Cheney hasn’t spoken to his old friend Libby
In the nearly six weeks since his close friend and former chief of staff was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation, Vice President Dick Cheney has not once spoken to I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
“Well, there hasn’t been occasion to do so,” Cheney said when asked why Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Libby, found guilty of perjury and obstruction in the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity, is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra affair two decades ago.
Cheney said he believed deeply in Libby. “He’s one of the most dedicated public servants I’ve ever worked with, and I think this is a great tragedy,” he said.
But when Cheney said he had not spoken to Libby, interviewer Bob Schieffer asked the vice president about it again.
Why not call to express your regrets?
“I just -- I haven’t had occasion to do that,” was all that Cheney would say.
Libby faces a likely range of one to three years in prison when he is sentenced June 5. He plans to appeal.
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