Libby Disbarred
I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was convicted of lying to prosecutors in an investigation into the outing of a CIA officer, was disbarred in the District of Columbia today. (Click here for a copy of the opinion from the D.C. Court of Appeals. Thanks for the link fix, ACS.)
Though the move comes as little surprise — the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was suspended from the bar immediately after being charged, and any lawyer convicted of crimes of moral turpitude is subject to disbarrment — it’s something of a bookend to the Valerie Plame name game. (Click here for a quick refresher.)
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby last June to 30 months in prison for lying to prosecutors about when and how he learned Plame’s identity. (“For whatever reason, he got off course,” Walton explained at the sentencing.) President Bush commuted Libby’s sentence to a $250,000 fine and two years probation in July, calling the prison time “harsh” and “based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.”
The D.C. Court of Appeals had been waiting on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rule on Libby's appeal before taking action. Libby withdrew his appeal in December, perhaps recognizing that his commutation would be rendered meaningless if the case were kicked back to Walton for a new trial. Or maybe he was banking on a full pardon. Or maybe he just didn't have money to burn on an appeal.
In any event, he remains a convicted felon without a license to practice law in the District.
Mr. Libby was previously suspended in Pennsylvania for the same reason.
Libby, I. Lewis Jr. 23330 105 DB 2007 Out of State 12/03/2007 Suspended Temporary Suspension - Criminal Conviction
Posted by: Joyce | March 20, 2008 at 02:57 PM
There is a typo in the link to the Court of Appeals decision. It is available here: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/dc/libby_disbarred.pdf
Posted by: the correct link | March 20, 2008 at 11:32 AM