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Libby indictment, a blow to White House

Julian Borger and Jamie Wilson

U.S. Vice-President Cheney will almost certainly have to give evidence

Washington: The Bush presidency was profoundly damaged on Friday when Lewis Libby, a top White House official who helped push for the Iraq invasion, was charged with obstruction of justice, lying to the FBI and committing perjury before a grand jury.

Mr. Libby immediately resigned his post as Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. The President's own chief political adviser, Karl Rove, escaped indictment for the time being, but he was warned he would continue to be the subject of the criminal investigation into a White House intelligence leak at the heart of the administration's case for going to war in Iraq.

Mr. Libby was charged with two counts each of perjury (lying to a grand jury) and making false statements (lying to federal investigators), and one count of obstruction of justice (hindering a grand jury investigation into the leak).

Build-up to the Iraq war

If convicted on all counts, Mr. Libby could face up to 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. The trial itself is likely to be damaging to the Bush administration, whose key officials would be cross-examined on the build-up to the war in Iraq. Mr. Cheney would almost certainly have to give evidence.

The Vice-President accepted his top aide's resignation, but pointed out that Mr. Libby should be presumed innocent until a jury finds otherwise. ``Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known,'' he said. ``He has given many years of his life to public service and has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction.''

However, the Special Prosecutor who has led the two-year investigation, Patrick Fitzgerald, made it clear he believed the charges to be serious. ``When citizens testify before grand juries they are required to tell the truth,'' he told a press conference at the Justice Department. ``Without the truth, our criminal justice system cannot serve our nation or its citizens. The requirement to tell the truth applies equally to all citizens, including persons who hold high positions in Government.''

Mr. Fitzgerald accused Mr. Libby of ``knowingly and corruptly'' obstructing the grand jury and lying about ``how and when in 2003 he learned and subsequently disclosed to reporters then-classified information'' about the identity of a CIA covert agent, Valerie Plame.

Plame's CIA status

On Friday night, Mr. Fitzgerald described how Mr. Libby had told FBI investigators and testified before a grand jury that he learned about Ms. Plame's CIA status from reporters, and had passed it on to other reporters on the assumption it was gossip. ``It would be a compelling story to let the FBI go away, if only it were true. In fact, it was not true.'' Mr. Rove, who had also talked to journalists about Ms. Plame in the summer of 2003, did not face charges on Friday but he was clearly still under scrutiny. A third administration figure, mentioned in the indictment only as ``official A'' was also implicated in the leak.

David Gergen, a former adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, told CNN's Larry King that indictments could have an enormous impact on the war. ``If there are indictments, it will not only be people close to the President or the Vice-President of the United States,'' he said. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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