Libby prepares request for new trial

updated 10:26 p.m. ET March 7, 2007

WASHINGTON - Attorneys for convicted former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby began working on a request for a new trial Wednesday as the Bush White House steadfastly refused to talk about a possible pardon in the CIA leak case.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was found guilty of perjury and obstruction in the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. He is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra scandal two decades ago.

Government prosecutors led by Patrick Fitzgerald spent nearly four years investigating the case but never charged anyone with the leak. Libby will be the only one charged in the case, Fitzgerald said.

Libby's attorneys tried to use that at trial to persuade jurors that, since nobody was charged in the case, Libby didn't fear prosecution for the leak and so he had no reason to lie. Juror Denis Collins summed up the dilemma that he and his associates faced behind closed doors.

"There was a frustration that we were trying someone for telling a lie apparently about an event that never became important enough to file charges anywhere else," he said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

FREE VIDEO Inside the Libby jury room March 7: Libby juror Denis Collins, a former reporter for the Washington Post, talks to “Countdown.” Countdown

Another juror, Ann Redington, said on MSNBC's "Hardball" Wednesday that Libby seemed to be “a really nice guy.”

“I think he got caught in a difficult situation where he got caught in the initial lie, and it just snowballed,” she told host Chris Matthews.

Reasons for a retrial
Attorney William Jeffress, meantime, said that Libby's defense team has begun reviewing the monthlong trial and preparing the request for a new one. It's a common request among defense attorneys and one that's not often granted. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton had made several rulings in the case over the objection of defense attorneys.

For instance, Fitzgerald was allowed to show jurors newspaper articles that defense lawyers considered inaccurate and inflammatory. Defense attorneys were not permitted to question NBC reporters Tim Russert or Andrea Mitchell about televised statements they made outside of court. And Walton curtailed the use of classified information after Libby decided not to testify.

The request for a new trial is the first move in Libby's uncertain future. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced June 5, but his federal sentencing guidelines are much lower. His lawyers promised to ask for a new trial and said they'll ask that Libby remain free while any appeals are fought.

"We have every confidence Mr. Libby ultimately will be vindicated," defense attorney Theodore Wells said. He said Libby was "totally innocent and that he did not do anything wrong."

FREE VIDEO Libby verdict: Spinning the spin March 7: Were Fox News banners downplaying Scooter Libby’s verdict? Is the right going soft on crime? “Countdown’s” Alison Stewart talks to Air America Radio's Sam Seder. Countdown

Potential presidential pardon
And then there's the lingering question of whether President Bush will pardon Libby, as the president's father did in 1992 for former Reagan administration officials caught up in the scandal that grew out of arms sales to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to the Nicaraguan rebels.

Redington, the juror, said Wednesday she would like Bush to pardon Libby.

More on the Libby verdict The latest on the Libby verdict Libby prepares request for new trial Analysis: Verdict really about war, Cheney Juror calls on Bush to pardon Libby 'Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?'   Discuss the verdict | Vote: Is it fair? Fact file: List of charges and verdicts Fact file: Reactions to the verdict Fact file: Summary of witness testimony Hardblogger: CIA needs better protection NBC: How the CIA leak case began Newsweek: Everything you may have missed View documents from the trial Fact file: Who's who in the trial   Video: Juror speaks about decision

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., immediately called on Bush not to pardon Libby. The White House wouldn't say what the president might do.

White House press secretary Tony Snow on Wednesday brushed off questions about whether Bush would entertain a pardon for Libby, saying the case remained under legal review. "We never comment on pardons," he said. Snow followed the same position the White House had taken Tuesday in the hours immediately after the verdict.

Snow also said that the case has not affected Cheney's effectiveness as a trusted Bush adviser.

In a written statement, Cheney called the verdict disappointing and said he was saddened for Libby and his family too. "As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service."

The trial revealed Cheney's eagerness to discredit Plame's husband, war critic Joseph Wilson. Cheney put Libby, his most trusted adviser, in charge of that effort and prosecutors said Libby discussed Plame's identity with reporters.

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