Fleischer: Libby's Conviction Was Justified

A former press secretary to President Bush, Ari Fleischer, is asserting that jurors were right to find another White House aide, I. Lewis Libby Jr., guilty of criminal charges stemming from an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

In an interview yesterday on MSNBC's "Hardball," Mr. Fleischer was asked whether he thought the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney was justly convicted. "I do," he said. He later tersely reaffirmed his answer.

Last year, Libby was convicted on two counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice, and one of lying to investigators probing the leak of the CIA's employment of Valerie Plame, the wife of an administration critic, Joseph Wilson.

Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, but Mr. Bush commuted the prison term, leaving in place probation and a $250,000 fine.

Prosecutors granted Mr. Fleischer immunity in the CIA leak investigation. He testified at Libby's trial about an unusual lunch meeting where Libby relayed word of Ms. Plame's CIA tie on a "hush-hush" basis. Mr. Fleischer acknowledged that he later relayed that information to two reporters but he said he did not realize it was classified.