US:The White House insisted yesterday that the vice-president, Dick Cheney, retains the confidence of President George Bush despite the conviction of Mr Cheney's former chief of staff on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice
"The vice-president still remains a trusted aide. The vice-president is somebody upon whose counsel the president depends," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Mr Snow brushed off questions about a possible presidential pardon for Libby, who could face years in prison for lying during an investigation into the leaking of a CIA officer's identity.
Libby's lawyers have started work on a request for a new trial and they have pledged to appeal Tuesday's verdict if, as expected, a retrial is denied. Mr Snow said he would not discuss the prospect of a pardon while the case remained under legal review.
"All of this conversation, speculation about a pardon, I know, makes for interesting speculation, but it's just that. Right now, Scooter Libby and his attorneys have made clear that they're going to try to get a retrial and if they don't get that, they're going to get an appeal," he said.
Mr Cheney issued a brief statement expressing disappointment with the verdict but added that he would not comment further while the appeals process continues.
Valerie Wilson, who was outed as a CIA agent, apparently to discredit her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson's criticism of the Iraq war, has filed a civil lawsuit against Libby, Mr Cheney and former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, who has admitted telling a reporter that she worked for the CIA.
Mr Wilson welcomed Libby's conviction but said it was not enough. "Convicting him of perjury was like convicting Al Capone of tax evasion or Alger Hiss of perjury. It doesn't mean they were not guilty of other crimes," he said.
Libby's conviction has renewed public interest in how the White House used intelligence to make the case for invading Iraq and the way leaks were used to discredit the war's critics. It comes as the administration is struggling to address a revelation that wounded soldiers returning from Iraq ad Afghanistan have been housed in substandard conditions and denied medical treatment because of bureaucratic delays.
Mr Bush has appointed a bipartisan panel, led by former senator Bob Dole and former health secretary Donna Shalala, to investigate problems at military and veterans' hospitals throughout the US.
"Any report of medical neglect will be taken seriously by this administration. I'm confident that this commission will bring forth the truth," the president said.
Veterans affairs secretary Jim Nicholson defended the way veterans were cared for but acknowledged there is room for improvement. "When you're seeing over one million patients a week, you have to be very good, and if there is any one patient who doesn't get the care that they deserve, that's unacceptable," he said.
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