Libby found guilty in CIA leak case

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted today of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. The conviction focused renewed attention on the Bush administration's much-criticized handling of weapons of mass destruction intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

The verdict culminated a nearly four-year investigation into how CIA official Valerie Plame's name was leaked to reporters in 2003. The trial revealed how top members of the Bush administration were eager to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of doctoring prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Libby, who was once Cheney's most trusted adviser and an assistant to Bush, was expressionless as the jury verdict was announced on the 10th day of deliberations. His wife choked out a sob and sank her head.

He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced June 5 but under federal sentencing guidelines is likely to face far less. Defense attorneys immediately promised to ask for a new trial or appeal the conviction.

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So this is an end, I guess, to one plotline of the CIA leak case. Libby will most certainly appeal, but the inside bet, I've read, is that he is unlikely to win, for various reasons. But the story goes on. Will Bush pardon Libby? Did Cheney actually declassify Plame's cover, without her knowing, so that they could smear her husband? Have these high profile superstar "journalists" learned their lesson about enabling government assholes? And, remember, this Plame leak story is only part of an even greater saga. Will the White House ever face the music for its WMD lies about Iraq? When, if ever, will we leave Iraq? Will we attack Iran?

At any rate, this is, indeed, a grand moment under an overall cloud of darkness. Kind of like how the original Star Wars movie ended in triumph, but the Empire continued to hold great power. I mean, it's now obvious to anybody with half a brain, thanks to this investigation and trial, that the White House is hooked on lying and smearing. We know that. But they've still got cards left to play.

We live in exciting times.

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