WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- I. Lewis `` Scooter '' Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation 's capital on Thursday . I Lewis `` Scooter '' Libby was convicted to lying to a grand jury and investigators last year . The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA operative , Valerie Plame Wilson . `` When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude , disbarment is mandatory , '' the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion , which is posted on its Web site . `` When convictions on more than one count are involved , disbarment is mandated if any one of them involves moral turpitude , '' the court added . Last July , a court sentenced Libby to a 30-month prison term . President Bush later commuted Libby 's sentence , calling it `` excessive . '' Despite the commutation , Libby still had to pay a $ 250,000 fine and serve two years probation . Unlike a presidential pardon which wipes a person 's crimes off the books , Bush 's commutation of Libby 's sentence only means that he does not have to serve the prison sentence . He is still considered guilty of the crime he was convicted . The president stopped short of an outright pardon , noting that `` our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth . '' The clemency grant raised eyebrows among legal observers and prompted criticism from Democrats . William Jeffress , one of the attorneys who helped defend Libby in the criminal trial , told CNN , `` We are not surprised by the appeals court decision , because clearly under the rules this is automatic . '' Jeffress could not say whether Libby might apply for reinstatement if he is pardoned . He gave no indication such a pardon is anticipated . Although the White House has declined to say whether Bush might go beyond his decision to commute Libby 's jail time , both Bush and Cheney have expressed strong support for Libby . Melanie Sloan , executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , told CNN a presidential pardon could indeed open the door for Libby to try to regain his license to practice law . `` Whether it would be granted is another matter , '' she said , given ethics standards that a bar would normally consider . Sloan 's group is pursuing a civil suit on behalf of Plame Wilson , claiming damage from White House disclosures of her identity and connection to the CIA . Although the suit has been rejected by a federal court , the group Friday will file a brief ahead of an appeals argument May 9 . Case history dating back to the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s could affect Libby 's prospects for regaining his law license if he is granted a full pardon . Elliott Abrams , an assistant secretary of state during the Reagan administration , received a full presidential pardon for making false and misleading statements to Congress . Lawmakers had investigated illicit U.S. arms sales to Nicaraguan rebels at a time Congress had voted to halt such aid . An appeals court in 1995 rejected a Washington law board 's proposed suspension and sanctions against Abrams , concluding that `` a full and unconditional presidential pardon attached not just to the criminal conviction , but also to the conduct that was or may have been the basis of the conviction . '' E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Paul Courson contributed to this report .
District of U.S. court blocks `` Scooter '' Libby from practicing law . Libby convicted of lying to grand jury and investigators in CIA leak case . President Libby commuted Libby 's last year sentence , calling it `` excessive '' Libby was Vice President Libby 's chief of staff .