WASHINGTON -- Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has shown no remorse for corrupting the legal system and deserves to spend 2 1/2 to three years in prison for obstructing the CIA leak investigation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said Friday.
In court documents, Fitzgerald rejected criticism from Libby's supporters who said the leak investigation had spun out of control. Fitzgerald denied the prosecution was politically motivated and said Libby brought his fate upon himself.
"The judicial system has not corruptly mistreated Mr. Libby," Fitzgerald wrote. "Mr. Libby has been found by a jury of his peers to have corrupted the judicial system."
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who has a reputation for handing down tough sentences, has broad discretion over Libby's fate. Walton faces two important questions: whether to send Libby to prison and, if so, whether to delay the sentence until his appeals have run out.
Firedog Lake has a great analysis on the back story of the Libby sentencing. Even more interesting is a post on Perrspectives, reporting the former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is helping Scooter Libby in his defense in the Valerie Plame scandal. Thompson's name is listed on the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust, and Thompson has been hosting fund raisers in which he has both stated Libby's innocence, and attacked the Fitzgerald investigation, claiming that Valerie Plame was not a covert CIA agent. So we will soon see just how much time Scooter Libby is going to be sitting in a jail cell.
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