|
Libby ordered to jail
14/06/2007 21:25 - (SA)
Washington - A US judge on Thursday ordered former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby to go to jail while his lawyer appeals his conviction for lying to investigators in a CIA leak case.
His attorney immediately said he would appeal US Federal Judge Reggie Walton's decision to make Libby report to jail to start serving his 30-month sentence when authorities pick his penitentiary in the coming weeks.
Walton rejected Libby's bid to remain free on bail while appealing his conviction, saying his attorney had failed to show that he had a chance to win a reversal.
Libby, once one of the most trusted aides to Vice-President Dick Cheney, was convicted in March for perjury and obstruction of justice in a case probing whether White House officials leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
His attorney is expected to appeal the conviction in the next few days. Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison on June 5.
Plame's name was leaked to the media in July 2003, triggering accusations that the revelation was aimed at avenging criticism of the White House's rationale for war with Iraq by Plame's ex-diplomat husband, Joseph Wilson.
Libby was found guilty of lying about conversations he had about Plame, but not of leaking her name.
- AFP
|
News
