Republican hypocrisy was on full display today. The supposedly “tough on crime” President George W. Bush commuted part of Scooter Libby’s sentence. Literally, Bush gave Scooter a “get out of jail free card.”
Tough on crime my ass.
Libby is still a convicted felon, will have to pay $250,000 and will be on probation should his appeal fail. (The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Libby’s request to remain free on bail while his appeal is under way, so the writing is on the wall as to the persuasiveness of his rather unorthodox legal arguments.)
Apparently obstructing justice, committing perjury, and making false statements is not really so bad if you are a Republican…at least, not bad enough to spend time in prison over.
The hypocrisy is overwhelming. While Governor of Texas, George W. Bush oversaw the execution of over 100 people, including three people who were borderline mentally retarded. Apparently, death is the right sentence for criminals who lack the mental capacity to fully understand their crimes. But Libby, a lawyer who rose to an important position in the White House, who knew full well he was obstructing a very serious criminal investigation, and who presumably has an IQ greater than 70…he walks. Maybe “selective on crime” is a better tag line.
(On the other hand, maybe Bush does not have the mental capacity to understand what he has done? I mean, really, has George W. Bush ever done anything that would peg his I.Q. at over 70?)
Here is how Dubya tried to justify his soft-on-crime decision:
Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.
I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.
Excessive? Umm…pardon my cynicism, but wasn’t Judge Reggie Walton appointed precisely because he had a no-nonsense, tough-on-crime attitude?
In the end, the hypocrisy should be overshadowed by the simple logic of what just went down. Libby took a bullet for Dick Cheney, who clearly orchestrated a smear campaign against Valerie Wilson. Libby is convicted (instead of Cheney). Bush takes the sting out of Libby’s sentence. Pure and shameless abuse of power. Mark my words…in the end, Bush will pardon Libby.
I mean, that’s just the way organized crime works.
Round 2
Senator Leahy calls Libby to testify. Libby refuses. Leahy counter punches with a contempt of congress citation.
Who is required to prosecute ??? The US attorney!
This is beginning to look like a chess game between Kasparov and L’il Abner.
The silver lining in this dark cloud is that Republicans will never again have any credibility as the “tough on crime” party.
AOL polls are running 2-to-1 against the Libby commutation.
Roger Rabbit is not DEAD! Roger has been unable to post all day because of HA server problems. Instead, I’ve been sticking pins in paper dolls of wingnut trolls.
King 5 TV news reported tonight that SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowski overruled internal investigators in 23 police misconduct cases, and intervened in at least 1 case before the investigation was completed. Time to fire his ass.
Round 3.
I am really beginning to wonder if we are headed toward impeachment.
Libby, in an effort to avoid contempt, agrees to testify against Chaney. Chaney and Bush are impeached for the misuse of the Presidential Pardon to obstruct justice.
Who is Pelosi’s vice president?
Few things are as frightening as a police chief covering up for out-of-control cops.
A president named Bush will pardon anyone who can testify against him. Nothing new here.
I have already sent polite, short messages to Rep. McDermott, Senator Murray, and Senator Cantwell, asking for a subpoena for Mr. Libby, and the following lines of investigation:
— why he repeatedly lied under oath;
— what justice he deliberately and intentionally obstructed;
— whether the commutation of his sentence itself obstructed justice.
On that last point, obstructing justice is an impeachable offense; literally hundreds of statements, from current and former leaders of the *former* majority party, justify impeachment on this ground alone.
This is a matter vital to our national security; Ms. Plame’s job was to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Please recall that the very possibility of a hostile nation acquiring such weapons justifies all-out war; making Ms. Plame’s case a matter of highest alarm.
I urge all local readers to do the same.
Predictably, the wingnuts on Sucky Politics are crowing about Libby getting sprung from the hoosegow. They don’t care that the rule of law was undermined today. They are wilfully blind to what is clear to everyone else: That a partisan president, in a bare-knuckle display of raw power, overrode a judge and jury — not to correct a miscarriage of justice, but to protect a party functionary who committed crimes for the party.
N I X O N!
@8 You don’t expect a Republican to do jail time for doing what Republicans tried to impeach Clinton for, do you?
The big difference between Clinton and Libby, of course, is that Clinton was never indicted, prosecuted, found guilty, or sentenced.
JCH is a nazi
This is fun! You guys are delusional!
I hope Pelosi moves forward with impeachment. She has already admitted, along with Reid, that nothing has happened since the election of the century that mandated all be changed for the betterment of mankind! Those pesky Republicans keep getting in the way. Darn! Payback is, well, you know.
So a prosecutor with no constitutional authority tries a case in front of a liberal judge, and magic! Lying! Obstruction! Of course, the defense was denied the ability to call witnesses and there was no underlying crime. Libby is guilty of having a funny name and not remembering a conversation with Tim Russert. Life, I say! Life in prison!
BTW, didn’t Marc Rich bribe Clinton to pardon him? Never heard any outrage about that one around here.
Today’s “Stupid Letter to the Editor Award” goes to Lee Fowble of Edmonds, who wrote:
“Jane Balogh successfully registered her dog to vote, just to dramatically illustrate how rife the current system is with fraud and abuse. She obviously didn’t intend, or try, to let Duncan the pooch cast a vote. But she did mightily embarrass the bureaucrats, who are now trying to sanctimoniously cover their fannies by bringing the law down in her. It seems to me that they could better serve the public interest by giving Balogh a public-service award, and then make a concerted effort to find and prosecute those who deliberately undermine and distort the electoral process with illegal votes.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ets02.html
Give her a public service award for what?? Deliberately undermining and distorting the electoral process with an illegal voter registration? Because that’s exactly what this perjurer and liar did.
BTW the “sanctimonious bureaucrat” bringing the law down on Balogh is a REPUBLICAN PROSECUTOR.
As for the current system being “rife with fraud and abuse,” there weren’t any dogs registered to vote in our state until Balogh came along.
I guess wingnut logic works like this: If you commit a crime to prove there’s a crime wave, your crime proves there’s a crime wave.
Janet ..
Why do you call this judge liberal? And his conviction was upheld by a conservative appeals court.
I’m looking forward to seeing Balogh wearing an orange safety vest and picking up litter here in Green Lake Park! Serves her right — she’s lucky she’s not breaking rocks at Purdy!
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
God, don\’t you love it? Your precious Wikipedia tells us that slick willie COMMUTED the sentence of one David Goldstein!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....ll_Clinton
#16 on the hit parade!
18 Because when the truth is inconvenient, Janet Slut tells lies.
“Reggie B. Walton … was appointed in 2001 to his lifetime seat on the federal bench by President George W. Bush. … In May 2007 … Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed him to a seat on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.”
Here is what wingnuts like Janet Stupid really hate about Walton:
“Despite his appointments by Republican officials, The Washington Post reported, ‘fellow judges and lawyers who appear before him say Walton’s decisions do not appear to be guided by politics but by a tough-on-crime mentality’.”
That’s pretty damned inconvenient to True Believers like Janet Slime when Republicans are being convicted by the busload! A tough-on-crime Republican judge is a wingnut’s worst nightmare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Walton
@20 Yup — different David Goldstein, though. That “David Goldstein” is a New Yorker convicted of defrauding the government, so he’s probably a Republican. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/pardons6b.htm
Incredibly, the rightwing conspiracy megaphone claims Clinton pardoned Goldstein (and 3 other New Yorkers) so they could vote for Hillary in her Senate race. http://www.newsmax.com/archive.....0239.shtml
These guys were members of a tight-knit Hasidic community who set up a phony seminary in Brooklyn “that stole millions of dollars from several government agencies,” according to The New York Times.
It should be noted that Clinton didn’t excuse them from serving jail time; he merely reduced their sentences. All four men still served a minimum of 24 to 30 months behind bars. That’s 24 to 30 months more than Libby will serve.
And since the Bush administration, immediately after taking office, launched an investigation into whether Clinton violated the law in commuting their sentences, I trust Bush supporters won’t mind if the Hillary Clinton administration, immediatley after taking office, launches an investigation into whether Bush violated the law in commuting Libby’s sentence. What’s fair for the goose, is fair for the gander!
http://tinyurl.com/2p7hrs
I’ve met Goldy in person, and he doesn’t look or talk very Hasidic.
Reggie Walton made comments during the trial and post trial that showed a high degree of contempt for Mr. Libby. Do you think this is a good thing? He even went so far as to question the motivation of the dozen lawyers who filed a brief challenging the constitutionality of the assignment of Fitzpatrick. He questioned whether Alan Dershowitz does pro bono work. What planet is he living on?
In any other circumstances, you all would be decrying prosecutorial abuse. But since it is a Republican, working in a Bush administration, it is all okay.
BTW Janet Stupid, if Goldy is Roger Rabbit, how come I’m posting on HA when I’m supposed to be in the synagogue praying?
Bush has constitutional power to commute sentences. I guess you can challenge it as an abuse of constitutional power, but that would be fatuous, wouldn’t it?
And how many months has Sandy Berger served for shoving classified documents down his pants and destroying evidence? What, no outcry from you guys?
I mean, aren’t I supposed to spend my Saturdays at the Wailing Wall?
So now I’m a Hasidic rabbit, although I have no fucking idea how to go about being one.
Up until today, I was a nativist.
Geez, Roger, you are sounding a little anti-Semitic. You got something against observing the Sabbath?
I worshipped the Great Mother Rabbit Spirit, who is very wise, and is going to get even with you humans by wiping out your species and making me king of the rabbits! Then I won’t have to be Hasidic anymore, I can be anything I want to!
Someday there will be trillions of rabbits on this planet!
Wow, it took less than an hour before a wingnut chose to invoke Marc Rich’s name in this. Let the mental gymnastics begin.
A few of facts, though: First, if you want to make the “bought a pardon” thing stick, you’d have to say that Marc Rich didn’t buy it himself. It would have been bought for him…by his ex-wife. Second, a Republican Congress conducted an investigation into the charge that the pardon was “bought” and couldn’t make it stick back then. I don’t know why wingnuts think they can make it stick now. Third, Clinton waived executive privilege for that Congressional investigation, so you can’t claim the investigation was stonewalled either.
A few things that make you say, “Hmmm,”: First, one of Marc Rich’s attorneys was none other than I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby himself, and the chief prosecutor was Rudolph Guiliani. Second, a full pardon for Libby would have removed any potential for Vth Amendment issues should Libby decide to discuss this matter in public. Though, if Congress decides to investigate this, I rather doubt that Bush will waive executive privilege the way Clinton did.
Despite all of this, wingnuts will still try to invoke the “But Clinton did it too!” defense.
Okay, I concede. You are the king of the rabbits. Not sure what that buys you. I even agree with that Gil K. should resign. He is an embarrassment. He even lost his gun!
Will you change you view, now that it is shared by a right winger?
And every GOP precinct in North America will be six feet deep in rabbit shit.
@35 No.
Roger Rabbit is NOT dead! I just had trouble posting for a while because Goldy’s server was sabotaged by the vast rightwing conspiracy.
@33 – sounds like a fine time to bring out Grandma’s big red and white plaid book
INGREDIENTS:
1 rabbit, about 3 pounds, cut up
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
4 cups dry red wine
2 cups diced carrots
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ounces sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water
PREPARATION:
Directions for rabbit stew.
Dredge rabbit pieces with 1/2 cup flour. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; brown rabbit pieces on all sides. Add celery, onion, salt, pepper, bay leaf, 4 cups water, and wine; bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer rabbit stew for 2 hours. Add carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms; cook for about 25 to 30 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender. Combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup water; stir until well blended and smooth. Stir flour mixture into the broth; cook and stir until thickened.
Rabbit stew recipe serves 4.
@34 I never thought I’d see the day when America would have a president who does things that make taking bribes to release thieves from jail look good by comparison.
@39 Sounds good … but, how you gonna catch the rabbit? The rabbit won’t stand there and let you pick him up by his ears, you know — and don’t overlook the rabbit’s claws. http://tinyurl.com/njv8z
Don Joe – I have no problem with Clinton pardoning anyone he wanted to pardon. It was in his constitutional right to do so. I just question the motivation. His library profitted quite nicely, whether it was from Marc Rich or from his wife. I didn’t call for Clinton’s impeachment over it then, nor do I question it’s legality now. But please don’t insult our intelligence that this wasn’t motivated by money.
34
I don’t know why wingnuts think they can make it stick now.
Simple. They think if you repeat something often enough it becomes true through the sheer weight of repetition. They keep saying Iraq had WMDs, even though they didn’t. They keep saying there was fraud in the electoral system and Gregoire’s election was “suspect” when in fact there was no fraud and the election was on the up-and-up. They think if they keep telling us that everything is hunky-dory we’ll begin to believe them instead of our own lying eyes.
Janet,
First, Congress questioned Clinton’s motivation as well. They couldn’t make it stick. I don’t know why pointing out that fact would constitute insulting anyone’s intelligence, unless your “intelligence” is of the variety that is confused by the facts.
Second, if you’re going to question motivations, why not consider the Fifth Amendment implications of commuting Libby’s sentence vs. giving Libby a full pardon?
Wait! I get it! Bush really meant to use “the hortatory subjunctive tense” when commuting Scooter Libby’s sentence.
The full pardon will come the day before Bush catches a plan to his retirement ranch in Paraguay.
plane
15
I’m convinced sometimes they print letters to the editor just so we can see how dim-witted the letter writer is.
Is McCain’s Campaign Collapsing?
Wouldn’t you know Goldy would have server problems on one of the heaviest news days of the year! The Libby commutation isn’t the only thing that happened today.
John McCain laid off dozens of campaign workers because the money just isn’t coming in, and McCain lags far behind in polls — he’s in single digits. The question now isn’t whether McCain has a chance to win the GOP nomination, but whether he’ll even make it to the first primaries.
Is McCain washed up?
@15 Embarrassing people by printing their letters is an old editor’s trick.
@ 46,
I don’t think Libby’s ever going to get a full pardon, because the Republican Party can’t afford to ever have Libby give the full story. Why do you think Bush has cooked up this logically incoherent justification for simply commuting the sentence?
By the way, while I’m on the subject, facts ought not ever be insulting to one’s intelligence. A justification that’s logically incoherent with someone’s putative ideology, however, is the most direct way to insult people’s intelligence.
And that speaks volumes about the intelligence of wingnuts.
Roger, there won’t be any pardon for the Chimp-in-Chief. He’ll probably bolt for Paraguay before Hillary (or Barack, or whoever, at this time it’s a moot point that a Democrat will win) finishes the Oath of Office.
And with all apologies to Goldy, SJ, and (it seems) a newly Hasidic rabbit, the only sabbath I observe is fronted by Ozzy. Or for this summer, Ronnie James Dio. \m/ \m/
“Yes, Mr. McCain. It Does Seem to Be as Bad as It Looks”
“Could things get any worse for John McCain? … [T]he Arizona senator announced today that he’d raised just $11 million during the last three months. That’s even less than what he raised during the first quarter, when he trailed Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani by millions. …
“The most shocking number however isn’t what he raised, but how much he spent. McCain’s campaign said Monday they have just $2 million in the bank, which means he’s likely spent more than any other presidential hopeful in the race, Democrat or Republican. As a result, his campaign announced serious cost-cutting measures. As many as 50 staffers will be laid off and many of his senior aides will work without pay. …
“We’ll have to wait until McCain files his report with the Federal Election Commission to see where all of his money went, but McCain has bigger problems on the horizon … even his candidacy looks dead in the water.”
http://www.talk.newsweek.com/p.....tem=641108
I predicted quite a while ago that McCain will be the first big-name candidate to drop out, and that prediction still holds water.
@52 I’ve never even been to the Wailing Wall! Does that mean I’ll go to Hell? (sob) And here I’ve tried soooo hard to be a good rabbit and a good king …
Beverly Sills has died. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19572218/
Roger Rabbit @ 49: I think all the Republican campaigns are collapsing. Some of them just don’t know it yet.
55:
Get a hold of yourself, Roger! Think of the important things! Like……..
Are you kosher?
Here’s Time Magazine’s take:
“President Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence on Monday will fuel speculation that others at the White House helped coordinate the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA officer in 2003. …
“Only 21% of Americans thought Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, should be spared, according to recent polls, while around 70% thought he should not. For this unpopular President to show mercy to the convicted staffer of his even more unpopular Vice President would seem the Democrats’ ideal end for the affair ….
“And within minutes of Bush’s signing of the document that lets Libby avoid 30 months in jail, Democrats were declaring it the capstone in a cover-up to protect Vice President Cheney and perhaps the President himself. … But in fact, Bush’s move was not much of a surprise to Democrats or anyone else in Washington. …
“And politically the move will probably change little. Those who suspect the worst about the Administration’s role in the Plame case are not likely to become any more motivated than they already were against Bush and the Republicans. On the right, the Republican base, which demanded mercy for Libby, will be placated. Had Bush not acted, they would have turned on him, weakening the last pocket of support he has. …
“Bush’s [explanation] will do little to placate those who suspect a cover-up. … In a recent deposition at the House Committee on government oversight, staffers asked Karl Rove’s former executive assistant what she knew about the Valerie Plame leak case. After a little thought, the assistant, Susan Ralston, said she had a ‘vague recollection that [Rove] and Scooter Libby talked about this subject often.'” Comments like that only strengthen the impression that Libby’s obstruction of justice — and Bush’s commutation — have left important questions unanswered in the case.”
http://www.time.com/time/polit.....05,00.html
@55 Roger Rabbit
Sorry Roger, Jews don’t have a heaven or a hell … at least not officially. There are some of use who believe in such things and some have tried to make life a Hell or Heaven on Earth!
So if you were to convert to Judaism, we really can’t offer you much in the way of an afterlife.
Back at rabbits, since you are one, can you tell me whether rabbits are animal or vegetable? I hear they are vegetables, a kin to cauiflower. No?
@34
Don’t forget Roger Clinton, first brother, and Henry Cisneros, Clinton cabinet member, plus a host of Arkansas felons. 17 out of the 140 last-day-in-office pardons went to fellow criminals from Arkansas, 12% of the total.
My fine neo-socialist friends,
Both politcal parties are are guilty of letting the guilty go before they’ve served their prision time. Look at it this way: if Scooter Libby is not in prison, you and I won’t be supporting him with three meals a day and a place to sleep at night. Plus Scooter’s still on the hook for the $250,0000 fine.
I know all of you wanted Scooter Libby boiled in oil, but that just isn’t going to happen. Let’s just enjoy the fact that ol’ Scooter’s gonna have to pony-up a quarter of a mil and he’s essentially a non-citizen forever.
OH MY, JANET STUPID CAME WALTZING IN HERE WITH A TALKING POINT THAT WAS TIRED OUT OF THE GATE:
WALTON, A SHURB APOINTEE, IS A LIBERAL! AND HE HAD TO BE A LIBERAL BECAUSE HE WAS MEAN TO LIBBY.
JANET, THANKS. AND PLEASE DO COME BACK SOON! LMAO!!
Many thanks to Delbert & Grandma. Delish.
Of course I hated to cut up the cut-up star of Michael Moore’s excellent ‘Roger Rabbit & Me,’ precursor to the excellent ‘Bowling Alone 4 Concubines,’ ‘Gesundheit 7 Times 7,’ and ‘Fatso,’ in which Moore proves beyond doubt that poor Cubans are emaciated, as the poor are supposed to be, instead of being like America’s poor, fat copycats of plutocrat Michael Moore.
As for the Libster, hang him high. Just as we did with Bill Clinton (perjury & obstruction of justice) and Sandy Berger (theft & destruction of classified decuments, lying to investigators).
pony-up a quarter of a mil
NO. RIGHT WING MILLIONAIRES ARE GOING TO PAY THAT FINE. CONSIDER IT JUST ANOTHER LEGAL BILL.
AFTER ALL THE WAR AND THE TAX CUTS HAVE DONE FOR THEM? IT’S CHICKENFEED.
MOREOVER, IF LIBBY IS TAKEN CARE OF, HE DOESN’T ROLL ON THEM.
NO. RIGHT WING MILLIONAIRES ARE GOING TO PAY THAT FINE. CONSIDER IT JUST ANOTHER LEGAL BILL.
===
We don’t know that for sure yet, YLB. Let’s see what happens in the next few months. These RIGHT WING MILLIONAIRES” might just do the johnny-high-step on ol’ Scooter!!
Yada yada yada
Short term memory loss of the lib democrat spin machine…
http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/cl.....grants.htm
Scooter Libby was convicted of “faulty memory” in giving differing testimony to multiple different grand juries…
why were there so many different panels? hmmm?
In fact, the special counsel KNEW who the “leaker” was from the very first days of the investigation…Case Closed right? Wrong. What happened to Scotter Libby was no more than a witch hunt that netted nothing….
Anyone, including myself, who saw the investigation into Bill Clinton as the same kind of “witch hunt” should have the consistency to see this for what it is….
@623 “I know all of you wanted Scooter Libby boiled in oil”
All we want for Scooter Libby is the same treatment our righty friends loudly demand for traitors.
@60 Looks like I’m gonna hafta teach you biology, and you’re gonna hafta teach me how to be Hasidic, because you don’t know shit about biology and I don’t know shit about Judaism! An alternative here is to get Janet Stupid to give up on her silly notion that I’m Goldy, and get the trolls to stop cawing about Clinton’s pardon of the other David Goldstein — that is, the Brooklyn Hasidic Jew guy. But there’s probably not much hope for that, so we’re back to Plan B.
Roger is not Hasidic; he’s Acidic. Keep the faith, Rog!
Nice. Having failed to make the Marc Rich thing stick, wingnuts now dig further into the bag for other potential names in the “Clinton did it too!” defense (yes, Libertarian, by throwing your hat into this ring, you transform yourself into yet another wingnut).
Name any one of Clinton’s pardons or commutations that effectively insulated the actions of members of Clinton’s Administration from public scrutiny. Not one. Zero. Zip. Zilch. The “Clinton did it too!” defense is as flat as a French Crepe.
By the way, the other outright lie we’re starting to hear form Bush defenders is that Joe Wilson was “discredited.” I heard Frank Shiers repeat it last night on his show. The Niger documents were forgeries. That, alone, vindicates Joe Wilson’s letter to the editor of the New York Times.
The only thing that remotely serves to “discredit” Joe Wilson is a report from a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence whose Republican leadership had managed to transform the SSCI into an arm of the White House, and even that’s based on the most absurd and outlandish interpretation of the facts imaginable.
Whatever desire Saddam Hussein had for getting his hands on some Uranium, there was never a reasonable chance that he could have fulfilled that desire. There is only one possible way to transform those 16 words in President Bush’s State of the Union address into anything but bald faced lie, and that’s through a level of incompetence on the part of George Bush such that any other notion of presidential incompetence pales in comparison.
Keep the lies coming, wingnuts, and I’ll keep pointing out how your lies fail to conform with reality.
By the way, I have no desire to see Scooter Libby “boiled in oil.” Frankly, I couldn’t care less about what actually happens to Scooter Libby. What I want is for Scooter Libby to tell the whole truth about what happened–to expose this Administration for the lying bastards that they are; to make it clear to the American people that this Administration lied to us in order to bring us into this ridiculous escapade in Iraq.
The damage George Bush and his crew have done to this country is immeasurable, yet immense. I can’t tell you just how much damage he’s done, but the damage far outweighs that done by all the worst presidents in our history combined.
We don’t know that for sure yet, YLB. Let’s see what happens in the next few months. These RIGHT WING MILLIONAIRES” might just do the johnny-high-step on ol’ Scooter!!
Not a chance. He did as he was told, just like the young Henry Hill in Goodfellas. He’s a made guy now, and made guys live by different rules. He won’t pay a nickel of his own money. Then, when the dust settles a little bit (or not, the timing doesn’t matter much), Libby will take a high-paying job with a wingnut welfare organization and live out his days as a well-compensated martyr.
\” Another factor in the Libby case is the sheer hysteria that has surrounded the Bush administration since the 2000 election. There have been cries for the arrest, impeachment, and even lynching of pretty much the entire administration. The criminalization of politics has been a horrifically corrosive element, and a logical consequence of decades of those who can not win their way at the ballots turning to the courts for relief. (Another effect of this was gay marriage advocates in Massachusetts first bypassing the people and getting the state\’s supreme court, by a 4-3 vote, to institute gay marriage, and subsequently using every means and mechanism to prevent a popular vote on the issue — so far, successfully.) At some point, the \”boy who cried wolf\” factor comes into play, and the public will grow tired of they shrill cries of \”indict Karl Rove!\” and \”impeach Bush!\” and \”impeach Cheney!\” — lord knows I did a long time ago. \”
\” The cynic in me wonders if one factor driving the hysteria is the need to draw attention from the misdeeds of the administration\’s political foes. For example, Dianne Feinstein had to resign from a very influential committee after it was revealed that she had voted literally billions of dollars to companies controlled by her husband — but you never hear about that these days. And while everyone is talking about Fred Thompson\’s son being a lobbyist, it\’s not discussed that Harry Reid\’s son is in the same business — and was involved in a few questionable deals that involved his father, and could stand some scrutiny as well. \”
\” Anyway, Bush did not pardon Libby. He only set aside a portion of his sentence. The sole real consequence of his deed is that Libby will remain free while he seeks his appeal. He is still a convicted felon today. \” -Jay Tea
http://wizbangblog.com/2007/07.....-libby.php
keep up the hysteria girls.
@ 73
The only relevant quote from that entire piece is:
Just like any other wingnut, “I don’t know all the facts, but I’m going to give you my opinion anyway.”
It was all a Dick Cheney scheme. Someone had to take the fall and they (a) never thought someone would get caught and (b) even if caught, no conviction. Imagine their surprise. Go to Plan B. Libby takes the fall and gets the sentence commuted by Bush, Republican “friends” pay the fine and he “does” two years probation.
Come the end of Bush’s term he will pardon Libby and erase the felony conviction from Libby’s record, although we’ll all know ;).
Right Stuff said:
Oddly enough, one way to avoid giving conflicting stories about a sequence of events is to simply tell the truth each time you recount them.
While I realize that this is an unheard of concept for many of the the folks in the Bush administration, it really does work.
Of course, one way we determine that someone is not telling the truth is to ask the same questions several times, in several different settings and then compare the answers. It’s much harder to consistently lie than to simply tell the truth.
Maybe that was the reason there were so many different panels? Hmmmm?
John,
Simply put, in the court system, and in this case, it was a game of “gotcha”. The special prosecutors mandate was to determine if someone in the administration leaked the identity of an undercover cia agent. Here is the mandate from the GAO records.
“By the authority vested in the Attorney General by law, including 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, and 515, and in my capacity as Acting Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 508, I hereby delegate to you all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department’s investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee’s identity.”
Fitzgerald knew within days the identity of Armitage.
Yet he continued the investigation. that is where his investigation turned into the relm of witch hunt a la Ken Starr.
Now, If we were to put you on the stand (just playing here, not insinuating anything) and ask you to describe in detail conversations you had with clients and agents multiple different times, about a particular realestate transaction,I bet there would be an inconsistency or two…. probably a detail added or left out, not on purpose but becuase that is natural. I know it would happen to me. It’s called being human and not a computer or robot.
@ 79
I’ll repeat what I said over at uSP:
While I’m not a prosecutor, the most likely reason why Dick Armitage hasn’t been prosecuted is the lack of any reason to believe that Armitage knew of Valerie Plame’s status as an undercover agent. That specific knowledge is an important element of the underlying crime in question.
However, Robert Novak said he had two sources for Plame’s status, only one of which was Dick Armitage. The questions on the table are, who was that other source, and is there any reason to believe that person had knowledge of Plame’s status as an undercover agent?
Libby’s perjury and obstruction of justice then becomes a problem, because Libby’s actions made it impossible to answer those two questions, particularly the second one. The key point is that we don’t know if an underlying crime was committed, and we don’t know precisely because Scooter Libby lied.
Remember that Plame’s status as an undercover agent, and the applicability of the relevant law about disclosing that status to the press, were both facts established during Libby’s trial. To claim that there was, prima facie, no underlying crime is to deny properly-adjudicated conclusions of fact. The ostrich posture is not a sound position from which one ought to try to construct a coherent argument.
Of course, that won’t stop a number of you from attempting to construct a coherent argument while assuming the ostrich posture.
What about when Clinton pardoned Marc Rich of some $400 million in tax evasion? Aren’t y’all wanting “the rich” to “Pay their fair share”????? Where were you on this issue?
Hmmm….sounds like there are those in there who think that lying to the FBI, lying to a grand jury, and obstructing justice aren’t really crimes, they’re just “crimes.” Or that a Republican-appointed judge, Republican-appointed US Attorney, and a jury of 12 good people and true are not capable of rendering a sound judgment on the facts according to the law.
Shouldn’t Irving Libby have to serve at least as much time in jail as Paris Hilton?
Don joe said,
“yes, Libertarian, by throwing your hat into this ring, you transform yourself into yet another wingnut”
====
I don’t see how, pardner. I could care less about Marc Rich or Scooter-boy!
Lib,
I could care less about Marc Rich or Scooter-boy!
I rest my case.
Right Stuff said:
This would make a good argument, except that the jury that convicted him would also have considered that, and they disagreed.
I don’t always agree with juries. Sometimes the defendant is represented by some overworked public defender or an incompetent boob, and the defendant doesn’t know enough about the legal system to object.
Mr. Libby presumably had the best defense lawyers available, and is a lawyer himself. He was not convicted due to lack of proper counsel, nor was he convicted due to lack of resources for a defense.
Twelve people all agreed that he was guilty. Not one of them disagreed, although several were interviewed after the trial and apparently believed that others in the administration also belonged on trial.
It could, I suppose, be that the Bush administration is so universally hated by the American public that not even one juror was willing to give Mr. Libby a fair hearing, but while President Bush and his team have been hard at work, alienating the vast majority of Americans, I still believe that most would be willing to listen to the evidence before convicting Mr. Libby.
Neither you nor I were in the courtroom. We don’t have the benefit of knowing what evidence was presented. We do know that Mr. Libby had a fair trial, and was found guilty.
@85
“We do know that Mr. Libby had a fair trial, and was found guilty.”
Certainly true. I don’t argue that his trial was unfair or that he wasn’t well represented.
@80
However, Robert Novak said he had two sources for Plame’s status, only one of which was Dick Armitage. The questions on the table are, who was that other source, and is there any reason to believe that person had knowledge of Plame’s status as an undercover agent?
Actually he had three, Rove and Harlow, on his request confirmed his original source. Armitage remained unamed…
This ostrich is looking better and better.
While it’s entirely likely that Rove was Novak’s second source, I don’t think that’s been established in any way. There are indications that Rove was “Official A” referred to in Libby’s indictment. How anyone can use this to deflect away from Libby’s conviction is not at all clear, however, given the central point about the effect of Libby’s lies to the grand jury and to Federal investigators, is not at all clear. Perhaps you will construct the coherent argument that, to date, no wingnut has yet been able to construct. Why commute Libby’s sentence, and why commute it completely while still affirming the jury’s verdict?
As for Harlow, all he did was ask Novak not to reveal Valerie Plame’s name. I’m not sure you can call him a “source” in this context. Harlow, himself, says that he warned Novak not to go with the story in the strongest possible terms he could possibly use without revealing classified information. Do you have evidence that Harlow’s statement in this regard is a lie?
“Bush has constitutional power to commute sentences. I guess you can challenge it as an abuse of constitutional power, but that would be fatuous, wouldn’t it?”
If he used his power to obstruct justice, that is a prima facie impeachable offense. One standard prosecutorial strategy uses a reduction in jail time in return for testimony against other suspects. The underlying crime, of outing Ms. Plame, still needs proper investigation, unimpeded by Mr. Libby’s felonius obstruction. Mr. Bush has removed a tool prosecutors may have used to complete this original investigation.
Finally, to those rapidly-dwindling numbers of Republican defenders, please keep in mind that we liberals recall all of your smears against President Clinton. Prime among them was the fatuous assertion that he was less moral than his political opponents. Thus, you cannot EVER use “Clinton did it too!” as a defense or deflection. We’re just going to quote your own leaders back at you, laughing all the while.
Getting away from our little Libby for a moment, isn’t anybody else curious about Juanita Broaddrick? Did that story vanish because there was no there there, or because Eric Alterman’s hyperliberal media refused to look?
(Really need to have Mr. Know It All, the facts man, help me with this one.)