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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bush spares Libby from jail term | Bush spares Libby from jail term |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| US President George W Bush has intervened to prevent Lewis Libby, a convicted former vice-presidential aide, from serving a prison term. | US President George W Bush has intervened to prevent Lewis Libby, a convicted former vice-presidential aide, from serving a prison term. |
| President Bush described as "excessive" the 30-month prison sentence Libby was facing for having obstructed an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name. | President Bush described as "excessive" the 30-month prison sentence Libby was facing for having obstructed an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name. |
| Though no longer required to go to jail, Libby is still due to serve a period of probation and pay a fine. | Though no longer required to go to jail, Libby is still due to serve a period of probation and pay a fine. |
| An appeals court had earlier told Libby he could no longer delay going to jail. | An appeals court had earlier told Libby he could no longer delay going to jail. |
| The judge ruled that Libby could not remain free on bail while his lawyer appealed against the sentence. | |
| President Bush said he had until now refrained from intervening in the case, waiting instead for the appeals process to take its course. | |
| "But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision," he said |