Libby loses license to practice law

Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was disbarred by a court that ruled that his convictions last year for perjury and obstructing justice in a White House leak investigation disqualify him from practicing law.

Under the ruling by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Libby will lose his license to practice or appear in court in Washington until at least 2012. As is customary, he also would lose any bar membership he might hold in any other states.

Libby was convicted of lying to the FBI and federal investigators about whether he discussed the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame with reporters in the spring and summer of 2003. Last July, a federal judge sentenced Libby to 30 months in jail. President Bush commuted the sentence, calling it “excessive.”