Citing Legal Bills, Deaver Asks Judge to Reduce His Fine

Former presidential aide Michael K. Deaver, citing a $1-million legal bill, is seeking to reduce to $25,000 the $100,000 fine he was ordered to pay for lying under oath about his lobbying business.

But independent counsel Whitney North Seymour, who had sought a prison term for Deaver, has suggested that the former White House aide could pay the fine by selling his family’s home at a large profit.

“Any reduction in the fine should be viewed against the background of the leniency the court has already exercised toward this defendant,” Seymour said in response to the request Deaver made last month.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who imposed the $100,000 fine and ordered Deaver to perform 1,500 hours of community service, has not ruled on the defense request.