Libby's Sentence Not Excessive, Former Prosecutors Say

July 3, 2007 — -- Although President Bush said he commuted I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice because it was "severe" and "excessive," several former prosecutors and sentencing law experts told ABC News that Libby's sentence was not unusually harsh.

A 30-month sentence is not far out of line with what several prosecutors said they would expect in a politically charged case that involves a person of Libby's public standing. His sentence was within the range recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.

Though Libby's jail term was tougher than that of several other recent high profile defendants, such as Martha Stewart, his sentence is consistent with other, lesser-known, perjury and obstruction of justice cases, they said.

"It can't be described as excessive or extreme," Terree Bowers, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles under the Clinton and first Bush administrations, said of Libby's sentence.

Libby's high position of trust in the government and the seriousness of the investigation could account for the differences in sentences, several experts said.

A Little Longer Than Expected

Libby was found guilty of two counts of perjury and one count each of lying to FBI agents and obstructing a federal investigation into whether administration officials illegally disclosed the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame.

Several experts said his sentence was on the higher end of typical perjury and obstruction cases, and some argued that 30 months was unreasonably strict.

Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffee, a Clinton appointee, told ABC News that he thought Libby's sentence was "harsher than seemed appropriate under the circumstances," given that the underlying charge was never prosecuted.