Libby Loses Bid to Stay Sentence

Sentencing/Post Conviction

Posted Jul 2, 2007, 02:58 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Updated: A federal appeals court has refused to delay the prison sentence for former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, increasing pressure for a pardon.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused Libby’s request for a stay in a two-sentence ruling, the Associated Press reports. The three-judge panel said Libby’s appeal did not pose a substantial question that would merit releasing him pending appeal, the Washington Post reports.

Libby was sentenced to 30 months in jail for lying to investigators probing the leak of a CIA agent’s identity. Many conservatives are seeking a pardon, including Richard Carlson, a member of Libby’s defense fund.

"The president will take some heat for it," he told the AP. "So what? He takes heat for everything.”

Public opinion is against a pardon, according to a survey by the Cable News Network and Opinion Research. It found that 69 percent of the respondents oppose a pardon and 18 percent support it, Bloomberg News reports.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had drawn fire for ordering Libby to begin his sentence immediately. The product of an authoritarian father, he is known for his law and order views, ABAJournal.com noted in an early post.

The opinion is United States v. Libby, No. 07-3068.

Originally posted 07-02-2007 11:35 AM

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Sentencing/Post Conviction