WASHINGTON — Attorneys for convicted former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby began working on a request for a new trial Wednesday as the Bush White House tried to knock down speculation about a possible pardon in the CIA-leak case.
Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was found guilty of perjury and obstruction in the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. The leak came as Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the administration of doctoring intelligence to justify the war in Iraq.
Government prosecutors led by Patrick Fitzgerald spent nearly four years investigating the case but never charged anyone with the leak. Libby will be the only one charged, Fitzgerald said.
At the White House, President Bush was guarded in his comments. In an interview with CNN En Español, he said:
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"This was a lengthy trial on a serious matter, and a jury of his peers convicted him. And we've got to respect that conviction. On a personal note, I was sad. I was sad for a man who had worked in my administration, and particularly sad for his family."
Bush said he could not comment further because it was an ongoing legal matter.
Press secretary Tony Snow brushed off questions about whether Bush would consider a pardon for Libby, saying the case remains under legal review.
"All of this conversation, speculation about a pardon, I know, makes for interesting speculation, but it's just that," Snow said. "Right now, Scooter Libby and his attorneys have made clear that they're going to try to get a retrial, and if they don't get that, they're going to get an appeal."
Attorney William Jeffress, meanwhile, said Libby's defense team has begun preparing the request for a new trial. It's a common request among defense attorneys and one that's not often granted. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton had made several rulings in the case over the objection of defense attorneys.
The request for a new trial is the first move in Libby's uncertain future. He'll face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 5, but his federal sentencing guidelines are much lower. His lawyers said they would ask that Libby remain free while any appeals are fought.
Fitzgerald never explained why former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who originally leaked Plame's identity, never was charged.
Although the criminal case is over, Wilson and Plame have a civil lawsuit pending against Libby, Cheney, Armitage and others.
Wilson praised the Libby verdict. "Convicting him of perjury was like convicting Al Capone of tax evasion or Alger Hiss of perjury," Wilson said. "It doesn't mean they were not guilty of other crimes."
