#1
Posted: 6/5/07 at 10:32am
The highest-ranking official convicted of a crime since the Iran Contra affair. Will he get three years in jail for obstruction of justice or leniency?
===
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wants to put Libby in prison for up to three years because the investigation he obstructed _ the leak of a CIA operative's identity _ was so serious. Libby's attorneys are seeking no jail time and argue that it's unfair to increase the sentence simply because the investigation was serious.
"No one was ever charged. Nobody ever pleaded guilty," attorney William Jeffress said. "The government did not establish the existence of an offense."
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton was skeptical. By that reasoning, Walton said, witnesses benefit if they aggressively obstruct investigations so prosecutors can't make their case.
Libby was to have the opportunity to speak publicly about the charges later in the day. He has not discussed the case since his 2005 indictment. Throughout his monthlong trial, and following his conviction in March, he always let his lawyers do the talking.
Defense attorneys have not said whether Libby actually will speak. It's a delicate decision, one made more difficult because Libby has maintained his innocence and is appealing his conviction.
"The only thing any sentencing judge wants to hear is remorse, and if they don't think it comes from the heart or they think they're only sorry for getting caught, for losing their job, or for going to jail, it doesn't count," said Hugh Keefe, a Connecticut defense attorney who teaches trial advocacy at Yale University.
Libby Seeks Leniency at Sentencing
===
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wants to put Libby in prison for up to three years because the investigation he obstructed _ the leak of a CIA operative's identity _ was so serious. Libby's attorneys are seeking no jail time and argue that it's unfair to increase the sentence simply because the investigation was serious.
"No one was ever charged. Nobody ever pleaded guilty," attorney William Jeffress said. "The government did not establish the existence of an offense."
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton was skeptical. By that reasoning, Walton said, witnesses benefit if they aggressively obstruct investigations so prosecutors can't make their case.
Libby was to have the opportunity to speak publicly about the charges later in the day. He has not discussed the case since his 2005 indictment. Throughout his monthlong trial, and following his conviction in March, he always let his lawyers do the talking.
Defense attorneys have not said whether Libby actually will speak. It's a delicate decision, one made more difficult because Libby has maintained his innocence and is appealing his conviction.
"The only thing any sentencing judge wants to hear is remorse, and if they don't think it comes from the heart or they think they're only sorry for getting caught, for losing their job, or for going to jail, it doesn't count," said Hugh Keefe, a Connecticut defense attorney who teaches trial advocacy at Yale University.
Libby Seeks Leniency at Sentencing
Updated On: 6/5/07 at 10:32 AM
