Scooter Libby's Sentence Commuted

[AshevilleEddie 14]

Are you f***ing kidding me?? Who exactly does George W Bush think he is?!? This man committed a CRIME! He outed a CIA operative, someone whose very life depends on secrecy. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced by a conservative judge. And King George says his sentence was "too harsh" since his life and career have already been ruined. Give me a break. He'll write a book that all the extreme right wingers will buy as fast as they are printed and he'll be set for life. Or maybe after Dick Cheney's out of office he'll just put him on his payroll. Oh wait, that's where he was when he did all this in the first place. This is nothing short of blatant corruption. 2008 can not get here fast enough...

[lisah25 3]

I could hardly believe it. I'm still stunned.

[faithmd 14]

I knew W would let him off, but I honestly thought he'd wait and actually pardon Libby closer to the end of his term. How much you want to bet that he will still pardon the charges later on.

So many are pointing out that Libby Does still have to pay $250K in fines, woohoo. And I'll lay you odds that someone will pay that for him. Maybe a Haliburton kick back?

Paris even had to go to jail, for goodness sakes! (And she got out way to early, in my opinion.)

[lisah25 3]

I agree, I think he will be pardoned when Bush leaves.

I heard an interesting theory about why he was given a commution(sp) now instead of a pardon. That being that with a pardon, he would no longer be able to claim the 5th amendment protection when asked to testify. Which he still can now.

I find it interesting that this doesn't seem to meet all the DOJ guidelines for a commuted sentence. At least from what I have read so far.

[Guest TooLarge]

Richard Armitage was the actual source of the leak. See article pulished on MSNBC: Richard Armitage's Role in Plame Case - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com

[L8BloomR 1]

This man committed a CRIME! He outed a CIA operative, someone whose very life depends on secrecy.

Actually, he was convicted of obstruction of justice. The person who leaked the name of the CIA agent was Richard Armitage, who was with the State Dept. and was a critic of the war. He inadvertantly leaked the name of Valerie Plame and was never convicted of anything. This was discovered very early in the investigation but Fitzgerald spend millions of $$ in a vain attempt to find additional leakers.

I don't know how I feel about Bush commuting the prison part of this conviction, mostly because of how shocked I was by the actual pardons done by his predecessor. They left me sort of numb. Check out this link:

USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Pardons Granted by President Clinton

They say that "politics is a dirty business." Guess "they" are right.....

[L8BloomR 1]

Hey Gary,

Guess you and I are on the same wavelength.... your response was posted as I was posting mine!

[AshevilleEddie 14]

Actually, he was convicted of obstruction of justice. The person who leaked the name of the CIA agent was Richard Armitage, who was with the State Dept. and was a critic of the war. He inadvertantly leaked the name of Valerie Plame and was never convicted of anything. This was discovered very early in the investigation but Fitzgerald spend millions of $$ in a vain attempt to find additional leakers.

I don't know how I feel about Bush commuting the prison part of this conviction, mostly because of how shocked I was by the actual pardons done by his predecessor. They left me sort of numb. Check out this link:

USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Pardons Granted by President Clinton

They say that "politics is a dirty business." Guess "they" are right.....

Like I said, he was CONVICTED. By a JURY. SENTENCED. By a CONSERVATIVE JUDGE, not a "flaming liberal." And what Bill Clinton did during his presidency is not at issue here. But since you brought it up, I was just as outraged at his actions. They were both gross abuses of presidential power.

[DerickM 1]

I'm glad Libby doesn't have any jail time.

He should've been pardoned outright.

Considering that he supposedly covered up a crime that NO ONE HAS EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH.

In other words, Libby is supposed to have covered up something that has not even been established as being a crime through someone actually being prosecuted for it.

Punishment for covering something up should never exceed that of the underlying crime.

[AshevilleEddie 14]

Considering that he supposedly covered up a crime that NO ONE HAS EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH.

In other words, Libby is supposed to have covered up something that has not even been established as being a crime through someone actually being prosecuted for it.

quote]

Well, then how was he convicted?? I'm confused...

[gadgetlady 4]

I'm just cutting and pasting from an email (political newsletter) I received today. I don't really have any other comment:

Justice: Those who criticize President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's 30-month prison sentence should remember: The punishment should fit the crime. And in this case, there wasn't one.

Yet, that hasn't stopped Bush's foes from going into high dudgeon about Bush letting Libby avoid jail. ...

[P]residential candidate Hillary Clinton, made this comment, dripping in irony: "This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."

Is this the same Democratic Party that shamed the White House for eight years in the 1990s with its illicit activity and lying? ...

Just checking. It's pretty rich listening to the Democratic grandees wax eloquent about the "rule of law." As we recall, just a few years back, they seemed to think the nation's laws were mere suggestions. ...

Let's return to the previous occupant of the White House -- relevant, of course, because he might soon be back in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as first husband if Hillary can win in 2008.

As we said, the "equal justice" argument against clemency really founders when you compare Libby with what took place under the Clinton administration and after. The difference in treatment is stark.

President Clinton: Impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice, but acquitted by the U.S. Senate. His impeachment on the obstruction charge was basically a hung jury -- 50-50.

In 1999, District Judge Susan Webber Wright cited Clinton's "willful failure" to tell the truth and failure to obey the court's orders of discovery in citing him for civil contempt in the Paula Jones case. (Jones, remember, claimed she was sexually assaulted by Clinton.)

Again, Clinton lied and obstructed an investigation. Yet he got off with a hand-slap: No prison time. An admission of misconduct, a $25,000 fine and a five-year suspension of his license. He had to pay Jones' lawyers' fees and some court costs -- $90,686 total -- but no felony was put on his record.

Based on all this, the Arkansas Supreme Court made Clinton surrender his Arkansas law license and he subsequently resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court bar -- just before they were about to suspend him.

Sandy Berger: Former National Security Adviser Berger pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing classified documents from the National Archives, destroying some of those documents (obstruction), and lying to federal investigators (perjury).

Berger hid secret NSA documents in his socks and pants. He stole and apparently destroyed secret documents from the national archives. ...

He took five copies, but returned just two. Again, perjury and obstruction of justice? Berger, too, got off with no prison time, a $50,000 fine, two years' probation and 100 hours of community service. No felony on his record. He also lost his law license.

Then there are the Bill Clinton pardons. Those now screaming about the leniency granted to Libby surely forget that Clinton issued 140 pardons on his last day in office. Many are questionable, to say the least. ...

Clinton commuted sentences for 16 members of the Puerto Rican separatist group FALN. That group had set off more than 100 bombs in the U.S., and the 16 had been convicted for a number of violent crimes, ranging from sedition to bomb-making. ...

Clinton also pardoned carnival operators Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory. How did carnival operators get on his radar? Turns out they had loaned Hillary's brother, Tony Rodham, $107,000, which he never repaid. ...

Then there was Carlos Vignali, a cocaine trafficker whose sentence Clinton commuted. And Almon Glenn Braswell, who was found guilty of mail fraud and perjury but won a pardon. ...

Braswell and Vignali each paid Hillary's other brother, Hugh Rodham, $200,000, hoping he could win them clemency. Rodham returned the money, but only after the scandal became public. ...

Others also found grace under Clinton's pardon frenzy -- former Rep. Mel Reynolds (found guilty of sexual assault on a child and later of bank fraud); Susan MacDougal (pardoned for her role in the Whitewater scandal); and President Clinton's brother Roger Clinton (pardoned for earlier drug convictions).

As we said, the list is a long one. We gave just a taste of its sordid contents. But it puts Scooter Libby's case in context. ...

[bigguy 0]

gadgetlady....great post.

2 THUMBS UP

Ken:amen:

[AshevilleEddie 14]

So two (or more) wrongs really do make a right. Hmm...

[gadgetlady 4]

No, two wrongs do not make a right. But first one has to determine if one of the wrongs is indeed wrong. And I think in this case that is a matter of serious debate.

As to the hypocrisy of the liberals on this issue, I think THAT matter is quite clear. If it's not, click here: USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Pardons Granted by President Clinton and here: USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Commutations of Sentence and Remissions of Fine Granted by President Clinton

[AshevilleEddie 14]

No, two wrongs do not make a right. But first one has to determine if one of the wrongs is indeed wrong. And I think in this case that is a matter of serious debate.

As to the hypocrisy of the liberals on this issue, I think THAT matter is quite clear. If it's not, click here: USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Pardons Granted by President Clinton and here: USDOJ: Office of the Pardon Attorney - Commutations of Sentence and Remissions of Fine Granted by President Clinton

He was CONVICTED! There is no debate. If there were any matter of debate, his conviction could/should have been appealed. That's how our legal system works. As to hypocrisy, there is more than enough to go around on all sides. Why does everyone always fall back on the liberal vs. conservative crap (i.e., "us" vs. "them")?? Why can't there just be "WE"?? I understand that we all have different values and beliefs, but the downfall of this country is not going to be whether or not we let Gays marry, it's going to be whether or not we stop hating and fighting with each other. "A house divided..."