Scooter Libby

Lewis "Scooter" Libby

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. (born August 22, 1950) is the former Chief of Staff and assistant for National Security Affairs to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and a former presidential advisor. His "constant presence behind the scenes in the Bush administration" brought him the nickname "Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney."

On October 28, 2005, Libby resigned his government position, hours after being indicted by a grand jury. His trial has not yet occurred.

On January 6, 2006, the Hudson Institute announced that Libby had joined that organization as a senior advisor, with a focus on "issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia. He also will offer research guidance and will advise the institute in strategic planning."

Career

Libby was raised in Florida. After graduating from Eaglebrook School and Andover, exclusive New England boarding schools, Libby graduated from Yale University in 1972, where one of his professors was Paul Wolfowitz. Libby received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia University Law School in 1975.

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Libby practiced law in Philadelphia. He was admitted to practice before the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976 and before the Bar of the District of Columbia on May 19, 1978.

Libby first entered government service in the United States Department of State in 1981, as a member of the Policy Planning Staff in the Office of the Secretary. From 1982 to 1985 he served in that department as director of special projects in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During the George H. W. Bush administration, Libby served in the United States Department of Defense as principal deputy under secretary (Strategy and Resources), and later was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy. Libby co-authored the draft of the "Defense Planning Guidance" with Paul Wolfowitz for the then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney in 1992.

Libby has also, at various times in his career, held positions with the American Bar Association, been on the advisory board of the RAND Corporation's Center for Russia and Eurasia, and been a legal advisor to the United States House of Representatives. He has consulted for the defense contractor Northrop Grumman. He has also been active in the Defense Policy Board of the Pentagon while it was chaired by Richard Perle. (Reference [1])

Libby was a founding member of the Project for the New American Century. He joined Wolfowitz, William Kristol, Robert Kagan, and others in writing its 2000 report titled, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century."[2]

In his work as a private lawyer, Libby's most famous client was billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, a former white collar fugitive. Libby represented Rich from 1985 until 2000, during which time Libby's firm received more than $2 million from Rich for representing him. Rich was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in January 2001, during the last hours of the Clinton administration, a pardon that drew heavy criticism from Republicans. At a Congressional hearing to review Clinton's pardons, Libby denied that Rich had violated any tax laws. [3]

The Plame affair, Libby, and Judith Miller

Further information: [[:CIA leak grand jury investigation, Plame affair, and Plame scandal timeline]]

In 2003 and 2004, intense speculation about Libby centered on the possibility that he may have been the administration official who "outed" Valerie Plame Wilson, a CIA employee whose identity was classified.

The American Prospect revealed in August 2005 that Libby testified that he met with Judith Miller on July 8, 2003, and discussed Wilson's wife with her at that time. It was later learned Miller's notes indicated the name "Flame" rather than Plame.

Miller was jailed on July 7, 2005, for contempt of court after refusing to testify to the grand jury about this meeting despite a signed blanket waiver from Libby allowing journalists to discuss their conversations. Miller has argued that Libby's waiver to all journalists could have been coerced and that she would only testify if given an individual waiver, which Miller received after serving most of her sentence.

The waiver was offered "voluntarily and personally" by Libby, accompanied by a letter which has raised eyebrows because of his hinting as to what he expects from her testimony, and a poetic and cryptic ending which has been the subject of much speculation.

As noted above, my lawyer confirmed my waiver to other reporters in just the way he did with your lawyer. Why? Because as I am sure will not be news to you, the public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear that they did not discuss Ms. Plame's name or identity with me, or knew about her before our call.

. . . .
You went to jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover – Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats, bird flu and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work—-and life. Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

With admiration, Scooter Libby."

Miller was released on September 29, 2005 after agreeing to testify. She appeared in front of the grand jury on September 30, but was not relieved of contempt until after testifying again on October 12. For her second grand jury appearance, Miller produced a notebook from a previously-undisclosed meeting with Libby on June 23, 2003, several weeks before Wilson's New York Times editorial was published. According to Miller's notes from that earlier meeting, Libby disclosed that Joseph Wilson's wife was a CIA employee involved in her husband's trip to Niger. Miller's notebook from her July 8, 2003 meeting with Libby contains the name "Valerie Flame."[4][5]

On August 29, 2006 Neil A. Lewis of The New York Times reported that Armitage was the "initial and primary source" for columnist Robert Novak's July 14, 2003 article, which named Valerie Plame as a CIA "operative".[6] On August 30th 2006, CNN reported that Armitage had been confirmed "by sources" as leaking Ms. Wilson's CIA role in a "casual conversation" with Robert Novak.[7]

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales was informed that Armitage was involved on October 2, 2003, but asked not to be told details. Patrick Fitzgerald began his grand jury investigation knowing Armitage was the leaker (as did Attorney General John Ashcroft before turning over the investigation). According to lawyers close to Libby, "the information about Mr. Armitage’s role may help Mr. Libby convince a jury that his actions were relatively inconsequential".[8]

Fitzgerald has issued no statement about Armitage's involvement, and as of September 2006, the CIA leak investigation remains open.

Indictment, resignation, and upcoming trial

On October 28, 2005, Libby resigned from his position in the White House, immediately after he was indicted on criminal felony charges by a grand jury. He was charged with:

• one count of obstruction of justice;
• two counts of perjury; and
• two counts of making false statements.

Each count carries a $250,000 fine, so, if convicted, he could face up to $1.25 million in fines. The charges also carry a maximum prison term of thirty years. The case is United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby.

Neither Libby nor any other Bush Administration officials have to date been charged with the crime of revealing the identity of a CIA agent, the original focus of the investigation. Rather, all charges to date are for allegedly lying to investigators and to the grand jury and for obstructing justice - all of which are felony charges. Supporters have pointed to the lack of indictments on the underlying matter as vindication that no laws relating to the "outing" of a CIA agent were broken. Detractors point out that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald made clear in a press conference that he believes that the actions of Libby in lying to federal investigators and the grand jury have hindered his investigation into the matter, using the analogy of someone having kicked sand in the umpire's eyes - making it difficult to see what happened.

Libby allegedly told investigators that he first heard of Plame's CIA employment as a rumor from journalist Tim Russert; or, alternatively, that he mistakenly thought Russert was his first source because he had forgotten a single prior notification; that he did not know whether this rumor was true; and that he told other reporters he did not know whether it was true. The indictments charge that these statements were false in that Libby had numerous conversations about Plame's CIA employment prior to speaking to Russert; Russert did not tell Libby about Plame's CIA employment; Libby knew for a certainty that Plame was employed by the CIA; and Libby told reporters that Plame worked for the CIA without any disclaimer that he did not know whether this was true or not. The 'false statements' charges stem from making these claims to the FBI, the 'perjury' charges from repeating them to the grand jury, and the 'obstruction' charge from the view that Libby made these statements in an effort to prevent the investigation from uncovering the truth.

Libby, who was questioned by the FBI in the fall of 2003, and testified before a Federal grand jury on March 5, 2004 and again on March 24, 2004, states that he is completely innocent of the charges and that he will be exonerated. He does not publicly comment on the apparent contradictions between his testimony and that of others.

Libby retains attorney Ted Wells of the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to represent him in the case. Wells is known for successfully defending Clinton Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy against a 30 count indictment, and participating in the successful defense of former labor secretary Raymond Donovan.

On November 16, 2005, Washington Post senior editor Bob Woodward, who helped uncover the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, revealed that he had just given testimony that another senior Bush administration official had given out information about Valerie Plame prior to and in addition to Mr. Libby. Fitzgerald had called Libby the first "known" official to do so - thus Woodward's revelation does not counter Fitzgerald's specific and carefully-worded characterization at that time.

It has been speculated [9] that Libby is using Graymail as a defense tactic. This is evident by the huge amount of classified material that has been requested by his defense and the addition of the graymail expert John D. Cline to his defense team.[10]

On February 2, 2006, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton sets Libby's trial date to January 8, 2007.

On February 9, 2006, The National Journal reports that Libby had testified to the grand jury that he had been authorized by his superiors to disclose classified information regarding intelligence estimates of Iraq's weapons programs. The article identified Vice President Cheney as one such superior and was based on unpublished statements of lawyers with knowledge of the situation and documents said to have been filed with the court. [11]

On February 23, 2006, a motion to dismiss is filed by attornies for Libby. The motion is based on the status of Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald acting as a principal officer requiring appointment by the President and confirmation by the Senate, making the existence of the special prosecutor extra-constitutional and in violation of the Appointments Clause (United States Constitution, Article II § 2).

On April 5, 2006, court filings reveal that Libby had testified during the grand jury investigation about information that Vice President Cheney and President Bush had authorized disclosing. These filings are disclosed widely in the press and news media the following day. The original intent of the filing is to restrict Libby's access to further classified information in defense discovery. [12]

On April 13, 2006, Libby's lawyers indicated that neither Vice President Cheney nor President Bush ordered him to say anything about Valerie Plame. A court filing by Libby's defense team argues that Valerie Plame was not foremost on the minds of administration officials as they sought to rebut charges made by her husband, Joseph Wilson, that the White House manipulated intelligence to make a case for invasion. The filing indicates that Libby's lawyers don't intend to say he was told to reveal Plame's identity.[13] The court papers also said that "Mr. Libby plans to demonstrate that the indictment is wrong when it suggests that he and other government officials viewed Ms. Wilson's role in sending her husband to Africa as important," His lawyers also plan to call to the stand Karl Rove, who remains under investigation.

On May 24, 2006, Fitzgerald filed a response to a motion by Libby's lawyers, offering summaries of Libby's grand jury testimony[14] as well as excerpts from Libby's testimony of March 5, 2004 and March 24, 2004[15].

On September 01, 2006, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer described Libby's life as "having been ruined" for no reason and called on President Bush to pardon him.

On September 22, 2006, according to Matt Apuzzo for the Associated Press, Libby's attorney's reported that "Libby Plans to Testify in CIA Leak Trial" United States v. Libby in his own defense.[16]

Personal

Libby is married to Harriet Grant, a former staff lawyer for the Senate Judiciary Committee when the committee was chaired by Democratic senator Joe Biden. Libby and Grant live in McLean, Virginia, a Washington suburb, and have two children. [17] Libby is Jewish. Libby's sister, Sandra Libby, is married to John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, the Washington PR company responsible for the creation of the Iraqi National Congress.

Trivia

• Libby's former office in the Old Executive Office Building was the office of Theodore Roosevelt when Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

• Libby has apparently not disclosed his first name indicated by the initial "I." NPR has reported that the initial stands for "Irve" on the basis of examining yearbooks at Libby's alma mater, Yale University. A LexisNexis database search yields two references to Libby's father, whose first name is also Irve. On late-night talk shows Brian Williams and Al Franken have stated that Libby's first name is "Irving."

• Libby has provided various accounts of how he acquired his nickname. On some occasions Libby has claimed that his nickname, "Scooter", derives from a childhood comparison to "the Scooter" Phil Rizzuto, whereas on other occasions he has claimed that it was given to him by his father who, upon seeing him move quickly across his crib, described him as "a scooter."[18] Many believe that Libby encourages if not cultivates the use of his nickname in order to appear less threatening to his political opponents.

• Apparently, Libby injured his foot during the final days of the grand jury investigation; he was using crutches publicly as of October 26th, 2005.[19]

• After his indictment, a novel that Libby wrote in 1996 (The Apprentice) gained new attention. In the book, Libby tells the story of a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic. The New Yorker has reprinted passages describing extremely graphic pedophilia, bestiality, rape and incest. [20]. An autographed copy of the book has been auctioned at Amazon.com for $2400, and unsigned hardcover copies went on sale for $1000.Lewis Libby (2001). The Apprentice. ISBN 1-55597-245-4.
• During the 2001 - 2002 timeframe, Libby was nicknamed "Germ-Boy" at the White House, for insisting on universal smallpox vaccination.[21]

References

• ""October 28, 2005 Indictment: US v Libby"" (PDF). US Attorney General's Office. Retrieved November 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help) (page 2, section b)
• Copies of the indictments
  • OSC Indictment of I. Lewis Libby (in PDF format), October 28 2005 (Case index)
  • USDOJ OSC Federal indictment of I. Lewis Libby - Wikisource
• MSNBC interview of Tim Russert. "RUSSERT ON POLITICS: GOP has serious national security fissure: Dems can stand on sidelines, watch Republicans fight". Accessed September 23, 2006.
• A discussion of Libby's legal strategy
• Letter from Libby to Judith Miller The New York Times website. September 15 2005. Template:Pdflink.
• Larry King interview. CNN.com. February 16 2002.
• Libby trial may be embarrassing for Bush.
• U.S. Department of State Biography.
• Who is Scooter Libby? The Guy Behind the Guy Behind the Guy.
• Profile of Libby. CNN.com. October 28 2005.
• Profile of Lewis Libby, Notable Names DataBase.
• SourceWatch profile of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
• Profile of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. RightWeb.
• The Nexus of Washington’s Neocon Network wrmea.com. Sept. 2004.
• RightWeb Chart - Bush Foreign Policy Team.
• Profile: Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Center for Cooperative Research.
• Scooter Libby Daily Kos.
• Corn, David. Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA? The Nation February 06, 2006.
• Dickerson, John. Who Is Scooter Libby?, Slate October 3, 2005.
• Libby, Lewis. The Apprentice. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001. ISBN 0-312-28453-5.
• Lyman, John. Who is Scooter Libby? Center for American Progress October 28, 2005.
• Merritt, Jeralyn. Libby to Testify at His Trial. Talk Left September 23, 2006.
• Motion to Dismiss. ScooterLibby.org February 23, 2006.
• Petras, James. Israel and the Neocons: the Libby affair. Counter Punch November 3, 2005.
• Raimondo, Justin. Scooter Libby, Neocon Martyr. AntiWar.com December 16, 2005.
• –––. Hudson Institute press release. USNewsWire.com January 6, 2006.
• Walsh, Kenneth T. "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?". U.S. News & World Report. October 31, 2005. Accessed September 23, 2006.

External links

• Libby Legal Defense Trust - Lewis Libby's personal website
• Pennsylvania Courts Attorney Disciplinary Board - Official website of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Attorney Member Search for the D.C. Bar Association - Attorney Search Utility Webpage on the official website of the District of Columbia Bar Association
• Plamegate timeline, AIPAC / Franklin Pentagon mole indictment, Niger yellowcake connections? at NewsFollowUp.com.

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