I doubt he serves time. If he is allowed to remain free on bond pending his appeal, he'll get pardoned by Bush.
Libby sentenced to 30 months in prisonPOSTED: 12:45 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Former vice presidential aide also assessed $250,000 fine
• Libby was convicted in March of perjury, obstruction of justice
• Libby maintains his innocence, will appeal his conviction
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators looking into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.
He also was fined $250,000. Libby was convicted March 6 of four counts in a five-count indictment alleging perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators.
He plans to appeal the verdict.
The 30-month sentence was for the obstruction of justice charge. Libby received shorter sentences on the other counts, to run concurrently.
"People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem," U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said, according to The Associated Press.
Libby was found guilty in March of lying to investigators about what he told reporters about Valerie Plame, whose identity as a CIA operative was leaked to the media in 2003.
Libby has maintained his innocence ever since he was indicted and resigned in October 2005.
Libby spoke briefly at the sentencing hearing, telling the judge, "It is respectfully my hope that the court will consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole life," the AP reported.
Among those in the packed courtroom were Libby's wife, Harriet Grant, sitting with conservative commentator Mary Matalin, a former Cheney aide, the AP said.
On Tuesday, the judge released dozens of letters written to him by Libby's supporters and detractors, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton.
In one letter, Robert Blackwill, who served as presidential envoy to Iraq and in several other posts under President Bush, said he has known Libby for 20 years.
"During these years at the White House, I encountered no one more driven by analytical temperament, fairness of mind and sound policy reasoning than Scooter Libby," Blackwill said.
"Mr. Libby in my judgment has been, over the decades, an exemplary public policy practitioner."
Another person, whose signature was redacted, wrote, "I am writing to urge that Scooter Libby receive the maximum possible sentence. Due to the crimes for which he was convicted, we may never know of the more substantial criminal activities for which he served as a firewall."
The case involves statements Libby made to the FBI and a grand jury during their probe into how the covert identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was leaked. Libby was the only person charged in the probe. He was not accused of actually leaking classified material.
Plame's name became public when Robert Novak named her in his column on July 14, 2003. Her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had openly questioned the Bush administration's basis for invading Iraq. (Timeline of key events in investigation)
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has admitted he disclosed the information to a reporter. Novak pointed to another "senior administration official" -- Bush political adviser Karl Rove -- as the second source for his column.
After the jury returned its verdict against Libby on March 6, lead defense attorney Ted Wells appeared on the courthouse steps with Libby and his other attorneys and declared, "We have every confidence Mr. Libby ultimately will be vindicated." Wells said he believes his client is "totally innocent and that he did not do anything wrong."
Cheney has continued to express support and empathy for his former chief of staff, and it's possible Libby could be granted a presidential pardon before the end of President Bush's term.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/05/cia.leak.trial/index.html
