WASHINGTON (AP) - Former top White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been barred from practicing law in the nation's capital following his perjury conviction in the case of a CIA operative's leaked identity.

The disbarment order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was issued Thursday. The appeals court said that when a lawyer "is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory."

Libby is the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and had been licensed to work as a lawyer in Washington since 1978. Libby was the only person to face criminal charges in the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identification.

Libby attorney Theodore Wells declined to comment.