Bush Commutes Libby’s Sentence
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Law, The Plame Game
But doesn’t pardon him? That means that Scooter will still have a conviction on his record and will have to pay the $250K if he doesn’t win his appeal.
So why did Bush do it like this?
In a written statement commuting the jail sentence, issued hours after Monday’s ruling, Bush called the sentence “excessive,” and suggested that Libby will pay a big enough price for his conviction.“The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting,” he said.
Yeah, who else believes this one? Show of hands? As if Scooter isn’t going to have some swank job lined up for him because he’s seen as a partisan scapegoat and a good soldier. Puh-lease.
And about this particular tactic that Bush took…
Clemency petitions are normally reviewed by the Justice Department, which investigates the case and seeks input from the federal prosecutor who brought the case before issuing a recommendation to the president. A government official told CNN that Bush did not consult with the Justice Department before rendering his decision.
So America, do you think Libby should be pardoned?
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken in March asked if Bush should pardon Libby — 69 percent said no, 18 percent said yes.
I wonder what they’ll think of this newest development…
This entry was posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2007 and is filed under Law, The Plame Game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 3rd, 2007 at 12:56 am
This is final straw for me.
In his commutation statement, the President wrote:
“I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby’s appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision”
So in other words, the appeal process didn’t have a thing to do with whether he acted or not, because he’s still in the appellate process. It was all about avoiding jail time.
For a politician who built a reputation as a hard-nosed supporter of law & order when he was governor, this is a slap in the face. The imperial presidency lives on!
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:38 am
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