Since Trial, Cheney Had ‘No Occasion' To Speak to Libby

WASHINGTON — In the nearly six weeks since his close friend and former chief of staff was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation, Vice President Cheney has not once spoken to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Why?

"Well, there hasn't been occasion to do so," Mr. Cheney said in an interview broadcast yesterday on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Libby is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra affair two decades ago. He was found guilty last month of perjury and obstruction in the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

The episode undercut the Bush administration's credibility, one of a string of a bad-news stories that have hurt the president's standing.