A former top White House official is no longer appealing his conviction in a case involving the leak of a CIA agent's identity.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for perjury and obstruction of justice in the investigation into the leaking of the identity of Valerie Plame. President Bush later commuted his prison sentence.
Attorney Theodore Wells announced Libby's decision to drop the appeal. The attorney said he remains "firmly convinced" of Libby's innocence. He said the burden on Libby and his family to continue to pursue "complete vindication" is too great to ask them to bear.
The outed CIA agent and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accuse the Bush administration of disclosing her identity to retaliate for Wilson's criticism of the administration.
Wilson had accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to justify the Iraq war.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday she had no comment or immediate presidential reaction about Libby's decision to drop his appeal.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.