It was said, 'Where's Rove, where are these other guys?'

"We're not saying that we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was the fall guy," Collins said.

[...]

Comments

[Sterling Camden]

Yes, a good day for justice. There are too few of them not to celebrate it.