Libby Ponies Up $250K Fine

Lewis Libby has discharged the first part of his penalty for perjury and obstruction, paying a $250,000 fine and $400 "special assessment" to the clerk of the DC district court. A facsimile of the cashier's check, dated July 2—the day President Bush issued his commutation order—appeared on the court website this afternoon.

A source tells MSNBC Libby paid the fine himself, without his multimillion-dollar defense fund's help. Meanwhile, as critics continue to blast the decision to sidestep his sentencing decision, Judge Reggie Walton has given lawyers for both sides until Monday to offer their thoughts on how supervised release, which usually follows a prison sentence, works without "a term of incarceration." (More CIA leak investigation stories.)