Libby to Court Today [View All]

Libby heads back to court Thursday to try to delay prison sentence
By Associated Press
Thursday, June 14, 2007 - Updated: 05:50 AM EST

WASHINGTON - Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is headed back to court to try to forestall his 2½-year prison term in the CIA leak case. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, planned to ask a federal judge Thursday to put the sentence on hold while he appeals his perjury and obstruction conviction. It would be a longshot request before a judge who has already said he sees no reason to grant it.

But even if U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton were to order Libby to prison at Thursday’s hearing, it is unlikely Libby would be taken away in handcuffs. Rather, it would led to more maneuvering in Libby’s legal fight.

If they lose Thursday, Libby’s lawyers have said they asks an appeals court for an emergency order delaying the sentence. Because one of the issues in the appeal is whether Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had the authority to charge Libby, defense lawyers also could ask the Supreme Court to step in. ....

Libby maintains his innocence and says any misstatements were the result of a bad memory, not deception. To win a delay of his sentence, Libby’s lawyers would have to show there was a good chance they could overturn the conviction on appeal. ....

more at:

http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=1006427