Bush Commutes Libby Prison Sentence

July 2, 2007

Breaking:

President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case. Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, according to a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Bush’s move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That decision put the pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby’s allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative’s identity. He was the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

More later.

This is the “law and order” party? Commuting the sentence of a convicted felon, just because he’s well-connected? This is the president who wanted to restore “honor and dignity” to the White House? By allowing one of his henchmen to criminally interefere with a federal investigation, with virtual impunity?

Bush and the repulicans are lying, thieving scum.

  • The little twirp wasn’t even in his cell yet—and Big Brother Bush-Wah-Zee cut him loose?

    Yeah—I want to see the world’s reaction to the WH now, every time they try to spin the “we-are-a-nation-of-laws” line.

    Two-faced. Felonious. Coward.

    Such shall be the eternal “legacy” of George W. Bu$h. TFC—fits in nicely with “the fox channel”—now doesn’t it?

  • CNN and MSNBC are covering this solid, but Faux News is busy discussing details of the Putin-Bush meeting.

    Hmm. Maybe they do have a sense of shame after all.

  • The Bush Organized Crime Family takes care of its own. The ghosts of Nixon and Watergate live with Bush 43.

  • Faux just came back with a short segment on the reaction — a glowing series of quotes from the guy who “raised millions of dollars for Libby’s defense fund” and then a quote from Schumer that Hume and the reporter both sneered at.

    Fair, balanced, and then on to another topic!

  • That’s a pretty depressing piece of news, but unfortunately, not at all surprising.

  • Despite the past 7 years, despite this not being all that surprising, this is unbelievably infuriating. The Bush disaster continues to deliver!

  • I’m not suprised. This smacks so much of that disgusting comment his mother made about the refugees in the Superdome. Clemency for me (and mine) but not for thee. Bush governed Texas for 8 years, didn’t he? And so far the nation for 6 after that. Has he granted clemency to anyone besides Libby? Ever?

  • All Comments above:

    You don’t get it.

    Accountability is for welfare mothers, not people you invite to the yacht club.

  • and why was the fine left in place? because he’ll pay it out of his legal defense fund.

  • It’s about the only way he can regain ground with his base, now. I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see a bump in his popularity because of this. He’s lost a lot of people permanently, of course, but those who were just mildly angry because of his immigration bill may now be back in camp Bush.

    Not that they’d ever have been in camp Clinton, Obama, or Edwards anyway.

  • Well that was quick! Appparently, he *can* act fast when he wants to. I hope that, from now on, all MSM will refer to Libby as “the commuted felon” (one can dream, no?)

  • When Bush was the Texas Gov, he did not consider commuting one DEATH sentence. He is a weak kneed su%bag. The VP probably had a gun pointed towards Bush yelling “PULL”.

  • One standard for Republicans, another standard for everybody else. Republicans – the party that really needs pardons.

    I’m disgusted.

  • He and Cheney and Rove were afraid prison would loosen Scooters tongue. This smacks of obstruction of justice to me. But I gotta tell ya, I’m so pissed I can’t type. And yes this was completely expected. Someone get me a double shot of anything, or I’m going to start cussin’ somethin’ fierce.

  • This is about homophobia. Bush doesn’t want Libby to experience jailhouse love. If he promoted it that way, his base would applaud even louder.

  • What we really need are some more Loyal Bushie Brownshirts in there as U.S. Attorneys, then we wouldn’t have to go through this whole charade of propriety and just openly accept King George and The Dick-tator’s tyranny.

  • Clearly, Dick was worried that Scooter would turn on him in jail. Why not just pardon him and be done with it? First off, there is this.

    Acceptance[of a pardon] also carries with it an admission of guilt.

    As long as there is a chance that the Supremes will overturn Scooter’s conviction, they aren’t going to admit, even tacitly, that he broke the law. A second reason, which I have seen discussed somewhere-sorry I don’t remember where-is that once a pardon is granted the 5th amendment right against self-incrimination melts away. This would mean that Scooter could be put into a position in which he would have to freely testify against other thugs in BushCo. That’s not exactly what Uncle Dick would want.

  • Q: How could the jury could have ensured Bush wouldn’t pardon Scooter?

    A: By sentencing him to death.

    Horrified joking aside… I hope this convinces the Democrats that it’s time to resort to stronger measures in defense of the rule of law.

  • This was from the guy who, as Governor of Texas, mocked a woman about to be executed. As if it wasn’t enough to kill her. Two standards, indeed.

  • Bush’s statement today is, of course, a far cry from the sterling ethical standard he promised to uphold in the run-up to the 2000 presidential election. As you’ll recall, candidate Bush presented himself as the ethical antidote to the misdeeds real and imagined of the Clinton administration. At the Republican National Convention in August 2000, Bush pompously declared:

    “So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.”

    That October, then-Governor Bush introduced his soon-to-be aborted “what is right” standard of White House ethics:

    “In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal but what is right. Not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves.”

    For the full story, see:
    “Neither Right Nor Legal: Bush Commutes Libby’s Sentence.”

  • Wasn’t Fred Thompson the head of the Libby defense fund? A potential presidential candidate stands behind a convicted felon? Can America elect a person with such ties to a criminal to be president? Inquiring minds want to know if the U.S. Constitution can be so readily trashed by the criminal enterprise know as the Republican Party?

  • once a pardon is granted the 5th amendment right against self-incrimination melts away.

    That’s true.

  • This is delicious!
    Talk about shooting yourself in the face!

    The Republican party just ate itself alive.

    For example, Thompson (The Loudest Libby lobbyist) just became so radioactive he smells bad to everyone but the 18% Cheney dead-enders…

    His campaign is effectively dead.
    LOL: Before it even got started.
    He might as well try to sell toilet water on teevee…

    It is going to be fun watching the other candidates pontificate on this one…

    Deliciously fun…

    Listen: The prick may have let the perp go…
    But someone is going to have to pick up the tab in the near future.

  • Not surprised. Disgusted though. A little pre July 4 celebration of “Suck it!” to the laws of the US.

    Should basically shorten the US Legal System to:
    He who has the gold makes the rules.

    I would be on the ground laughing my guts out if they pulled Paris Hilton on Scooter. Never happen, but just wishful thinking.

  • PS:

    What I am trying to say is that nothing irks Americans more than seeing the rich and connected get preferential treatment.

    Nothing.

  • Nice to know Bush thinks he’s the smartest man in America. He thought the sentence was to excessive!

  • It’s about the only way he can regain ground with his base, now. — doubtful
    Don’t count on it. Back in March only 18-21% of people favored the idea, and that was when Bush’s approval rating was up at around 34%.

    The conservative pundits and their ever-narrowing base will probably like it, and it will also probably push back what just happened with illegal immigration, but not enough of the country ever supported the idea to make it shore-up-your-base worthy.

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  • This is about homophobia. Bush doesn’t want Libby to experience jailhouse love.

    One good Scooter deserces another.

    But seriously, c’mon, we all know the Scooter Libbies of the world don’t get sent to places like that.

  • Another guy named Scooter, that is. Alas, some things are not meant to be…

    At least he’ll always have Bush.

  • ***Accountability is for welfare mothers, not people you invite to the yacht club.***
    —————————————brian

    For some, this may indeed be the case. However, since I’m not seeing anything on the codified laws and ordinances of the United States of America “guaranteeing a corrupt political party the right to abort the law,” I am left with the conclusion that, while the welfare mother is not subject to aggressive rebellion by angry citizens, the “vomituous vitriolic vamps” who call themselves the Republican Party—“are….”

  • I just would like to repeat a comment someone else made which I thought was pretty good. As governor of Texas, Bush signed the death warrants for 151 people and never thought even one of them was “excessive” punishment.

  • Jesus spoke of Bush and his kind

    John 8:44

    “Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

  • Can we recall Jon Stewart from vacation? We need some commentary on the rule of law in 2007.

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