| This contest is fueled by the following news: |
| | Lewis Libby was found
guilty in the CIA leak case on three out of four charges this Tuesday.
Most Democrats asked President Bush to reject pardoning petition
from the ex vice presidential chief of staff.
Libby and his attorneys are determined to initiate a new trial and to
appeal the jury's decision in the higher court.
The verdict found Lewis Scooter Libby guilty of lying and preventing a
thorough investigation into Presidential administration documents that
were considered the grounds for starting the Iraq war. Libby
subsequently resigned in 2005 after the indiction.
Vice President Cheney expressed his regrets about jury's decision
saying that Libby is a decent man. "This is the upsetting decision for
Libby, his family and all of us who knew and worked with him. Scooter
has served America for many years and was a man this country can
be proud of. The media frenzy surrounding this case just makes it harder for us all," - added Cheney.
FBI started the investigation in the late 2003 when the identity of
the secret CIA agent Valerie Plame was revealed due to the "inside
leak". The identity became known to the mass media weeks before Bob
Novak published it in his column in July of 2003. At that time Libby's
persona was not mentioned.
When reached for the comment Novak said he received this information
from the presidential administration officials, namely Bush's
political adviser Karl Rove, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage. Interestingly, none of the two officials testified at the
Scooter trial.
Joseph Wilson, who is a former Ambassador and Valerie Plame's
husband, published a New York Times article in July 2003 where he
expressed his deep criticism of the grounds for starting the Iraq war
by the President.
The jury found that Scooter Libby has intentionally leaked the
identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to hurt her husband for publishing
the controversial New York Times article. Later Libby lied about how
he learned about the Plame role and gave the misleading information to
the investigation, thus causing the obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors said they are satisfied with the guilty verdict and will
start counter actions to any attempts of Scooter's attorneys to
reverse the verdict. |
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Lewis "Scooter" Libby was found 