Monday, July 02, 2007

Court won't delay Libby prison sentence

Looks like Libby may well serve time, at least until Christmas 2008, when he will be pardoned, unless he threatens to sing like a songbird in the meantime.

Print Story: Court won't delay Libby prison sentence on Yahoo! News:

Former White House aide I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby cannot delay his 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case, a federal appeals panel unanimously ruled Monday.

The decision is a major setback for Libby, who is running out of legal options and who probably will have to surrender to prison in weeks. The ruling puts pressure on President Bush, who has been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Libby was convicted in March of lying and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. He is the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

Libby believed he had a good chance of overturning the conviction on appeal and asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to put the sentence on hold. In a two-sentence ruling, the court refused.

The White House had no immediate reaction to the decision.

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