Former White House Aide Libby Seeking Deal Martha Stewart Got

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby wants what Martha Stewart got. <br/><br/>The former White House aide, who faces 2 1/2 years in prison for perjury and obstruction, cited the domestic celebrity

Wednesday, June 13th 2007, 9:33 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby wants what Martha Stewart got.

The former White House aide, who faces 2 1/2 years in prison for perjury and obstruction, cited the domestic celebrity in court documents Wednesday as part of his bid to put his sentence on hold.

A federal judge agreed to put Stewart's five-month prison sentence on hold while she appealed her 2004 conviction for lying about a stock deal (though Stewart opted to serve the time anyway). WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers got a similar deal after his conviction in an $11 billion accounting fraud, as did David Safavian, a former White House official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Libby mentioned those case and others Wednesday. At Libby's sentencing last week, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said he saw no reason to delay the prison term but agreed to hear arguments on the issue.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald opposes delaying the sentence. Fitzgerald prosecuted Libby for lying to his grand jury and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Walton scheduled a hearing on Libby's requests for Thursday.

A delay would give President Bush more time to consider pardon requests from Libby's supporters, who say he was caught up in a political investigation with no underlying crime. Democrats have called on Bush not to pardon Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.