Libby

Cheney’s Chief of Staff Charged in Case Involving CIA Agent

A key White House official is in trouble with the law.

I. Lewis Libby was Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff. He resigned from his high-level job in October after being charged with five felonies.

Libby is accused of lying to federal investigators.

Prosecutors say Libby lied about his role in spreading the name of a CIA agent. The woman’s name was supposed to remain secret. However, someone shared her name with two newspaper reporters.

Prosecutors did not charge Libby with leaking the name. They just said he lied when asked what he knew about it.

Libby was charged with obstruction of justice, two counts of lying to the FBI and two counts of committing perjury before a federal grand jury. He pleaded not guilty.  

The case is complicated

The CIA agent’s name is Valerie Plame. She is married to Joseph Wilson. Wilson is a former U.S. Ambassador who said publicly that President George W. Bush misled the country into the Iraq war by saying that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Some suggest that Libby wanted to punish (get back at) Wilson, so he leaked Plame’s name by giving it to the reporters.

The President has said publicly that he would fire anyone in his administration who leaks information.

George H. Bush, the president’s father, was a former head of the CIA before becoming the 41st president of the United States. The elder Bush has said that anyone who reveals a CIA agent’s name commits treason. “Treason” is an illegal act that threatens national security.

Valerie Plame worked undercover. By revealing her identity, Plame was put in danger, along with her many undercover contacts.

Two-year investigation

President Bush ordered an investigation. He appointed Patrick Fitzgerald as a special prosecutor. Fitzgerald has spent almost two years investigating. So far, he has only charged Libby in the case. Others may be charged later. Vice President Cheney is being investigated because Libby is his top adviser. He may also charge Karl Rove, Bush’s top adviser.

“Everyone knows Karl Rove is involved,” Democratic Senator Harry Reid told CNN.com. “If the president is a man of his word, Rove should be history.” Republicans are not so sure.

“Until somebody says that he’s done something wrong, he ought to be permitted to go about his business like anybody else,” Republican Senator Arlen Specter told CNN.com.

Fitzergald said he is continuing to investigate. Other charges may come.

Libby said he is innocent. He said he first got the name of the CIA agent from NBC reporter Tim Russert. Russert denied that.

“He wants to clear his good name, and he wants a jury trial,” Libby’s attorney, Ted Wells, told CNN.com.

Source: CNN.com