Breaking: "Scooter" Libby Disbarred
CNN reports that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been disbarred in the District of Columbia:
The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson."When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion, which is posted on its Web site.
"When convictions on more than one count are involved, disbarment is mandated if any one of them involves moral turpitude," the court added.
The D.C. Court of Appeals opinion is posted [PDF]. POTUS commuted Libby's 30-month prison term last year. So Scooter may be disbarred, but at least he's not behind bars.
Good editorial cartoon of "Scooter" flying off cliff while Cheney looks on, by Steve Breen of Copley News Service, available here (click on thumbnail to enlarge).
Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred [CNN]
(21) Comments
Poor Scooter. He was such a great scapegoat.
First to say: Poor Scooter! He was such a great scapegoat.
Scooter has some fine company...Bill Clinton was disbarred from SCOTUS and Arkansas....was Nixon disbarred? Oh and lets not forget dear Eliot
Ha ha!
he got his scooter libbied
Since when is loving your country too much a crime of moral turpitude? No doubt they were Clinton appointees
Isn't this whole episode a little ridiculous? The prosecutors knew well before his trial that the person they were really looking for was Richard Armitage. They knew well before that that there was no underlying crime.
Huh? What?
11:32 - There was an article that ATL linked to suggesting Spitzer won't get disbarred.
Sure, f**king whores is bad, but it doesn't go to honesty in the same way as perjury (unless you're Mrs. Spitzer).
11:43: loving your country????
Oh, *that's* why Scooter outed a covert CIA agent working in the area of weapons of mass destruction.
Fucking moron.
Disbarred? Is that all? That guy should be picking up trash on the side of the freeway for the rest of his life in an orange jumpsuit OR completely naked. I would settle for a cell in a federal pen - General population of course.
I could totally see Scooter as a member of the Aryan Brotherhood...
"Oh, *that's* why Scooter outed a covert CIA agent working in the area of weapons of mass destruction."
Amazing. In one sentence you managed to say two things that were proven false years ago, yet you call someone else a moron. Here are some facts for you:
1. Valerie Plame was not "covert" for more than 6 years before her name was released. This is confirmed by her husband's own book. No one was ever charged with "leaking" her name because it was not a crime.
2. Richard Armitage released her name, not Scooter Libby.
This is news, why?
hilarious -- your "facts" are totally bogus.
Libby most definitely spread her name to journalists. This is absolutely clear. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/03/06/GR2007030600582.gif)
Several of his convictions concerned his lies to FBI agents about what he had told reporters.
Secondly, Plame most definitely WAS covert.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2007/02/21/was_she_covert/
Get a grip, mr wingnut.
I'm not even that smart and I figured out that the way you go after a VP is impeachment. Fitzy telegraphed THAT over and over..... sheesh. Armitage indeed. Schmucks.
Once again, amazing. There was no prosecution for any underlying offense. The timeline in her own husband's book puts her well outside any applicable statute. In the Judith Miller case, every major newspaper in the country joined a brief demonstrating (with plenty of facts) that he had not been covert in nearly a decade.
Oh well, you have a lefty blog that says otherwise. I guess she was covert after all. Quick, let's get Fitzgerald on the phone. He'll be overjoyed to hear that you and your powerful googling skills have unearthed more than his two year long investigation.
"Libby most definitely spread her name to journalists. This is absolutely clear ...
Several of his convictions concerned his lies to FBI agents about what he had told reporters."
Do you have any idea what you are talking about? It was never even alleged that Libby "told reporters" anything. The allegation was that the reporters told HIM Plame's identity.
How long would it take you to inform yourself before writing these comments? 5 minutes?
amazing how misinformed you are.
It was never even alleged that Libby "told reporters" anything.
hilarious. Read count one of the WaPo link above. CONVICTED of misleading investigators about how he DISCLOSED her identity to journalists.
You know NOTHING about the case. Look at the verdict, you idiot! Not only was his "telling reporters" alleged, a jury found it *proven beyond a reasonable doubt.*
Do you think WMDs were in Iraq too? That Saddam wouldn't let inspectors in?
fool
your repeated statement that "[t]here was no prosecution for any underlying offense" is utterly beside the point, you moron. Fitz didn't charge that because the level of intent required -- the leaker must *know* the person is covert & still leak -- is very high. Plame most definitely was covert. If Libby hadn't done anything wrong, why did he lie & misstate his actions to FBI investigators?
It's much like Capone getting nabbed for tax fraud, when he was a gangster. Getting good evidence together to show his illegal activities was difficult, but the tax case was a slam dunk. Likewise, rather than try the difficult-to-prove outing of a covert agent, Scooter clearly lied to agents & reporters' testimony contradicted his.
stop getting your info from ignorant wingnut goons like Limbaugh & Fox and you'd be much better off.
wtf - you sir, are the idiot.
We went to Iraq to free the Iraqi people from an evildoing dictator who had weapons of mass destruction and was prepared to assist his close allies, Al Qaida, in using them against the U.S. If you believe anything to the contrary, you sir are a liberal media watching, America hating, pansy.
i can only believe 2:19 is a parody, right?
god help us all if actual people persist in "believing" such things.
Why do you need a conviction for the underlying offense - wasn't Libby convicted of lying under oath and obstruction of justice? Is that not good enough to be disbarred? What does the poor man have to do - f*** an intern?