Monday, July 02, 2007
Scooter Skates
President Bush reacted quickly to the denial by the federal Court of Appeals of Scooter Libby's request to stay out of jail on bail pending his appeal of his convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice, by commuting the 30 month sentence (and only that). The conviction, fine (quarter million dollars) and probation all stand and are subject to the appeal. Prison is off the table. Seems the right thing to do under the circumstances. The hard part will be in January, 2009 if the Court of Appeals has not yet ruled. Pardon or hope for the best? We'll have to revisit.
Labels: Scooter Libby; Commutation
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 4:28 PM 
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"Seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances."
"Seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances."
"Seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances."
After quellling my outrage at these seemingly incongruous words written by my friend, the former prosecutor, I reflected and determined that in fact I agree.
After serving as the poster boy for more than 6 and 1/2 years of self serving domestic policies; inept foreign ones; secretiveness; medacity; and the culture of corruption; the President had the stones to take the heat and commute Scooter Libby's sentence.
Scooter Libby was the fall guy for the administartion. The Wilmer of the whole sad affair. Had he served his god with half the zeal he served his king....
Nevertheless, again we have the President not knowing when to say nothing. He could have said: "I am commuting Mr. Libby's sentence in consideration of his years of service to his country."
Instead, he called the sentence "excessessive."
Thanks Mr. Bush. I am always heartened to have you substitiute your dubious judgment for someone with expertise. After all, that is why we find ourselves in Iraq.
"Seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances."
"Seems like the right thing to do under the circumstances."
After quellling my outrage at these seemingly incongruous words written by my friend, the former prosecutor, I reflected and determined that in fact I agree.
After serving as the poster boy for more than 6 and 1/2 years of self serving domestic policies; inept foreign ones; secretiveness; medacity; and the culture of corruption; the President had the stones to take the heat and commute Scooter Libby's sentence.
Scooter Libby was the fall guy for the administartion. The Wilmer of the whole sad affair. Had he served his god with half the zeal he served his king....
Nevertheless, again we have the President not knowing when to say nothing. He could have said: "I am commuting Mr. Libby's sentence in consideration of his years of service to his country."
Instead, he called the sentence "excessessive."
Thanks Mr. Bush. I am always heartened to have you substitiute your dubious judgment for someone with expertise. After all, that is why we find ourselves in Iraq.
# posted by 
: 7:05 AM
: 7:05 AM
Plame--not covert under the definition in the statute (unless the CIA was trying to keep secret her secret identity as...Valerie Plame (Novak got her name from Who's Who--wow, what spycraft) Novak's primary source of the job of Ms. Plame was... Richard Armitage. There was no conspiracy to "out" her and it was not payback for the serial lies her husband told. And you're mad at ?Scooter why? Because his recollection differed from Tim Russert's? President can commute the sentence or pardon whomever he wants. As long as he's willing to take the political heat. Right thing to do under the circumstances. There I said it again. Got 4 TOP tickets row F orchestra left.
Rog,
Good work on the tix. No company for R?
Look. You and I did not hear the evidence. In his remarks @ sentencing, the judge came down pretty hard on Scooter and the judge was a Bush appointee.
The Supremes recently upheld a sentence > severe than Scooter's in a very similar case.
I feel like Michael Corleone talking to Carlo after the massacre: "Just doen't tell me you're innocent..."
So the Prez thinks the sentence was too extreme. That just makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. This is a guy who didn't think it was too extreme to execute the first woman in TX since the Civil War even after the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on Earth, asked him to commute her sentence. Yeah, yeah, I know. The Prez has no suck in TX.
Dick Cheney has more suck than the Pope. Do you think Scooter is coming up w/ his own cash to pay the fine? Don't bet on that. Wait for the pardon as W steps out.
Can Scooter still be disbarred if he is pardoned? I mean is being pardoned like being given back your virginity?
T
Good work on the tix. No company for R?
Look. You and I did not hear the evidence. In his remarks @ sentencing, the judge came down pretty hard on Scooter and the judge was a Bush appointee.
The Supremes recently upheld a sentence > severe than Scooter's in a very similar case.
I feel like Michael Corleone talking to Carlo after the massacre: "Just doen't tell me you're innocent..."
So the Prez thinks the sentence was too extreme. That just makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. This is a guy who didn't think it was too extreme to execute the first woman in TX since the Civil War even after the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on Earth, asked him to commute her sentence. Yeah, yeah, I know. The Prez has no suck in TX.
Dick Cheney has more suck than the Pope. Do you think Scooter is coming up w/ his own cash to pay the fine? Don't bet on that. Wait for the pardon as W steps out.
Can Scooter still be disbarred if he is pardoned? I mean is being pardoned like being given back your virginity?
T
# posted by : 4:33 PM
: 4:33 PM
No date that night. Excellent question. I would say that a pardon does nothing to help the attorney trying to save his license, but perhaps that's just me. I'm not saying the jury sucked (anymore than OJ's criminal one) or the judge sucked but that Justice was not done. Sandy
Burgler did no time. Clinton skated in the Senate (and then played tag you're it with Marc Rich et al. Why Scooter behind bars?
Burgler did no time. Clinton skated in the Senate (and then played tag you're it with Marc Rich et al. Why Scooter behind bars?
Libby wasn't pardoned; the sentence was commuted. As a convicted felon, it's likely (nearly certain?) that he will be disbarred.
Kind of like that other noted perjurer, William Jefferson Clinton. Well, except for the quarter-million dollar fine and two years of probation.
(And all that is assuming that the evidence that we didn't see was actually reasonably strong, as it certainly was in Clinton's case. We know it wasn't material evidence of an underlying crime.)
Kind of like that other noted perjurer, William Jefferson Clinton. Well, except for the quarter-million dollar fine and two years of probation.
(And all that is assuming that the evidence that we didn't see was actually reasonably strong, as it certainly was in Clinton's case. We know it wasn't material evidence of an underlying crime.)
R & D,
Yes w/ regard to Doug's last and I can only say that it is a good thing that getting head is not a crime--at least in Colorado.
R. I didn't want Scooter to do time. But what I really didn't want was for the President to defecate all over the legal system.
Don't comment about what Clinton did or didn't do. W was elected by the slinmmest margin in history b/c people thought he was the anti Clinton. Guess not.
That's the way this administration has ruled--not "governed", "ruled."
One law for us and one law for everybody else.
It's like the US attys. All W had to say is: "I am commuting Mr. Libby's sentence in consideration of his years of public service."
He did not have to editorialize and call the sentence "extreme."
I didn't check the guidelines on this one but weren't they mandatory? How much leeway did the judge have?
T.
Yes w/ regard to Doug's last and I can only say that it is a good thing that getting head is not a crime--at least in Colorado.
R. I didn't want Scooter to do time. But what I really didn't want was for the President to defecate all over the legal system.
Don't comment about what Clinton did or didn't do. W was elected by the slinmmest margin in history b/c people thought he was the anti Clinton. Guess not.
That's the way this administration has ruled--not "governed", "ruled."
One law for us and one law for everybody else.
It's like the US attys. All W had to say is: "I am commuting Mr. Libby's sentence in consideration of his years of public service."
He did not have to editorialize and call the sentence "extreme."
I didn't check the guidelines on this one but weren't they mandatory? How much leeway did the judge have?
T.
# posted by : 10:30 PM
: 10:30 PM
Yeah, since Clinton got away with Perjury, I suppose we should just do away with prison time for that crime altogether, eh Rog?
Bush seems to be saying, "yeah, your guilty, but you shouldn't have to do the time that anyone else would have to."
Brilliant
Bush seems to be saying, "yeah, your guilty, but you shouldn't have to do the time that anyone else would have to."
Brilliant
My point is that few first timers do time for this sort of crime and there was no pressing need to give Scooter other than the pre-sentence report recommended probation; but he got 30 months, perhaps as a result of his position. A friend had a case where he made deals with the co-conspirators who then proceeded to lie and the principal was acquitted. That's bad perjury. What exactly was the harm in Scooter's lies? Whom did it save? Whom did it hurt? Yes, lying under oath is a bad thing but the fact is it happens every day without consequence and we only go after the oath shirkers when they do harm, unless as here the prosecutor has a bigger ego than judgment portion of the brain. And I like prosecutors. I think the president will actually tick up a few points for his actions here. We'll see.
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