File photo of Lewis Libby.

WASHINGTON -- Lewis Libby has resigned as the top adviser to Vice President Cheney.

The announcement was made after Libby was indicted Friday on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in the CIA leak case.

If convicted on all five counts, Libby could face as much as 30 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

Libby has worked in relative obscurity, but he'd been considered one of the Bush administration's most influential advisers because of his proximity to Cheney.

Cheney is one of the most powerful vice presidents in history, and a trial could give the public a glimpse into his influential role in the West Wing. He called Lewis Libby one of the most capable and talented individuals he has ever known.

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	Libby indicited CNN's Bob Franken reports on the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Cheney's response CNN's Brian Todd reports on how Vice President Cheney is standing behind his man.

Cheney has released a statement saying he accepts, with deep regret, Libby's decision to resign as his chief of staff. He said he won't comment on the charges, since this is a pending legal proceeding.

The vice president's statement notes that a person is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury. He said Libby is entitled to answer the charges and fully air all the facts in the case.

President Bush's closest adviser, Karl Rove, has apparently escaped indictment today, but perhaps only temporarily. He is said to be still under investigation.

The five-count indictment accuses Libby of lying about how and when he learned of Valerie Plame's identity in 2003 and then told reporters about it.

Fitzgerald says Libby lied repeatedly

The special counsel looking into the leak said Libby claimed he'd just been passing along information he heard from other reporters.

But Patrick Fitzgerald said that's not true. He said Libby had talked with other officials several times about Plame, and the fact that she was the wife of a Bush administration critic, Joseph Wilson.

Fitzgerald said Libby is the first person known to have passed that information along to a reporter. He said Libby is trying to make it appear that he was ''at the tail end'' of a chain of phone calls. But Fitzgerald said Libby was, in fact, at the beginning of that chain -- and that he repeatedly lied about it under oath.

Fitzgerald told reporters that it's important for the nation's security, and for the safety of its undercover agents, that the identities of those agents be kept secret.

Republicans turn against Libby

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are welcoming Libby's resignation.

Congressman Jim Ramstad said it's time to stop the leaks and spins. He said he'd like to see Washington turned into what he calls ''one big recovery meeting where people say what they mean and mean what they say.''

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said the Senate won't investigate the CIA leak.

Libby's indictment in the CIA leak investigation is a political embarrassment for President Bush. It paves the way for a possible trial renewing the focus on the administration's faulty rationale for going to war against Iraq.

Democrats say leak case evidence of corruption

Some Democrats are suggesting the indictment is larger than just one man.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said the CIA leak case is about how the White House both “manufactured and manipulated intelligence'' to boost its case for the Iraq war.

Reid also said Libby's indictment shows the Bush administration tried to “discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president.''

Senator John Kerry, meanwhile, is calling the C-I-A leak case “evidence of White House corruption at the very highest levels.'' The former presidential candidate says that's “far from the honor and dignity'' Bush pledged to restore when he was elected five years ago.