Prosecutor urges prison for Libby

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Former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby deserves to spend up to three years in jail for obstructing justice, the prosecutor in the case has said.

"He has expressed no remorse," special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wrote in a court document.

In March Libby was found guilty of lying to investigators over the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity.

He is due to be sentenced in June. His supporters say the prosecution was biased and he should be spared prison.

District judge Reggie Walton has broad discretion over Libby's sentence. He can also delay sentencing until the end of the appeals process.

'Blatant' lies

In his submission to the judge, Mr Fitzgerald denied allegations that the case had been politically motivated, and said Libby was responsible for his own fate.

"The judicial system has not corruptly mistreated Mr Libby," he wrote.

He [Libby] has expressed no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility Patrick FitzgeraldSpecial prosecutor <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6391091.stm">White House secrets revealed</a>

Mr Fitzgerald said the defendant had "lied repeatedly and blatantly about matters at the heart of a criminal investigation concerning the disclosure of a covert intelligence officer's identity".

The prosecutor added that Libby had "expressed no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility, and no recognition that there is anything he should have done differently".

As a result, Mr Fitzgerald said, he should be sentenced to two-and-a-half to three years in jail.

A former chief of staff to Vice-President Dick Cheney, Libby was accused of lying to the FBI and a grand jury over the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.

Critics of the White House say the administration deliberately revealed her name after her husband, a former ambassador, had publicly cast doubt on the case for going to war in Iraq.

It is a crime to disclose the identity of an undercover CIA agent.

However no-one has been prosecuted for the leak itself. Critics of the investigation says this proves that the prosecution was out of control.

The defence argued that Libby's false statements were the result of honest lapses, and that he was a scapegoat for the misdeeds of other White House players.