I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby biography

Synopsis

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as his Chief of Staff. In October of 2005, Libby was indicted by a federal grand jury for leaking top-secret information about the covert identity of a CIA officer. He was accused of perjury, making false statements, and obstruction of justice. He resigned from all held-positions immediately upon the announcement.

Profile

Lawyer, former U.S. White House staff member. Born on August 22, 1950. Lewis ??Scooter?? Libby became a household name in 2005 as the possible White House source that leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to the media. The son of a successful businessman, Libby went to the elite boarding school Phillips Academy, commonly referred to as Andover. He graduated from Yale University in 1972 and three years later got his law degree from Columbia University.

After practicing law for a while, Scooter Libby got his first job in the federal government. He joined the State Department in 1981 and worked there until 1985. After that, Libby practiced law in a private firm for a few years, only to return to the government??s employ in 1990 at the Department of Defense. After five years, he left the department and began practicing law again. He even found time to write a novel, 1996??s The Apprentice. But Libby didn??t stay away from government for long. He became a member of the White House staff in 2001.

Scooter Libby had three job responsibilities at the White House. He served as assistant to the vice president for national security affairs, as chief of staff to vice president, and as an assistant to the president. In 2003, he reportedly became involved in leaking the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame??the wife of Joseph Wilson. Wilson was a vocal critic of the reports used to support the government??s case for launching the war in Iraq. It is believed by many that the leak was done in retribution for Wilson??s public remarks.

Scooter Libby talked about Plame with several members of the government and the media. New York Times reporter Judith Miller revealed Plame??s identity in her publication. She was later called to testify in the investigation into the leak, but she refused to reveal her source. She spent 85 days in jail for this refusal. Eventually Libby stepped forward as Miller??s source after earlier denials.

On March 6, 2007, Scooter Libby was found guilty of lying during the investigation of the media leak. At trial, he claimed that he didn??t lie, but that he had lapses in memory. Libby was scheduled to be sentenced in June 2007.

In July 2007, President George Bush commuted former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak investigation stating that the sentence was too harsh.