5 Myths About Scooter and the Slammer --WaPo

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By Carol D. Leonnig Carol D. Leonnig covers federal courts for The Washington Post.

Sunday, June 10, 2007


Judge Reggie B. Walton, who sentenced I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to 30 months in prison last week for lying to federal investigators about his role in the leak of a CIA officer's identity, received 373 pages of letters about the high-profile convict whose fate he had to decide. Many argued for leniency on behalf of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, whom former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called a "dedicated public servant" and "strong family man." But some less famous writers were outraged about the example Libby set; one letter from "An Angry Citizen" demanded the longest prison term possible.

Around here, I'm the one who gets both kinds of letters. While covering this case for The Washington Post from the beginning of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald's investigation in December 2003, I've received a steady stream of mail, most of it fuming -- some because the writers think a tireless patriot is being persecuted by a runaway prosecutor, others because they think a ruthless traitor is getting off easy after jeopardizing national security.

In fact, neither caricature is fair -- let alone accurate. But even now, four years after Valerie Plame's name hit the papers, the public still has some startling misconceptions about this fascinating, thorny case. (NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS ARE ALL WRONG, AND THE FACTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE, BUT OMITTED HERE FOR LACK OF SPACE)

1. Valerie Plame wasn't a covert operative...

2. Karl Rove would have been indicted in the Plame case if it hadn't been for all the destroyed evidence.

3. Libby didn't leak Plame's identity.....

4. Bad press doesn't get under Cheney's skin....

5. The White House would fire any administration official who leaked classified information about Plame.....

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