Judge sends Scooter Libby straight to prison, no delay for appeals
Scooter Libby will not be allowed to remain free while his lawyers appeal the 30-month sentence he received after being convicted of lying to investigators during the CIA leak investigation, according to media reports.The former White House adviser could be sent to federal prison within weeks, according to the Associated Press.
Update at 2 p.m. ET: White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says President Bush doesn't plan to comment on the judge's decision. "Scooter Libby still has the right to appeal, and therefore the president will continue not to intervene in the judicial process," she says. "The president feels terribly for Scooter, his wife and their young children, and all that they're going through."
The Associated Press reports that Libby and Patrick Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters.
Update at 2:12 p.m. ET: As expected, Libby's lawyers plan to seek an emergency order from the appeals court staying execution of the judge's sentence, according to The Washington Post
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