‘Scooter’ Libby Indicted in CIA Leak Case, Resigns
Vice President Dick Cheney’s Chief Aide Faces Five Charges Totaling 30-Year Sentence
Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief adviser, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was indicted on five charges today in the CIA leak investigation and resigned from his White House position.Top White House strategist Karl Rove evaded charges but will remain under investigation.
Libby has been indicted on obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of allegedly making false statements in the investigation into the disclosure of the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. The grand jury investigating the case handed up the indictment this afternoon. If convicted, Libby could face up to 30 years in prison and $1.25 million fine.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Libby submitted his resignation earlier today and it was accepted by Bush. Cheney said he regretted Libby’s decision to resign and urged others not to prejudge his now-former adviser. . .
Rove not indicted, still under investigation
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove escaped indictment in the CIA leak case Friday but remained under investigation.
Rove’s lawyer said he was told by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s office that investigators had “made no decision about whether or not to bring charges” and would continue their probe into Rove’s conduct. Rove is President Bush’s closest adviser.
The White House did expect an indictment charging I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, with false statements in the probe.
In grand jruy testimony, Rove and Libby discussed their contacts with reporters about an undercover CIA officer in the days before her identity was published.
Rove told grand jurors it was possible he first heard in the White House that Valerie Plame, wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, worked for the CIA from Libby’s recounting of a conversation with a journalist, according to people familiar with his testimony. . .
Booming time for big oil
ExxonMobil pulls in $10B profit as storms, war boost gas prices
ExxonMobil confirmed yesterday what most motorists and homeowners probably guessed: that the summer and early fall’s budget-busting gasoline and heating fuel prices boosted its profits big time – by 75 percent, to $9.92 billion.
The news prompted a renewed bi-partisan call by federal politicians for taxes on oil company profits and for hearings into whether the companies are price gouging.
ExxonMobil’s profit was a record for the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer and its industry. Its quarterly sales revenue of $100 billion also was an industry record.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc also reported record profits for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, up 68 percent to $9.03 billion. Some smaller oil companies reported similar increases earlier in the week. “We are capturing the benefits of high oil and gas prices and refining margins,” Shell chief financial officer Peter Voser said. . .
