Libby in Court Over Cia Agent's Identity Leak

Lewis Libby, vice president Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, is due to appear in a Washington court today to enter pleas on charges of perjury, lying to federal investigators and obstruction of justice.

The Washington Post predicted that Mr Libby will declare his innocence in the case surrounding the 2003 leak of a CIA agent's identity, blaming a bad memory for false statements he made to investigators and a grand jury.

A guilty plea could avert a lengthy trial that has the potential to be very embarrassing for the Bush White House, but only if Mr Libby was able to strike a deal with the special investigator, Patrick Fitzgerald.

However, observers of the case suggested yesterday that Mr Fitzgerald would also demand testimony on the role in the leak played by other senior White House officials, before offering a significantly reduced jail sentence. Mr Libby faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if found guilty of all charges.

However, even if Mr Libby - a leading neo-conservative and energetic advocate of the Iraq invasion - is sentenced, he could be pardoned by President Bush when the president leaves office in January 2009.

EJ Dionne, a columnist on the Washington Post, appealed to the president to rule out that option to maximise the pressure on Mr Libby to testify.

"If Bush truly wants the public to know all the facts in the leak case, as he has claimed in the past, he will announce now that he will not pardon Libby," Mr Dionne argued.

Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, is still under investigation in the same case, and Mr Fitzgerald has explicitly refused to guarantee he will not be charged.