Jury starts deliberation in Libby CIA leak case
Washington, D.C. ? Jurors deliberated Wednesday without reaching a verdict on whether former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby obstructed the investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative married to a prominent Iraq war critic.
The eight women and four men heard 14 days of testimony, a full day of closing arguments and more than an hour of instructions from U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton before beginning their discussions. After 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, the jurors went home until today.
The jurors include a former Washington Post reporter, an MIT-trained economist, a retired math teacher, a former museum curator, a law firm accountant, a Web architect and several retired or current federal workers.
Libby, who was the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, faces five felony counts that carry a combined top penalty of 30 years in prison. If convicted, Libby probably would be sentenced to far less under federal guidelines.