Aides cleared to help Libby pay legal bills

WASHINGTON -- White House officials are free to contribute to a fund to help pay for the legal defense of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis ''Scooter" Libby, in the CIA leak investigation, the White House said yesterday.

''People, including White House staffers, can contribute as individuals to whatever causes they so choose. I know of no prohibition on individuals," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters when asked about Libby establishing a defense fund.

Libby was charged on Oct. 28 with obstructing justice, perjury, and lying in the two-year investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity. Libby has pleaded not guilty.

After Libby resigned, White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. issued a memo that said ''all White House staffers should not have any contact with Scooter Libby about any aspect of the investigation," McClellan said at the time.

Libby has assembled a team of lawyers to fight the charges in court, including Theodore Wells, who defended former agriculture secretary Michael Espy and the financier Michael Milken.