[JURIST] In a brief statement Friday afternoon outside the White House, President Bush called Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's "legal proceedings" against resigned Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [official profile] "serious", but stressed that Libby is presumed innocent and entitled to due process and a fair trial. He said that Libby had "sacrificed much" in the service of his country in "extraordinary times." He added that he and the White House staff still had a lot of work to do, and that "pretty soon" he would be naming someone to the Supreme Court. Read the full text of the President's remarks [White House press release]. Bush's comments echoed an earlier written statement [press release] from Vice President Cheney, accepting Libby's resignation. Libby resigned earlier Friday shortly after his indictment [PDF text; JURIST report] on obstruction of justice and perjury charges in the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive].