President Bush commuted I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence, putting this whole political fiasco behind us.
Just today President Bush has commuted the sentence that Scooter Libby was given in his obstruction of justice trial. Libby will still face a fine and probation but he will serve no time in prison. His conviction will also remain on his record.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Alec
John B - Re: However, I'm in no position to evaluate the underlying crime issue.
If this is the case, then you are in no position to judge whether or not Fitzgerald was engaged in a witch hunt, or whether Libby's commutation was appropriate. What exactly, then is the point of your post if you acknowledge ignorance of the issues involved?
Odd, isn't it that the judge not only slapped down the arguments of those who submitted letters on Libby's behalf, and that no judge, no Justice Department official, nor even Bush in his commutation speech, declared that no crime was involved (unlike, for example the infamous Duke case). Why do you persist in taking a stand that not even the Bush Administration is asserting?
Note that I am simply trying to understand exactly why Bush Administration true believers make up facts to justify their blind loyalty to Dubya and his actions?
One does not have to rely on the supposedly biased mainstream media on this. Wikipedia has a good article on US v Libby, but more importantly has external links to court documents. There is also a link to a transcript of Fitzgerald's reasoning for indicting Libby. Here is a key passage:
FITZGERALD: At the end of the day what appears is that Mr. Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true.
It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.
RE: I think Bush's reasoning was that Libby is an idiot and it's not nice to jail people just for that.
Bush apparently recognized his own kind.
27 - chris
"Fact is Iraq did seek yellow cake from Nigeria. Just as intelligence suggested."
Uh, no. It's not a fact. It's a complete lie. The White House went on to admit that the whole thing was based on forged documents and was complete crap.
I'll quote Ari Fleischer here:
"So given the fact that the report on the yellow cake did not turn out to be accurate, that is reflective of the president's broader statement."
Only in neo-con fantasy world, are any claims about Iraq even remotely accurate.
28 - Rob
After reading your opinion piece, I realised you are less qualified as a political analyst than many of those in Hollywood, which conservatives love to criticize. Apparently, you mistake poor analysis as fact.
Regardless of your inaccurate, even false, claims about Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson, here are some indisputable facts.
1. Valerie Plame was a NOC operative in the CIA. As such, it was illegal to identify her publicly.
2. Jospeh Wilson's report from his trip to Niger, proved to be accurate. Not long after, the IAEA also found the documentation claiming Iraq attempted to buy yellow cake to be forgeries.
3. Someone in the White House identified Valerie Plame to multiple reporters, one of whom published her name and function in the CIA.
4. A jury and a judge, who was appointed to the bench by George W. Bush, found the evidence more than convincing to convict Libby of obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury.
5. No one was held accountable for breaking the law against revealing NOC opertives. Had someone been held accountable, Bush would have demonstrated even more strongly the falseness of his early statements that if someone in his administration was found to have broken the law that person would have to be held accountable. I expect no less from this president. He has lied to America so many times, he cannot be trusted.
I suppose lying to a legal body is acceptable to the conservatives if it is conservatives doing the lying. If it is a Democratic president lying about a blow job from someone not his wife, he should be removed from office. Luckily for Bush, the Democratic House leadership is not terribly interested in voting articles of impeachment for a president and vice president who lied to get their invasion of Iraq, broke laws against domestic spying, ignored legal requirements to get warrants for wiretapping, have bled the country's treasury, unilaterally withdrawn from treaties without seeking the consent of Congress, have held people without charge or access to the courts simply on the President's descretion, and instituted policies allowing kidnapping and torture.
I hope you conservatives appreciate the shredding of the Constitution. It will bring your long sought after failure of the national government, our government. Your activist judges and the social conservatives who want to engineer society to be some sort of vague theocracy not to mention the conservative inability to balance the budget will destroy this country far more efficiently than any terrorist could ever hope.
29 - Lono
So the question remains, John, what will it take for you to hold this administration accountable? Must Cheney kill a hooker on live TV? Are you not offended by ANY of this?
do you know how batshit crazy your side would be if this were a Dem? Come on, Y'all took down the President of the United States for lying about pussy... don't you think lying about the yellow cake purchase, then smiting wilson by outing his wife, then covering the whole thing up by lying to a grand jury... that isn't serious?
I guess you live with the school of Nixon:
It isn't illegal if the President does it
you disgust me, because you will not stand up to your own party and hold them accountable.
30 - Lono
regarding these super wrong words:
...Ambassador Wilson did in fact lie to Congress...
wrongo. Wilson told them point blank that there was no evidence Iraq was seeking yellow cake from Niger
...Valerie Plame was material in sending her husband on a junket to Niger even though he was not qualified to make the trip...
wrongo > Wilson was a previous ambassador to Africa, that is how he got chosen
I understand that y'all on the right probably think we are pussy winers who think everything Bush does is a scandal. I know this, I have several friends on the right.
Know this, what we on the left want to know is if you will EVER be offended by this group or ever hold them publicly accountable? I am going to leave you with a quote by Al Franken. Don't freak out, just read it and think about it. By the way, I am paraphrasing as I don't have the book in front of me:
Republicans love America like it is a two year old and can do no wrong.
Democrats love America like it is a teenager. Still unconditionally, but we understand it doesn't always make the best decisions for itself and can use occasional corrections.
31 - Lono
Oh yeah, one more thing. I still want the head of Robert Novak delivered to me. He is the most guilty, to me, of all parties. He took the info and published it. That was pure malice and disregard for the Wilson family. He, too, is a traitor to the United States of America.
32 - Dr Dreadful
Joe #21: you have access to Google just like the rest of us
No shit.
It obviously didn't occur to you that I tried looking it up... and couldn't find anything to confirm John's assertions. Is it so unreasonable to ask where he got his "indisputable facts" from?
I hope you didn't call your college professors lazy hippies when they asked you to cite your sources.
33 - Dave Nalle
It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.
But Alec, you're just as wrong about this as JB is about some of his assertions. You just quoted Fitzgerald, who also admited that the scenario you describe was NOT true. Libby wasn't at the beginning OR end of any chain of phonecalls disclosing the information. He was at best the second person to reveal information about Plame, and more realistically the 4th if you count the two accidental leaks of her identity by the CIA.
In addition, it has been VERY clearly established that Libby had no idea he was leaking someone's covert identity when he referred obliquely to 'ambassador wilson's wife'. Fitzgerald has been very clear that there is no evidence that Libby made an intentional leak of Plame's identity or was even aware that there was anything to be concerned about in mentioning her. He had no intent to do harm.
Two quotes from Fitzgerald:
"To date, we have no direct evidence that Libby knew or believed that Wilson's wife was engaged in covert work."
"And all I'll say is that, look, we have not made any allegation that Mr. Libby knowingly, intentionally outed a covert agent. We have not charged that. And so I'm not making that assertion."
It's not unreasonable to assume that Libby's commuted sentence was largely the result of the fact that he didn't really do anything major wrong.
Dave
34 - John Bambenek
It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who assert as facts that which is simply not true.
35 - Michael J. West
In this case, JB, that goes for both the left- and the right-wingers....
36 - Zedd
JB
It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who assert as facts that which is simply not true.
Like most of your articles, this one being the best example of that.
37 - Lee Richards
#17:
"There simply is so few intelligent people..."
Spoken like a true Bushie, JB!
You're hilarious.
38 - Lee Richards
#33:
"he really didn't do anything major wrong"
Lying repeatedly to obstruct justice (read cover Cheney's ass) used to be a "major wrong". Maybe it was changed by a signing statement I missed.
39 - bliffle
Why are you amazed, JB? Seems to me you persistently state as facts things that you only wish were true.
40 - Silver Surfer
I like the notion that George Bush accepts the decision of the court/justice system ... but only in deciding that Scooter's guilty.
The sentencing aspect, now that's a different ballgame. Gee, there must be hundreds of prisoners down Texas way who are hoping to meet the President.
41 - Dave Nalle
Lying repeatedly to obstruct justice (read cover Cheney's ass) used to be a "major wrong". Maybe it was changed by a signing statement I missed.
Except that he didn't lie to cover Cheney's ass because it became clear in the investigation that Cheney's ass wasn't exposed. Cheney didn't leak the name, and the question raised here is whether you can obstruct justice solely because you act like an idiot and don't know what the hell is going on.
Dave
42 - Lee Richards
#41:
Damning with faint praise, Dave.
Your tolerance for idiots in this administration is off the charts.
43 - Alec
Dave - RE: But Alec, you're just as wrong about this as JB is about some of his assertions. You just quoted Fitzgerald, who also admited that the scenario you describe was NOT true. Libby wasn't at the beginning OR end of any chain of phonecalls disclosing the information.
Can you provide a citation on this? Also, it seems to me that this might be material to any appeal that Libby might make, but I have not seen this to be the case anywhere.
My point still stands that material that lays out the case against Libby and exactly what he was convicted of is easily available.
RE: He was at best the second person to reveal information about Plame, and more realistically the 4th if you count the two accidental leaks of her identity by the CIA.
This is still totally irrelevant to the charges against Libby and his conviction for obstruction of justice. He was not charged with leaking Plame's name.
It is also interesting that you, like John, try to minimize the leaking of Plame's name as an accidental leak when some of the usual suspects, the cynical Beltway pundits, acknowledge that the leaking was intentional and meant to discredit Plame and Wilson, but then try to ascribe it to "typical Washington political infighting."
Once again, the Bush Administration and their loyal acolytes cannot be consistent with their lies and obfuscations.
RE: In addition, it has been VERY clearly established that Libby had no idea he was leaking someone's covert identity when he referred obliquely to 'ambassador wilson's wife'.
Again, this is not relevant to Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice.
RE: He had no intent to do harm.
This is not only irrelevant, but it is also clear that lack of intent is not relevant to whether a crime has been committed. For example, a person who causes the death of another without intent can be charged with and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The law has always been clear on the principle that lack of intent is not always sufficient to excuse an act from being criminal.
Dave, you are too smart not to know this. Why, then, do you attempt to use this as some phony mitigation?
RE: It's not unreasonable to assume that Libby's commuted sentence was largely the result of the fact that he didn't really do anything major wrong.
Bush is not a lawyer or a judge, and there are stories which claim that he did not run this past the justice department beforehand. There is no legal principle that I am aware of called "didn't do anything major wrong."
There is, however, clear evidence that Bush and Cheney hold themselves above the law.
By the way, the spin currently making the rounds is to compare the Libby Commutation to Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.
Ironic, then, to know that Scooter Libby represented Marc Rich from 1985 to 2000, and once testified that he believed "prosecutors of billionaire financier Marc Rich 'misconstrued the facts and the law' when they went after Rich on tax evasion charges."
For the record, I believed that Clinton's pardon of Rich was disgraceful. Apparently, Bush simply saw it as precedent.
44 - Lee Richards
Re #17:
JB sniffs the Great Unwashed Masses and squeeks:
"I usually filter comments to the trash..."
Take that, you mean old bullies. One-way communication:that's the goal of JB!
His mind is made up (closed and locked against any different ideas, so he says), so please don't confuse him with the facts.
JB: If you can't stand the heat, maybe you'd better get the hell out of the kitchen.
45 - sr
If this tweaks liberals justice has been served. ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DA MY O MY WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY. SEE YA ASSHOLES.
46 - Dr Dreadful
John, Dave, everyone: you know, I know and every other idiot who expends more than half a brain cell's worth of attention on this knows that Libby is just the fall guy for whatever went down here. He was asked to lie, so like a good loyal chap he lied. About what, exactly, we may never know.
47 - Dr Dreadful
sr, I enjoy a good tweak every once in a while.
BTW, it's been a while since you've given me the update on those watermelon-sized suppositories. They don't appear to be having any effect.
48 - Lee Richards
If I were only a half-wit with a foul mouth and a limited vocabulary, I could talk to sr as an equal!
49 - Lono
Come on, Nalle. you are laying down on this one.
It's not unreasonable to assume that Libby's commuted sentence was largely the result of the fact that he didn't really do anything major wrong.
Look at those qualifiers: largely, really, major
stand up to these guys. You are going to need to. One day soon, when the Dems run the country, you guys will be freaking out about everything. When you do, we will quote your words here about 'nothing being majorly wrong'.
in fact, the Dems pretty much have a pass for the next four years after the election. We can: covertly plan a war, fix intelligence to make that war happen, get totally caught lying about all of it, out some CIA operatives, alienate the free world, and have a vice President that absolutely refuses to anything for anyone and won't even answer questions.
Oh, and the will of the people won't be a concern with us either. Bush showed that with the Stem cell bill and the Iraqi time lines veto.
yup, you guys won't stand up to your own leadership... good luck holding our guys accountable when we take over. Set the kool aid down and see what your leadership is doing.
50 - Alec
JB -- RE: It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who assert as facts that which is simply not true.
Here is another uncomfortable fact, complete with citation: It appears that in commuting Libby's sentence, Bush exceeded the standard practice of the Office of Pardons. From the New Republic web site blog.
The DOJ's "Standards for Consideration of Clemency Petitions" (via TPM), states that "Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding." Libby's case fails both these tests. What he received is a pardon in sheep's clothing, one that cheapens the term "commutation," with its expectation of a just punishment ultimately curtailed.
Of course, not having to trust the liberal media, we can go straight to the source at the DOJ site (see Section 1-2.113 et seq).
Bush, his cronies and acolytes continually talk about the rule of law, but clearly here Dubya is really the Lord of Misrule.
51 - Clavos
"in fact, the Dems pretty much have a pass for the next four years after the election. We can: covertly plan a war, fix intelligence to make that war happen, get totally caught lying about all of it, out some CIA operatives, alienate the free world, and have a vice President that absolutely refuses to anything for anyone and won't even answer questions.
Oh, and the will of the people won't be a concern with us either. Bush showed that with the Stem cell bill and the Iraqi time lines veto."
It's OK, because "everybody does it."
Infantile.
52 - Baronius
I heard Hillary railing against the commutation on the radio last night. Hilarious. Does she think we've forgotten about the pardon festival at the end of her husband's administration?
She tries to take credit for all the wonders of Bill's presidency, ignoring all the scandals. The truth is the opposite. She arguably had nothing to do with his, say, welfare reform, but was implicated in the politically-motivated firings of the White House travel staff.
53 - Dr Dreadful
#53. Clavos - I think you accidentally set your sarcasm detection button to 'off'...
54 - Dave Nalle
stand up to these guys. You are going to need to. One day soon, when the Dems run the country, you guys will be freaking out about everything. When you do, we will quote your words here about 'nothing being majorly wrong'.
Lono, if the people are dumb enough to put the Democrats into power it's not their scandals we'll be complaining about.
You see, here's the difference between the two parties. The Republicans biggest threat when in power is their scandals and occasional bit of corruption. When the Democrats are in power it's their actual openly-advocated programs which threaten the nation and the citizens.
Dave
55 - troll
oi...not that I don't think Dems are a bunch of screaming meanies or anything...but do you honestly think that the past few years of Rep rule haven't been punctuated by programs 'which threaten the nation and the citizens' - ?
56 - Dave Nalle
Troll, I truly, honestly think that the fearmongering about the small number of mildly troubling things which Bush has done is totally out of proportion to any real threat.
The single biggest offense is clearly the PATRIOT Act, and it was bipartisan and is still enthusiastically supported by most Democrats.
Dave
57 - Lono
James Madison (1751-1836), the father of the U.S. Constitution (1788-2007), added that "if the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty."
58 - Lee Richards
#56:
"...the small number of mildly troubling things which Bush has done..."
Such as war without end in Iraq
budget deficits out the wazoo
torture
erosion of civil liberties
loss of prestige and moral authority around the world...
Yeh, mildly troubling.
59 - zingzing
don't worry, it's just dave's "moral relativism" meter fucking up again.
60 - Lee Richards
Re #59:
Mr. sr, you must have misunderstood my comment. (Does that seem to happen to you a lot?)
I was expressing my profound admiration for your superlative achievement in attaining those rare and remarkable distinguishing characteristics that you alone possess in such abundance.
And then the brilliance in your reply of a "yo mama"!! Well, I mean!!!
Few of us dim wits could ever dream of coming close to you. You are truly beyond compare!
61 - sr
Mr Richards. Thank you for commenting to my comment. Depending upon my rum consumption maybe I misunderstood. My wife tells me that every day since she has to clean the toilet because I miss alot. Yes Im truly beyond compare. Of course that depends upon who you compare me with. A good day to you Sir.
62 - Dr Dreadful
sr - do you miss a lot only while standing, or while sitting down too?
63 - Dan
"Fact is Iraq did seek yellow cake from Nigeria. Just as intelligence suggested."
Chris #27: "Uh, no. It's not a fact. It's a complete lie. The White House went on to admit that the whole thing was based on forged documents and was complete crap."
There were forged documents, but that wasn't what the intelligence was based on. The bi-partisan Senate report on the CIA's intelligence gathering concluded that, contrary to Wilson's statements about his own report, his findings had bolstered rather than undermined the case that Saddam had sought uranium from Niger. This was well after the Italian documents were figured to be forgery's.
The credible sources say that the possibility that Iraq sought yellow cake from Niger is still "an open question", but that's just what is said when absolute proof is unattainable.
Moreover, the British Butler Commission still stands by it's intelligence. And, after all, that is the source Bush cited in his "16 words", so Bush can't reasonably be accused of lying.
One way that a person might reasonably recognize that the persecution of Libby is a sham, is that No one in the biased media actually specifies what it is that Libby has done.
Libby is simply accused (and convicted) of lying under oath about who told him Plames identity.
That's it.
Sure he spread the name to others after the information was out, and everyone who still reads the New York Times knew. (not a crime) But he remembers that Tim Russert was the first to tell him. Russert says no.
How can a jury meet the standard of reasonable doubt based on two peoples' conflicting testimony?
Finding Ron Goldmans blood in OJ's vehicle wasn't enough for another infamous jury.
The leaker, Richard Armitage, read Plames name to Robert Novak from an unclassified memo at the CIA. Apparantley Valerie Plame's code name was Valerie Plame.
64 - Dan
Correction: It wasn't The New York Times that carried Bob Novaks story.
It was the NYT that carried Joe Wilsons lie.
65 - Baronius
It's interesting that Bush took this one on himself. He didn't consult with DoJ or Cheney. It makes sense.
A friend is in trouble. You don't want to pardon him, but you can't stand by while a friend lands in prison. So you take the middle path, protecting him from the worst but letting the conviction stand.
And you don't try to pass it off as a reasoned decision. You take the hit. The funny thing is, if Bush explained it this way, he'd probably get some support from the electorate. But Bush never explains or defends anything he does. I guess he trusts CBS to explain his actions fairly. As bad as he is at speaking, he does far more damage to his cause when he doesn't speak.
66 - John Bambenek
He did issue a statement explaining his actions, you know.
67 - moonraven
I don't know where you boneheads are getting your news.
Bush indicated in a press conference on Tuesday that he is not ruling out anything--including a complete pardon of Scooter Pie.
68 - Dave Nalle
Can you provide a citation on this? Also, it seems to me that this might be material to any appeal that Libby might make, but I have not seen this to be the case anywhere.
My point still stands that material that lays out the case against Libby and exactly what he was convicted of is easily available.
Yes it is. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with it rather than asking people to provide citations for facts which anyone even vaguely familiar with the case should know.
It is also interesting that you, like John, try to minimize the leaking of Plame's name as an accidental leak when some of the usual suspects, the cynical Beltway pundits, acknowledge that the leaking was intentional and meant to discredit Plame and Wilson, but then try to ascribe it to "typical Washington political infighting."
You aren't reading closely enough. I didn't minimize the leaking of Plame's name. I pointed out that Fitzgerald said that Libby's revealing of Plame (such as it was) seemed to be done entirely in ignorance. Armitage's leaking was presumably intentional, though his motives are somewhat obscure.
Once again, the Bush Administration and their loyal acolytes cannot be consistent with their lies and obfuscations.
And you trot out the same old jargon, accusing us of being Bush administration flunkies just because we don't agree with you. If that's the best you can do, why bother?
This is not only irrelevant, but it is also clear that lack of intent is not relevant to whether a crime has been committed.
No, but it's entirely relevant to the severity of the crime and the type of punishment it deserves.
For example, a person who causes the death of another without intent can be charged with and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Yes, but he cannot be convicted of murder.
The law has always been clear on the principle that lack of intent is not always sufficient to excuse an act from being criminal.
But it's indisputible that it changes the severity of the crime.
Dave, you are too smart not to know this. Why, then, do you attempt to use this as some phony mitigation?
Because your argument that an unintentional act and an intentional act are treated the same under the law is just dead wrong.
Bush is not a lawyer or a judge, and there are stories which claim that he did not run this past the justice department beforehand. There is no legal principle that I am aware of called "didn't do anything major wrong."
He's not a lawyer or a judge, he's the president. He has the power to commute sentences and actually doesn't really need a reason. That's the way it works. It's external to the normal system of justice.
There is, however, clear evidence that Bush and Cheney hold themselves above the law.
Citation? Any evidence that they believe this? I'd be amused to see it.
For the record, I believed that Clinton's pardon of Rich was disgraceful. Apparently, Bush simply saw it as precedent.
See my current article on the Reagan administration. Bush Sr. pardonned or commuted the sentences of dozens of Reagan era officials convicted of a variety of crimes.
Dave
69 - moonraven
The thing that's funny about Nalle is he just does not see that the Bushies' rubbing you guys' noses in their shit clearly DOES inidicate they hold themselves to be above the law.
Anbd, in a behavioral sense, they are absolutely right--since you folks do not hold them accountable for any of their crimes.
I guess you are too envious and would like to commit them yourselves.
70 - John Bambenek
Let's just remember that on this Independence Day, the only real patriotic thing to do is kill a Republican.
71 - Dave Nalle
You should only kill Republicans if you're going to eat them afterwards, preferably barbequed.
Dave
72 - Baronius
Mmmmmm, barbecue...
73 - sr
Doc#62. Your comment was excellent. Sure I could comment back however you had me laughing so hard you made my day. Like I said Doc, your a funny guy. Please continue on sir.
74 - sr
Cooked up a rack of lib ribs today. They tasted and smelled like shit. Not that I would know what shit taste like but I sure the hell know what it smells like. The tater salad and beans were good. Best part of the day was the cherry bomb in the toilet with my drunk friend sitting/shiting on it.
75 - STM
Come on sr, we all know that you know what shit tastes like ... because we all know how much you love a good shit sandwich.