Tuesday’s conviction of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was a repudiation of the arrogance of White House insiders who manipulated intelligence and attacked their critics.
Libby resigned last year as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and now he’s on the hook for a prison term. Some loyalists are already whispering the “P” word, but it would be intolerable for President Bush to overturn the jury’s judgment with a pardon. Libby should be held accountable.
The picture that emerged from the perjury and obstruction trial of Libby is one of officials who thought nothing of attacking an opponent of their Iraq war policy, even jeopardizing a career intelligence officer.
In 2003, when former ambassador Joe Wilson wrote a column questioning the administration’s justification for invading Iraq, Cheney ordered Libby to talk to certain reporters in a campaign to discredit Wilson. The collateral damage was Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA operative whose identity was leaked. It ruined her career and put her life and those of her contacts at risk. When confronted, Libby “forgot” key conversations and lied to federal investigators.
A jury convicted him of perjury, obstructing justice and lying.
The trial focused an unflattering spotlight on others in the Bush administration who leaked Plame’s identity, including White House adviser Karl Rove, then-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer and then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. And it exposed Cheney as a behind-the-scenes operator who dictated strategy and statements for others in the administration.
Cheney and Rove weren’t charged in the investigation, which special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said is now finished, but they certainly were impugned. Fitzgerald said during closing statements that Cheney’s actions put a “cloud” over the White House. The cloud remains, Fitzgerald said, because Libby obstructed the investigation into it.
The point wasn’t lost on jurors. “Where’s Rove? Where’s the other guys? It seemed like he [Libby] was the fall guy,” juror Dennis Collins said outside the courthouse. Indeed, Libby fell because of his own decision to lie, perhaps to protect Cheney.
Libby’s lawyer promptly announced his intention to seek a new trial and appeal Tuesday’s verdict. We don’t doubt that he will be fishing for a pardon as well, and on Tuesday a White House spokeswoman refused to rule it out. She should have – it’s essential that the president let justice run its course and allow Libby to pay for his crimes.
