Cheney right-hand man jailed for lying

Former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, stood calmly before a packed courtroom as a federal judge in Washington said the evidence overwhelmingly proved his guilt.

US District Judge Reggie B Walton said: "People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem."

Libby was convicted in March of lying and obstructing an investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Libby, the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra affair, has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

"It is respectfully my hope that the court will consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole life," he said in brief remarks to the judge.

Ms Plame's identity was leaked to reporters in 2003 after her husband began criticising the Bush administration's war policies.

Neither Libby nor anyone else was charged for leaking Ms Plame's name.

Dozens of prominent people - including former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations - wrote letters to the judge in support of Libby's bid for probation.

Mr Rumsfeld wrote: "My hope and prayer is that his outstanding record, his many contributions to our country and his value as a citizen will be considered carefully."

The judge fined Libby $250,000 (€184,863) and placed him on probation for two years following his release from prison. He did not immediately address whether Libby could remain free pending appeal.

Theodore Wells, defending Libby, said: "He has fallen from public grace. It is a tragic fall, a tragic fall."

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had called for Libby to serve up to three years in prison.

"We need to make the statement that the truth matters ever so much," Mr Fitzgerald said.