WASHINGTON — With a five-count indictment leveled against him, former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby now faces the rigors of the federal criminal justice system.
Libby's case, which to this point has been in the hands of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and the grand jury, will now be turned over District of Columbia Federal Judge Reggie Walton.
Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to name Libby's successor as early as Saturday. Libby served as both the vice president's chief of staff and assistant for national security affairs, positions that do not require Senate confirmation.
Once Libby appears in court, he will be advised of the charges against him and asked to enter his plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. If Libby pleads "not guilty," he will be asked to post bail or be held in custody throughout the trial.
Fitzgerald told reporters Friday that Libby would not be arrested before his court appearance.
At or after the arraignment, Libby's attorney, Joseph Tate, or the prosecutor may file pretrial motions, for example, to request a change of venue, dismiss the charges or suppress any evidence in the record.
Roger Fairfax, an associate professor at the George Washington University Law School, said he would be surprised if Fitzgerald did not stay at the helm of the prosecution.
"I think it's a safe bet that Fitzgerald or a close deputy would stay on to prosecute the case," he said.
Fitzgerald is also overseeing a number of other high profile cases, including a corruption case against former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and a probe into the offices of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. He told reporters Friday he was anxious to return to his full-time job in Chicago.
Fairfax said that in his experience as a U.S. attorney and as a defense lawyer, both the legal teams for the government and the defendants are unlikely to change between the grand jury and trial stages.
After the pre-trial and discovery phases of the trial, the judge will then set dates for jury selection and the beginning of the trial itself. Fitzgerald declined to set a time frame for the trial.
More indictments could have been issued by the grand jury under a seal, but because of grand jury secrecy, Fitzgerald declined to comment on the issue.
"It's not because we enjoy holding back information from you," he told reporters. "It's the law."
Both Fitzgerald and President Bush in a brief statement Friday called the grand jury investigation "serious," but how much impact could the charges have?
Libby faces one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury. These charges could result in a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Justice Department statistics, however, indicate that very few cases built on "false statements" or perjury charges result in convictions or lengthy prison terms.
Of the 826 convictions based on "false statement" charges last year, the average prison term was seven months, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan research organization, found. And of the 22 convictions based on perjury charges last year, the average prison term was 13 months.