United States V. Libby - Overview of The Trial and The Presidential Commutation

Overview of The Trial and The Presidential Commutation

The trial in the case of the United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby began on January 16, 2007. On March 6, Libby was convicted of four out of the five counts against him. He was found guilty of two counts of perjury in testimony before a federal grand jury, one count of obstruction of justice in a federal grand jury investigation, and one of two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. He was acquitted on the second count of making false statements (indictment count three).

The jury rendered its verdict at noon on March 6, 2007. It convicted Libby on four of the five counts against him—two counts of perjury, one count of obstructing justice in a grand jury investigation, and one of the two counts of making false statements to federal investigators—and acquitted him on one count of making false statements.

Initially, Libby's lawyers announced that they would be seeking a new trial but that, if they were not to get one, they would appeal Libby's conviction. Later they decided not to seek a new trial, but they still plan to appeal Libby's conviction. On June 5, 2007, Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and two years of supervised release, including 400 hours of community service. Libby appealed Judge Reggie Walton's subsequent order that he report to prison pending the appeal of his conviction. Two weeks later he lost that appeal.

President Bush commuted Libby's sentence on July 2, 2007, eliminating the prison term while not changing the other parts and their conditions. Judge Walton queried aspects of that presidential commutation.