Posted On: March 20th 2008
Posted By: Adam Coozer
Source: CNN
Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday.
The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson.
"When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion, which is posted on its Web site.
"When convictions on more than one count are involved, disbarment is mandated if any one of them involves moral turpitude," the court added.
Last July, a court sentenced Libby to a 30-month prison term. President Bush later commuted Libby's sentence, calling it "excessive."
The president stopped short of an outright pardon, noting that "our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth."
The clemency grant raised eyebrows among legal observers and prompted criticism from Democrats.
