White House: Bush won’t intervene now in Libby case

June 5, 2007 · Filed Under Legal News, Politics, White House

bushfinger White House: Bush wont intervene now in Libby case

ROSTOCK, Germany (Reuters) – President George W. Bush does not plan to intervene in the case of a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney while the appeals process is still under way, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, traveling with Bush in Europe for the Group of Eight summit, said Bush felt sorry for the family of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying and obstructing an investigation related to the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war.

“The president said that he felt terrible for the family, especially his wife and his kids,” Perino said.

But she noted that the appeals process, which could prove lengthy, was just getting under way.

“Given that and in keeping with what we have said in the past, the president has not intervened so far in any other criminal matter and he is going to decline to do so now,” Perino said.

Libby was sentenced for lying to investigators trying to determine who leaked the identity of CIA analyst Valerie Plame in 2003. He was also fined $250,000 and two years probation.

[Reuters]