Columnist Robert Novak's "outing" of CIA operative Valerie Plame, the wife of US ambassador Joseph Wilson, after Wilson penned a New York Times editorial disputing Bush administration assertions that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had attempted to purchase uranium "yellowcake" in Africa, led to a DOJ investigation and an eventual perjury conviction against former Dick Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis Libby....

July 2003: Robert Novak publishes article revealing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame

October 1, 2003: President Bush makes a statement about the US Department of Justice investigation into CIA leaks.

June 24, 2004: President Bush meets with US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald regarding the CIA leak case.

August 1, 2004: Colin Powell appears before the grand jury investigating the CIA leak case.

August 9, 2004: A federal judge upholds a subpoena for NBC News' Tim Russert and TIME Magazine's Matthew Cooper to testify before the grand jury. TIME is held in contempt for refusing to reveal the source who leaked CIA agent Plame's identity.

August 13, 2004: Grand jury subpoenas New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

June 30, 2005: Judge Thomas F. Hogan gives two TIME reporters 120 days to turn over their notes regarding an interview that resulted in the leak of a CIA operative's name. The Supreme Court denied hearing the case two days prior to the order.

July 6, 2005: TIME reporter Cooper agrees to testify before the grand jury in the special investigation into the CIA leak case. Meanwhile, NY Times reporter Judith Miller refuses to identify her source to the grand jury, and is ordered to jail.

September 29, 2005: Reporter Judith Miller is released from prison after her source, I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of
staff, releases her from her pledge of confidentiality.

September 30, 2005: Judith Miller testifies to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak case.

October 5, 2005: Judith Miller denies that her silence was a cover-up, insisting that she was protecting the confidentiality of her source.

October 6, 2005: Karl Rove agrees to testify before the grand jury in the CIA leak case, without a guarantee that he won't be indicted later.

October 12, 2005: Judith Miller testifies for the second time in front of the grand jury investigating the CIA leak case.

October 15, 2005: Rove testifies for a fourth time in the CIA leak case.

October 16, 2005: Miller publishes an article in the Times stating that she can't remember who told her the CIA operative's name.

October 28, 2005: Chief of Staff to the Vice President I. "Scooter" Libby resigns the same day his indictment is announced, charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald announces that the investigation isn't over but the grand jury's term has expired and won't be renewed, noting that a new grand jury could be called.

November 3, 2005: Libby pleads not guilty in charges connected to the CIA leak case.

November 4, 2005: Prosecutor announces that the investigation into Rove, who has not been indicted, will now focus only on whether Rove tried to conceal his conversation with Miller a week before Valerie Plame's identity was revealed.

November 9, 2005: NY Times announces that Miller has left after 28 years there. Miller has said that she left in part because people disagreed with her actions in the CIA leak case.

November 19, 2005: Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald files court papers indicating that the CIA leak case will be presented to a second grand jury.

December 7, 2005: Fitzgerald presents new evidence to the second grand jury in the CIA leak case.

February 10, 2006: New filings by Fitzgerald show that I. Libby testified that his superiors authorized the release of confidential information in the summer of 2003.

February 24, 2006: Libby's lawyers ask a federal judge to dismiss the case against Libby, arguing that Fitzpatrick was improperly appointed head of the investigation.

May 25, 2006: Fitzergerald files papers in court that suggest Vice President Cheney may be a witness in the case against Libby.

July 12, 2006: Chicago Sun-Times reporter Robert Novak writes that Karl Rove was one of two secondary sources that confirmed Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative.

June 13, 2006: Fitzgerald sends a letter to Rove's lawyer stating that no criminal charges will be filed against Rove in the CIA leak case.

July 13, 2006: Valerie Plame files suit in federal court against Cheney, Libby, and Rove, asserting that they and 10 other officials violated her rights to free speech, privacy and equal protection.

August 30, 2006: Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage identifies himself as the primary source responsible for the leak of Valerie Plame's identity.

September 27, 2006: Prosecutors announce that the CIA leak investigation has cost taxpayers 1.44 million dollars through August 31, 2006.

October 26, 2006: Fitzgerald cross-examines Libby defense's first witness, a psychologist called to convince the judge to allow memory experts to aid in the defense.

October 30, 2006: Fitzgerald argues in filing that he should not be required to explain to jurors why no one has been charged with actually leaking the CIA agent's identity in the case against Libby.

November 2, 2006: U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton rules that the Libby defense's memory experts will not be allowed to testify to show that Libby merely misremembered facts but did not lie, in part because the testimony would cause jury confusion.

November 14, 2006: Judge Walton rules that Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald's proposal to limit what classified evidence Libby can present to the jury goes too far. Libby was seeking to present evidence to the jury supporting his contention that he innocently misremembered facts and did not intentionally misrepresent his knowledge of the leak.

November 15, 2006: Cheney and Libby ask a federal court to dismiss the civil lawsuit brought against them and other current and former administration officials by Plame. Cheney argues that his office provides him with complete immunity from civil lawsuits and that the statute of limitations bars the lawsuit.

December 11, 2006: Judge Walton accepts the prosecution's latest proposal to limit the amount of detail Libby could introduce at trial concerning classified intelligence.

December 19, 2006: A defense lawyer for Libby says that Libby will call VP Cheney to testify in Libby's upcoming trial. Last week Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said that he was "not aware" that any government witnesses intended to invoke executive privilege to avoid testifying in the trial.

January 9, 2007: Judge Walton denies a request from several news organizations seeking the daily release of audio recordings of arguments and testimony in the upcoming trial.

January 19, 2007: Judge Walton places 10 more potential jurors on standby. The previous day the court still did not have a full jury pool and lacked six of the required 36 impartial jurors for final jury selection.

January 22, 2007: A twelve-person jury is selected for the trial. Opening statements, originally slated for this date, are set to begin the next day.

January 23, 2007: Prosecution and defense attorneys deliver opening statements. Judge Walton also denies a defense motion for jury instructions explaining memory loss and refuses to allow expert testimony on the subject.

January 31, 2007: Former NYT reporter Miller testifies concerning conversations Libby had with Miller, during which he allegedly revealed to her the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Wilson.

February 1, 2007: Prosecution plays portions of White House briefing room videos which they say show Libby's eagerness to publicly conceal conversations he had with reporters about CIA official Valerie Plame.

February 5, 2007: Judge Walton authorizes public release of audio recordings of the secret grand jury testimony of Libby after they are played at his trial.

February 9, 2007: Prosecutor Fitzgerald rests the prosecution’s case after calling its final witness, NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert.

February 13, 2007: Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak testifies that Libby did not leak to him the identity of former undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame.

February 15, 2007: Defense rests in the trial and Judge Walton rules against Libby on several issues after it became clear that Libby was not going to testify in his self-defense, as defense lawyers had previously said he would.

February 20, 2007: Lawyers make their final arguments in the trial.

February 26, 2007: Judge Walton dismisses a juror after questioning the jury over possible exposure to information about the trial over the weekend.

March 3, 2007: Jury asks Judge Walton for a "clarification of the term 'reasonable doubt'", concluding the eighth day of deliberations.

March 5, 2007: Judge Walton refuses to answer the jury’s question on the level of proof that would have to be met to find Libby guilty, saying the question was too vague to be properly answered.

March 6, 2007: Jury returns a guilty verdict after ten days of deliberation. Libby is convicted of two counts of perjury, one count of lying to the FBI, and one count of obstruction of justice. He is acquitted on one count of lying to the FBI. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5.

March 16, 2007: Valerie Plame testifies before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the White House and US Department of State "carelessly and recklessly" blew her cover.

April 14, 2007: Libby plans to appeal the guilty verdict, focusing on a decision by Judge Walton to allow prosecutors to present evidence to the jury that Libby's defense viewed as being prejudicial.

May 17, 2007: A lawyer for VP Cheney urges a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Plame against members of the Bush administration, arguing that the lawsuit is based on "fanciful claims."

May 25, 2007: A federal prosecutor says that Libby should receive 2 1/2 to 3 years in prison, though the defense is expected to request that, if he receives any prison time, the sentence be suspended while he is appealing.

May 31, 2007: Judge Walton announces that he will release more than 150 letters he received in relation to the upcoming sentencing of Libby, some urging leniency while others call for a substantial sentence.

June 5, 2007: Libby is sentenced to 30 months in prison for his convictions, as well as fined $250,000.

June 7, 2007: Libby’s lawyers ask a federal judge to delay his prison sentence because they felt they have a good chance of winning an appeal of his conviction.

June 8, 2007: A dozen prominent legal scholars submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Libby, arguing that his conviction could be overturned on appeal because the appointment of Prosecutor Fitzgerald raises serious constitutional issues involving the separation of powers.

June 14, 2007: Judge Walton rejects Libby’s request that his prison sentence be delayed pending appeal.

July 2, 2007: The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit unanimously denies a motion by Libby to delay his prison sentence pending appeal. President Bush releases a statement regarding his decision to commute a portion of Libby’s sentence, calling the 30 month imprisonment "excessive".

July 3, 2007: Prosecutor Fitzgerald releases a statement questioning President Bush’s classification of Libby’s sentence as “excessive”, saying that the sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. President says that, although he believed the jury verdict should stand, it was conceivable that he could pardon Libby in the future.

July 9, 2007: House Judiciary Chairman Rep. John Conyers urges the White House to waive executive privilege concerning its decision to commute Libby’s prison sentence.

July 13, 2007: Judge Walton questions President Bush's determination that the 30-month prison sentence for Libby was "excessive" and rules that the President's commutation of Libby's prison term does not necessarily remove Libby's supervised release, ordering Libby to report to the federal Probation Office.

July 19, 2007: US District Judge John Bates dismisses a lawsuit against members of the Bush administration brought by Plame, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over her tort claim.

December 10, 2007: Libby’s lawyers announce that he will drop his appeal of his conviction, citing the burden on Libby and his family, as a successful appeal would lead to a retrial.

March 20, 2008: The DC Court of Appeals issues a disbarment order Libby, banning him from practicing law in the District of Columbia.

June 20, 2008: Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan testifies before the US House Judiciary Committee that he was unaware of any criminal wrongdoing by administration officials.

June 30, 2008: The House Judiciary Committee issues a subpoena to AG Mukasey for documents relating to the leak scandal.

July 17, 2008: President Bush invokes executive privilege to prevent members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from obtaining an FBI report on an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney regarding the leak.

August 12, 2008: The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upholds the dismissal of a lawsuit against members of the Bush administration brought by Valerie Plame.