Bush commutes Libby's jail sentence

[Genghis Cohen]

If the sentence was 'excessive' then why has it gone straight from three years to nothing ?

 

[david dissadent]

Do state govenors in America not have similar powers over some crimes and what about home secetaries and prime ministers here, and the queen for that matter?

 

[teqniq]

If anyone wants a bit of a laugh amidst their (at least in my case) complete disgust check this out.

 

[detective-boy]

Do state govenors in America not have similar powers over some crimes and what about home secetaries and prime ministers here, and the queen for that matter?

As far as the Uk is concerned I think only the Queen has the power to pardon ... though constitutionally it's done on the recommendation of the Home Sec / Prime Minister.

 

[TAE]

Isn't there some law against bringing the office of president into disrepute ?

 

[TomUS]

see also Marc Rich/ Bill Clinton

Know who Mark Rich's lawyer was? That's right. Scooter.

 

[mears]

I believe Libby's sentence was overly harsh, but I do believe he deserved some jail time. I would have liked to see Libby spend a couple months in jail, something to atone for his actions, as a Grand Jury, not only a political judge, was involved in this litigation.

I hope Bush doesn't grant a full pardon after the November elections in 2008.

If you really want know a shady US presidential pardon look at Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.

 

[nino_savatte]

Three years is nothing. Libby should stop whining and take it like a man. Anyone else would have had to serve their entire sentence. It helps to have friends in high places.

 

[dilute micro]

It's not the person.

It's the office.

 

[nino_savatte]

No, it's both.

 

[rhod]

If you really want know a shady US presidential pardon look at Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.

And which shady character was Marc Rich's attorney at the time? I think it's pertinent to this thread..

Anyway, there's a big difference between Rich's tax evasion, and Libby's perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators.

Valerie Plame's cover was blown, endangering her life and that of her contacts, as well as screwing up the WMD monitoring she was involved in. Libby repeatedly lied to the investigators. Quite a big deal, especially for one of the most senior officials in the administration.

So, there's no real equivalence between what Bush has done, and what Clinton did.

But nice try.

 

[mears]

And which shady character was Marc Rich's attorney at the time? I think it's pertinent to this thread..

Anyway, there's a big difference between Rich's tax evasion, and Libby's perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators.

Valerie Plame's cover was blown, endangering her life and that of her contacts, as well as screwing up the WMD monitoring she was involved in. Libby repeatedly lied to the investigators. Quite a big deal, especially for one of the most senior officials in the administration.

So, there's no real equivalence between what Bush has done, and what Clinton did.

But nice try.

Please, an ex-wife is a major donor to the Democratic party and her former husband out of the blue gets a Presidential Pardon

Libby can't practice law and is a convicted felon. Even without prison time, (which as I said I believe he deserves) he will pay a price.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

A good article about the hypocrisy revealed on both sides by the Libby affair.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19603636/

 

[newharper]

This quote always raises a wry smile.

"“I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.” [George H.W. Bush, Speech at CIA, 4/26/99;"

 

[Genghis Cohen]

"At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest. Groups of men paid to watch." - Lewis Libby.

 

[London_Calling]

genius arrived via email . . .


50 Ways to Pardon Scooter


The problem is all inside your head, said Dick Cheney
The answer is easy if you think imperiously
I can't afford to have him talking about me
There must be fifty ways to pardon Scooter

Dick said, It has become my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
So I'll repeat myself, since I'm talking to a boob
There must be fifty ways to pardon Scooter

Fifty ways to pardon Scooter

Just take it all back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need a discharge, George
Just set the man free

Don't talk to Justice
You don't need to discuss this
Just commute the hard time
And let him Scoot free


Just take it all back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need a discharge, George
Just set the man free

don't talk to Justice
You don't need to discuss this
Just commute the hard time
And let him Scoot free


Dick said, It grieves me so think I'll be in pain
You know there is something you could do to make me smile again
geirge said, I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways

Dick said, Why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
We'll act on it tomorrow when the news cycle is right
No one cares about due process when the fireworks are bright
There must be fifty ways to pardon Scooter

Fifty ways to pardon Scooter


Just take it all back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need a discharge, George
Just set the man free

don't talk to Justice
You don't need to discuss this
Just commute the hard time
And let him Scoot free



how 'bout that!

 

[slaar]

Please, an ex-wife is a major donor to the Democratic party and her former husband out of the blue gets a Presidential Pardon

Libby can't practice law and is a convicted felon. Even without prison time, (which as I said I believe he deserves) he will pay a price.

Er, he won't if Bush pardons him when he leaves office.

 

[rhod]

Please, an ex-wife is a major donor to the Democratic party and her former husband out of the blue gets a Presidential Pardon

Libby can't practice law and is a convicted felon. Even without prison time, (which as I said I believe he deserves) he will pay a price.

As my initial question was ignored, I think it's worth pointing out that Marc Rich's attorney for many years was Scooter Libby!

The Rich pardon couldn't have been that fishy, as a Republican lawyer couldn't possibly have countenanced making so much money in legal fees representing an evil-doer, could he?

And paying a price? well, Bush hasn't ruled out a full pardon for Libby, which would be unusual for someone who has not acknowledged his guilt. But then Bush makes up the rules as he goes along, whether it's unusual or not, doesn't he?

So he can't practice law at the moment? Boo-Hoo. (Anyway the law is so "last century" in the era of Cheney/Bush). Well, that doesn't prevent him beavering away in some RW think-tank, or raking it in on the speaking circuit, does it?

Or is he going to get his hands dirty doing community work, helping people that haven't had the lucky breaks that he has had (and squandered)?

 

[sleaterkinney]

I believe Libby's sentence was overly harsh, but I do believe he deserved some jail time. I would have liked to see Libby spend a couple months in jail, something to atone for his actions, as a Grand Jury, not only a political judge, was involved in this litigation.

In what way was it overly harsh, considering it was a felony?

I hope Bush doesn't grant a full pardon after the November elections in 2008.

If you really want know a shady US presidential pardon look at Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.

You think perjury is comparable to tax evasion?

 

[London_Calling]

I believe Libby's sentence was overly harsh, but I do believe he deserved some jail time.

It was towards the lesser end of the tariff guidelines, de facto it was lenient.

 

[London_Calling]

Too theatrical for my taste, but this covers the ground, and does it very well:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19588942 - rant from Olbermann.


It is a constitutional issue, and if Mears can't grasp the scale of the issue - as he demonstrate's by trying to compare with Clinton - it's no wonder the USA is so totally fucked up.

 

[TAE]

"At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest. Groups of men paid to watch." - Lewis Libby.

WTF ?

 

[rhod]

WTF ?

Yeah, "Deliverance" without the charm

 

[newharper]

Even The Washington Times, ffs, thinks it's wrong.

President Bush's commutation of the 30-month prison sentence for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, is neither wise nor just. It is clearly within the president's executive powers, but that is beside the point.


We also agree that the 30-month sentence ordered by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton — a Reagan and Bush appointee — is harsh. It exceeds the 15-21 month guidelines for first-time offenders. A first-time offender who is no danger to the community with an admirable record of public service deserves the lower range, and for that reason the unusually long sentence was unjust.


But none of this exonerates the commutation. Perjury is a serious crime. This newspaper argued on behalf of its seriousness in the 1990s, during the Clinton perjury controversy, and today is no different. We'd have hoped that more conservatives would agree. The integrity of the judicial process depends on fact-finding and truth-telling. A jury found Libby guilty of not only perjury but also obstruction justice and lying to a grand jury. It handed down a very supportable verdict. This is true regardless of the trumped-up investigation and political witch hunt. It is true regardless of the unjustifiably harsh sentence.


Had Mr. Bush reduced Libby's sentence to 15 months, we might have been able to support the decision. Alas, he did not.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070704/EDITORIAL/107040022/1013/editorial

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I believe Libby's sentence was overly harsh, but I do believe he deserved some jail time. I would have liked to see Libby spend a couple months in jail, something to atone for his actions, as a Grand Jury, not only a political judge, was involved in this litigation.

I hope Bush doesn't grant a full pardon after the November elections in 2008.

If you really want know a shady US presidential pardon look at Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.

Clinton made some dodgy pardons and commutations, but that doesn't excuse Bush's inexcusable behaviour in commuting Libby's sentence.

 

[Genghis Cohen]

Clinton made some dodgy pardons and commutations, but that doesn't excuse Bush's inexcusable behaviour in commuting Libby's sentence.

Anytime bush does something quite obviously heinous that there's quite obviously no excuse for the immediate response is always 'what clinton did.' Though they never mention al-shifa, because they quite liked that.

Yeah, "Deliverance" without the charm

What is it with the circle around the republicans that leads to bizarre pornography ? O'reilly wrote something similarly fucked up iirc.

 

[rhod]

Al Gore chips in

Mr. Gore said the Libby pardon differed from the Clinton administration’s pardons “because in this case the person involved is charged with activities that involve knowledge of what his superiors in the White House did.”

Yeah, we couldn't possibly risk Libby cracking up under the testosterone-fuelled pressure of the shower-room and spilling the beans on Cheney, could we?

Having said that, wouldn't a spell behind bars provide ample research material for Libby's next sicko page-turner?

 

[rhod]

Meanwhile, for those who think Libby's sentence was "overly harsh" consider the plight of Iraq Vet Kevin Benderman who was sentenced to 14 months inside for having the treasonous audacity to become a conscientious objector.

During that time he was made to sit in a plastic chair getting shouted at; he was denied his mail at times, prevented from talking to his attorney and congressperson, and as a final treat, denied parole as he wasn't "sufficiently rehabilitated".

 

[teqniq]

This is worth a read: The Libby Commutation: Coincidence, or Conspiracy?

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Libby can't practice law and is a convicted felon. Even without prison time, (which as I said I believe he deserves) he will pay a price.

Pluuueeezzze. I'm sure he'll get a nice cushy job lobbying for some oil company or military contractor. His salary will make his potential fees as a lawyer look like chump change. I notice he had no difficulty coming up with the 1/4 mil.