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| Politics
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| White House official Libby guilty |
| A former key White House official, Lewis Libby, has been found guilty of obstruction of justice and perjury
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 7-March-2007
9:59:28 AM |
| Libby, ex-chief of staff to Vice-President Dick Cheney, faces a prison term of up to 25 years. He will be sentenced in June.
He was accused of lying to the FBI and a grand jury over revelations about CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.
Libby's lawyer said he was "very disappointed" at the verdict, and would ask for a new trial, or would appeal.
In a statement shortly after the verdict was announced, Mr Cheney expressed his deep disappointment, saying he was "saddened" for Libby's family.
Libby, who goes by the nickname "Scooter", was found guilty on four out of five counts. He was acquitted on one count of lying to the FBI.
Critics claimed the White House had deliberately leaked Ms Plame's identity to ruin her career. Her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had publicly cast doubt on the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq.
It can be a crime to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA agent.
The alleged cover-up, rather than the leak itself, was the subject of the trial.
Libby told FBI investigators and a grand jury investigating the leak of Ms Plame's name, that he had learned of her identity as a CIA agent from reporters.
However, several people testified that he discussed her identity before the date he said he learned of it.
"He claims he forgot nine conversations with eight people over a four-week period," prosecution lawyer Peter Zeidenberg said in his closing statement.
The defence maintained that Libby's false statements were the results of honest lapses in memory by a man tasked with extraordinary responsibility.
"He was bombarded with a blizzard of information. Those briefings would make your toes curl," defence lawyer Theodore Wells said.
The defence also argued that Libby was a scapegoat for the misdeeds of other White House players, like President Bush's political strategist Karl Rove.
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