Plame Judge Rules Fitzgerald Has Right To Proceed Against Libby
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON – A federal judge refused yesterday to dismiss charges against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former top White House aide who was indicted on perjury and obstruction charges last year in the CIA leak scandal.
In a 31-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton turned down a motion by lawyers for Vice President Cheney’s onetime top assistant, who challenged the authority of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to handle the case.
Mr. Libby’s lawyers had argued that Fitzgerald was given too much power – more than the attorney general – and that the appointment should have been made by the president with the Senate’s approval.
Judge Walton said yesterday he did not need to “look far” in the law to reject the claim by Mr. Libby’s defense team. The judge said there is no question the attorney general can delegate any of his functions.
Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft had recused himself from the investigation because of his White House contacts. James Comey, who was deputy attorney general at the time, appointed Fitzgerald, giving him wide berth to conduct the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters in 2003.
