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"I dont know what Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it."

-- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, commenting this morning on how the Clintons criticized President Bush for commuting Scooter Libby's prison term.

Veteran White House correspondent Bill Plante offers today's First Look at the Evening News. The big story: the continuing controversy surrounding President's Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's prison sentence.

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Lawyer Andrew Cohen analyzes legal affairs for CBS News and CBSNews.com.

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There isn’t a whole lot to say, legal analysis-wise, about President George W. Bush’s decision to commute the 30-month prison sentence of former White House official I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. A commutation, like a pardon, is a purely political act, like a trump card, worthy of evaluation and judgment through the lens of politics, not law.

That is not to say, however, that there are no legal consequences to the President’s decision. Obviously, Libby gets to fight his appeal (should he choose to) from the comfort of his home. Since the commutation does not erase Libby’s convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice relating to the CIA leak investigation you would imagine that the former golden boy would push to try to get a federal appeals court to overturn those blemishes on his otherwise fine record. But don’t forget that the President still has the power during or at the end of the appeals process to take the next step and pardon Libby outright. Monday’s commutation of the sentence- as opposed to a pardon of the convictions-- does not preclude that possibility.

So what happened? The President simply balanced the political benefit (from his conservative base, which wanted Libby to get the break) against the political backlash (from everyone else in the country, who wanted the guy to serve some time) and determined that he would satisfy the base. And he did so, apparently, without consulting with special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who doggedly investigated the CIA leak case and pushed successfully to convict Libby, or anyone else at the Justice Department...

Jennifer Hoar is a producer for CBSNews.com based in Washington.

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Scooter Libby's somber news today that he'd have to report to prison while he appeals his perjury and obstruction of justice convictions belied the mood that began today's hearing.

When Libby and his vast defense team entered the 6th floor U.S. District Court room only two minutes before the scheduled start to the hearing, the gathering was nearly jovial. I saw Special Prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald, whose legitimacy in that role was about to be skewered by the defense, go over to Libby attorney Ted Wells for a handshake and a laugh, even. Wells was grinning ear-to-ear and chuckling inexplicably. How lovely, I thought, counsel has camaraderie!

During what was supposed to be a five-minute recess, Libby's wife, Harriet Grant, whom I last saw in tears at the sentencing hearing, was smiling alongside of Wells and half-hugging him. There was no such PDA by the prosecution.

The Judge and Larry Robbins, the experienced appellate litigator who joined the Libby team recently, had some lively repartee that was, at times, tense.

Then, when Robbins contested Walton's ruling blocking the testimony of NBC News reporter Andrea Mitchell, he was summarily defeated.

"Mitchell was going to lead the jury into making inference upon inference that would have led to nothing but rank speculation," Walton said. "I think I would have abdicated what the Supreme Court told me to do as a gatekeeper if I had allowed the [Mitchell] testimony."

Once Walton rendered his decision that Libby would have to head to jail – not pass Go, not collect $200 – a flurry of activity ensued. Fitzgerald exited almost immediately and, I'm told by my CBS News colleague Deirdre Hester, that Libby and his team exited through the judge's chambers and a private elevator.

Peter Maer is a CBS News White House Correspondent. He covered part of the Libby trial.

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The outcome of the next court hearing in the CIA leak case will be a moment of truth for the Bush White House. The judge who sentenced Lewis Scooter Libby to 30 months in prison for perjury and obstructing the investigation has set a Thursday hearing to determine when Libby will start his term. Federal Judge Reggie Walton, known as a tough by-the-book jurist, has indicated he sees no reason to delay Libby's trip to prison. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald strongly opposes any delay. Libby's lawyers contend he should remain free because his conviction could be overturned.

Unless Judge Walton grants Libby's request for a hold on the sentence during appeals, the president will have to decide whether to pardon the former loyal aide or see him to go to prison. While the stakes are obviously highest for Libby, there's a lot on the line for the White House...

Stephanie Lambidakis is a CBS News producer based in Washington. She's been tracking the Libby case for the last four years, and was at the courthouse today for the sentencing.

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The case that started with a major bang -- the indictment of one of the most powerful people in government -- ended with almost a whimper from the defendant himself.

As he stood before Judge Reggie Walton and looked up at the bench, Libby spoke in a soft voice and uttered just a few sentences, pleading with Walton to spare him prison time in part beause of his "whole life" of devoted government service. Ted Wells delivered a memorable line that no one in Libby-land will ever dispute: Scooter Libby "has fallen from public grace and it is a tragic fall, a tragic fall."

The somber mood inside the courtroom permeated the courthouse itself, even among the bloggers who maintained a lively running commentary throughout the trial.

The appeals will follow, but Scooter Libby's next stop is federal prison to begin serving his two-and-a-half year sentence.

The judge gave a tough sentence to "Scooter" Libby today -- and the sentencing of this one-time high-ranking White House official reminds us that even people with powerful connections, and important friends, are not above the law.

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Ward Sloane is a CBS News producer based in Washington.

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U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton threw the book at Scooter Libby for lying to a grand jury and obstructing justice. Judge Walton is known for stiff sentences, so this case is no surprise. He did, however, get a lot of advice from Americans as to what Libby’s sentence should be.

Some 160 Americans wrote letters to Judge Walton. People speculated for weeks over whether Vice President Dick Cheney would write Walton on Mr. Libby’s behalf. He did not, nor did the President. The two most famous were Donald Rumsfeld and Henry Kissinger; both recommended no jail time.

Many of the architects and supporters of the Iraq War – men who were integral to planning and executing the war – did weigh in and advocated leniency for Libby. These include Ken Adelman, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Gen. Richard Myers, Paul Wolfowitz, Gen. Peter Pace and Richard Perle.

There were no famous names calling for Judge Walton to throw the book at Libby. Those expressing this sentiment were average Americans...

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Lawyer Andrew Cohen analyzes legal affairs for CBS News and CBSNews.com.

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What ought to happen to good men when they do bad things and get caught? What should their punishment be? How should society balance the production and patriotism of an individual’s life with the misdeeds he performs while in high office? Those weighty questions will be answered, at least for one day and in one case, when U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton sentences I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Tuesday for obstruction and perjury relating to theCIA leak investigation.

Federal prosecutors have asked Walton to aggressively sentence Libby, the former high-ranking White House official, to three years or so for lying to grand jurors and federal investigators when they asked him to explain his role in the improper and perhaps illegal disclosure of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson’s name to the media. In turn, Libby’s lawyers have asked Walton to give their client probation because of his wonderful career of public service. And the federal probation office involved in the Libby case is splitting the baby — recommending that Libby serve between one and two years in prison.

Libby’s lawyers are pleading for mercy and leniency by telling Walton that their client has been a pillar of the recent Washington establishment. Libby is a modern-day Wise Man, his legal tribunes claim, and thus has stored up his fair share of legal and political credits that now he ought to be able to cash in at the bench of justice. Not so, says special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who wants Walton to sentence Libby harshly not just as a symbol of what you are not supposed to do when the feds come calling — lie under oath — but also because Libby, a lawyer, should have known better than to try to subvert justice the way he did.

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The following dispatch came to us from CBS News producer Stephanie Lambidakis in Washington.

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When Alberto Gonzales dropped by the reporters' bullpen that sits on the first floor of the Justice Department Wednesday, we (the reporters) asked the Attorney General about his reaction to Scooter Libby's conviction. Like his boss, the President, Gonzales said he's "sad" about the guilty verdict but added that he wasn't particularly surprised by it.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is also the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, has almost mythic status within the Justice Department, and Gonzales noted that once Fitzgerald had sunk his teeth into the investigation and secured a grand jury indictment, Scooter Libby was in deep trouble.

Asked about the pardon talk that erupted only minutes after the verdict was announced, Gonzales, whose last job was President Bush's White House Counsel, said it was "premature" to even think about a pardon while the appeals process plays out. However, he added that "the President can do whatever he wants" based on the absolute power to grant pardons spelled out in the Constitution. As soon as he said that, Gonzales, always sensitive to criticism that he's too close to President Bush, shot back: "not that I know anything about" what the White House may be thinking in the post-conviction climate.