CIA Leak Investigation—I. Lewis Libby

Vice President Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff, I. Lewis Libby, has been indicted on 2 counts of perjury, 2 counts of making false statements, and 1 count of obstructing justice for his alleged role in the leaking of the identity of a CIA covert agent.^[1] Mr. Libby allegedly lied to FBI agents who interviewed him on October 14 and November 26, 2003, committed perjury while testifying under oath before the grand jury on March 5 and March 24, 2004, and engaged in obstruction of justice by impeding the grand jury’s investigation into the unauthorized disclosure—or “leaking”—of Valerie Wilson’s affiliation with the CIA to various reporters in the Spring of 2003.^[2]

Perjury
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1623(a), it is a crime for a person to knowingly make a false material declaration in any proceeding before a grand jury of the United States. The punishment for a violation of this section is a fine, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

Making False Statements
We have previously discussed false statements here.

Obstructing Justice
We have previously discussed obstruction of justice here.

The investigation is expected to continue.

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[1] Office of the Special Counsel, Press Release: White House Official I. Lewis Libby Indicted on Obstruction of Justice, False Statement and Perjury Charges Relating to Leak of Classified Information Revealing CIA Officer’s Identity, Oct. 28, 2005, available here (PDF).
[2] Id. at 2-3.