Libby Resolution has CIA Agents Worried
On March 6, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former Chief of Staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted on four of five felony counts relating to his role in the "outing" of CIA agent Valerie Plame and the subsequent investigation. However, the convictions related to the post-leak investigation. Libby was not convicted in connection with the actual leak, and Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has reportedly indicated that no additional charges will be filed.
The verdict seems to have left everyone concerned unhappy. Libby, obviously, isn't happy to be facing up to 25 years in prison, and his legal team has already requested a new trial and announced plans for an appeal if the motion for a new trial is denied.
At the same time, officials who usually find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle are united in protest that the most important questions remain unanswered. Even members of the jury that convicted Libby reportedly indicated a belief that there was more to the story, and that Libby hadn't been in this alone.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a statement just moments after the verdict, saying "It's about time someone in the Bush administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics."
The publication of Plame's name in connection with an undercover CIA operation came just days after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, publicly questioned President Bush's statement that the British government had learned that Saddam Hussein had recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Wilson's investigation reportedly revealed that there had been one trip to Niger by an Iraqi official, that the trip had taken place four years earlier, and that there was no evidence that uranium had been discussed.
But Reid also called for the White House to commit to not pardoning Libby-a commitment White House Press Secretary Dana Perino says the President will not make on a hypothetical basis. Citing the ongoing criminal investigation, the White House has declined comment on the verdict overall, saying only that the President is "saddened".
At the same time, current and former CIA operatives have reportedly expressed concern over the fact that no one has been charged with the actual leak of Valerie Plame's name to the media. NPR quoted one former CIA officer as worrying that the lack of indictments for other administration officials might leave the door open for additional leaks in the future.
Thus, it seems that the long awaited Libby verdict resolves very little: Libby's convictions will almost certainly be appealed, no additional charges are apparently forthcoming, no one has been charged with leaking Plame's name to the press, and no one seems to be wholly satisfied with the outcome of the investigation and trial.