Junior Gets One Right
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 pm by Preston Taylor HolmesWell, we rake him over the coals when he’s wrong (which is most of the time), so we have to praise him when he gets it right – this time he got it right by condoning criminal conduct and commuting Scooter’s sentence.
“The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people,” Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Mr Bush commuted the 30-month jail term imposed on Libby for lying to federal investigators in a case over an outed spy which highlighted doubts about the administration’s case for the war in Iraq.
Ms Pelosi’s condemnation echoed that of the other top Democrat in Congress, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.
“The President’s decision to commute Mr Libby’s sentence is disgraceful,” Mr Reid said.
“Libby’s conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq war.
“Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone,” Mr Reid said in a statement.
Heh. Condoning criminal conduct? That’s what the Senate does day-in and day-out as we learned last week.
Why not a full pardon asks JG?
And yes, I believe a pardon is the right move, and that commuting the sentence is just another in the most recent string of Bush compromises. On the other hand, from a pragmatic perspective, it keeps alive the possibility that Libby succeeds in his appeal, so it’s not a bad political gamble, all things considered.
Baby steps, Junior, baby steps.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
You know, I seem to remember Pelosi decrying the ridiculously lenient sentence of Sandy Berger for STEALING DOCUMENTS out of the National Archives and Bill Clinton’s pardon of crook and tax evader Marc Rich with the exacty same vociferousness.
I seem to remember that, but perhaps that was the week I tried crack for the first (and only) time…
July 3rd, 2007 at 2:51 am
A pardon wouldn’t allow Libby to clear his name.
Also during the appeals, it will possible (but not likely) to get Wilson and Plame for perjury (since each lied on more than one occasion to either congress or a jury).
If Libby loses his appeals, bet a dozen donuts he’ll get his pardon.
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:12 am
[...] Preston Taylor Holmes Well, we rake him over the coals when he’s wrong (which is most of the time), so we have to praise him when he gets it right – this time he got it right by condoning criminal conduct and commuting Scooter’s sentence. [...]