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Scooter Libby

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Lewis "Scooter" Libby

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. (born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former top aide to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. He was Cheney's Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs from 2001 to 2005. His "constant presence behind the scenes in the Bush administration" brought him the nickname "Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney."[1][2]

During the George H. W. Bush administration, Libby served in the Department of Defense as principal deputy under secretary (Strategy and Resources), and later was confirmed by the Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy. [3] Libby is considered a key figure in the neoconservative movement. [4][5][6]

On October 28, 2005, Libby resigned his government position, hours after being indicted by a U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel as part of the CIA leak grand jury investigation into how Valerie Plame was exposed as a CIA employee. [7] In January 2006 Libby joined the Hudson Institute as a senior advisor, with a focus on "issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia." [8] Libby's trial over the Plame affair began on January 16, 2007.

Early life and family

Libby was born in New Haven, Connecticut [9] to a Jewish family [10][11] and raised in Florida. His father was a successful investment banker. Sources variously report his given name is Irving (or abbreviations Irve or Irv), [12] and Libby has given differing accounts about the origin of his nickname. [13] After graduating from Eaglebrook School and Andover, exclusive New England boarding schools, Libby graduated from Yale University in 1972, where his professor Paul Wolfowitz was an enormous political influence and mentor. [14] Libby received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia Law School in 1975.

Libby is married to Harriet Grant, a former staff lawyer for the Senate Judiciary Committee when chaired by Democratic Senator Joe Biden. Libby and Grant live in McLean, Virginia, and have two children. [15] Libby's sister, Sandra Libby, is married to John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, the Washington public relations firm responsible for the creation of the Iraqi National Congress.

Early career

After graduating from Columbia, Libby was admitted to practice before the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1976, and he practiced law in Philadelphia. He was admitted to practice 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-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in 1992.

Libby authored a 1996 novel titled The Apprentice, about a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic. [16] [17] Beginning in 2001, Libby was nicknamed "Germ-Boy" at the White House, for insisting on universal smallpox vaccination. [18]

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. [19] 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." [20]

In his work as a private lawyer, Libby's most famous client was billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, a former white collar fugitive. [21] 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, which drew heavy criticism from Republicans. At a Congressional hearing to review Clinton's pardons, Libby denied that Rich had violated any tax laws. [22]

The Plame affair, Libby, and Judith Miller

Further information: [[:CIA leak grand jury investigation, Plame affair, and Plame scandal timeline]]
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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 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." [23]

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." [24]

On August 29, 2006 Neil A. Lewis of The New York Times reported that Deputy Secretary of State Department Richard Armitage was the "initial and primary source" for columnist Robert Novak's July 14, 2003 article, which named Valerie Plame as a CIA "operative".[1] On August 30th 2006, CNN reported that Armitage had been confirmed "by sources" as disclosing Mrs. Wilson's CIA role in a "casual conversation" with Robert Novak. [25] [26]

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".[27]

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

Indictment, resignation, and trial

Main article: United States v. Libby

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:

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 obstruction of 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 [28]; 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 before 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. [29] 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 Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy against a 30-count indictment and participating in the successful defense of former Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan. After Libby's motion to dismiss was denied, it was reported that he would testify at the trial, [30]

Press coverage of the trial

The trial began on January 16, 2007. Extensive coverage of each day's events is being followed by the mass media, including blogs, with some independent bloggers attending the trial and blogging from such first-hand observation.[31] David Schuster is "live-blogging" the trial for MSNBC on HardBlogger.[32]

References

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  1. ^ Stephen Smith (2005-10-28). "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author". CBS News. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  2. ^ "Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a quiet force: Vice president's former top aide is called 'Dick Cheney's Dick Cheney'". MSNBC. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  3. ^ U.S. Department of State Biography (February 2005) via archive.org.
  4. ^ Dickerson, John (October 3, 2005). "Who Is Scooter Libby?" Slate
  5. ^ Petras, James (November 3, 2005). Israel and the Neocons: the Libby affair. CounterPunch
  6. ^ Raimondo, Justin (December 16, 2005). "Scooter Libby, Neocon Martyr." AntiWar.com
  7. ^ a b "Indictment in United States v. I. Lewis Libby" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel. Retrieved November 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help) (full text also available via Wikisource)
  8. ^ –––. Hudson Institute press release. USNewsWire.com January 6, 2006.
  9. ^ Pesca, Mike (October 19, 2005). Guarding the 'I' in I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. NPR
  10. ^ "Jews in the Bush Administration". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  11. ^ Kampeas, Ron (November 6, 2005). "Did Libby's Jewishness impact the CIA leak scandal?" Jerusalem Post
  12. ^ Mike Pesca of NPR (see note above) has reported: "Time Magazine and the website Wikipedia had it as "Irving," USA Today and the New York Times had it as "Irv" without the E. No one noted the "Jr.," although Libby’s father’s name was also Irving, spelled as "Irve" in two references found for him in the Lexis-Nexis database."
  13. ^ 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, on seeing him move quickly across his crib, described him as "a scooter."
  14. ^ Walsh, Kenneth T. "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?". U.S. News & World Report. October 31, 2005. Accessed September 23, 2006.
  15. ^ Leibovich, Mark (October 23, 2005). "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More." Washington Post
  16. ^ Lewis Libby (2001). The Apprentice. ISBN 1-55597-245-4.
  17. ^ "Larry King interview." CNN, aired February 16, 2002.
  18. ^ Scahill, Jeremy (November 9, 2005). Germ Boys and Yes Men. The Nation
  19. ^ Curtiss, Richard S. (September 2004). "I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby: The Nexus of Washington’s Neocon Network." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
  20. ^ Project for the New American Century (September 2000). Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century.
  21. ^ Lyman, John (October 28, 2005). Who is Scooter Libby? Center for American Progress
  22. ^ CNN (March 2, 2001). GOP lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich case.
  23. ^ Libby, Lewis (September 15, 2005). "Letter from Libby to Judith Miller." The New York Times
  24. ^ Miller, Judith (October 16, 2005). "A Personal Account: My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room." New York Times.
  25. ^ King, John and Brian Todd (August 30, 2006). Sources: State Department official source of Plame leak. CNN
  26. ^ Corn, David (February 06, 2006). "Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA?" The Nation.
  27. ^ Johnston, David, and Neil A. Lewis (September 2, 2006). "Leak Revelation Leaves Questions." The New York Times. Accessed January 24, 2007.
  28. ^ Feldman, Clarice (January 30, 2006). "Libby's Defense Goes After Antique Media Reporters." American Thinker.
  29. ^ "Bush goes double or nothing on Iraq: Dems seeking redemption, GOP re-election". MSNBC. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help) Interview of Tim Russert.
  30. ^ Merritt, Jeralyn (September 23, 2006). "Libby to Testify at His Trial." Talk Left. Accessed January 24, 2007.
  31. ^ Merritt, Jeralyn (January 11, 2007). "Some Bloggers Get Press Credentials for Libby Trial." Talk Left. Accessed January 24, 2007.
  32. ^ Schuster, David (January 23, 2007). "Prosecutors Introduce First Evidence at Libby Trial." HardBlogger. Accessed January 24, 2007, as well as reporting on camera on the trial in segments of MSNBC News programs.
Preceded by Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
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