Why I Hope Bush Pardons Libby
Not least of the vileness that Bush, Cheney and Rove have brought into our public life is the rage of those who cherish traditional American respect for law and decency.
That’s why I hope Bush pardons Scooter Libby. His doing so would frustrate our desire for retribution but at the cost of implicating his entire Administration in the hateful enterprise of which Libby’s actions were a part.
How could he believably justify it? He has nothing like Gerald Ford’s excuse that a Nixon pardon would put an ugly period in history behind us? Saving Libby would clearly end nothing but the pressure on Bush not to let an underling go to prison for serving him loyally.
I have no sympathy for Libby but neither do I have a burning desire to see him behind bars. His bosses haven’t reduced me to that. It would be a fair trade-off to see him free if it meant making Bush associate himself with the sordid work Libby was doing on his behalf.
If that sounds too high-minded, so be it. We used to be a country where politicians could disagree without trying to destroy each other. We won’t get that back by letting Bush and Cheney drag us down to their level of vindictiveness.
Now if Congressional investigations can prove criminal behavior by Karl Rove, that would be another matter entirely.
Cross-posted from my blog
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9 Responses to “Why I Hope Bush Pardons Libby”
Robert,
While you are entitled to your outrage, I wouldn’t jump too far out ahead of the appeals process.
I’ve read a couple of legal views that argue an overturn on appeal is not entirely a legal pipedream.
Unless Bush is a dumb as a tree stump, he should certainly let the appeals play out.
The point of having Libby serve at least some of his sentence is not really about vindictiveness- its about deterrence. If a high-level administration official goes to jail, maybe the next administration won’t get as drunk on their own power or won’t try to obstruct the feds during an investigation.
This way Libby makes Cheney and Bush look guiltier- otherwise why wouldn’t he have just let the investigation proceed?
I’m not sure I agree with your larger point about Bush admitting culpability by pardonning Scooter. Bush 41 didn’t admit involvement in Iran-Contra when he pardoned Casper Weinberger. Clinton didn’t admit involvement in Whitewater by pardoning Susan McDougal. It just seems like another well-connected Republican avoiding accountability.
For once I agree with Kritter.
While I challenge anyone to remember what they talked about in detail 2 years ago at a meeting in the sea of meetings this man no doubt had, that is besides the point.
I think he should serve whatever term is given him for the good of the country. After all The Republicans need a martyr to fall back on. A rallying point. Libby will be that martyr and rallying point for the 08 elections.
The only group Libby would be a great rallying point for is the base who wouldn’t abandon the Republican party if they promised self annihilation. No, if the Republicans want any chance at winning they have to run as far away from this administration, and thus from Libby, as they can. Trying to hold him up as a martyr will only open them up further to criticisms of hypocrisy and inability to hold to the rule of law, which they seem to be gung-ho about when it comes to anyone else being held accountable to the law. If anything, Libby will be a symbol of the corruption and the failure of the Republican party.
There’s a difference between high-minded and simple-minded.
Libby was convicted of a crime by a sympathetic jury which nonetheless realized that by perjuring himself and obstructing justice he allowed Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and the president to get away with attacking a covert CIA agent.
It’s not meanspiritedness or desire for retribution to ask that there be consequences for that. And It’s hardly rage to expect that the powerful are also subject to the law.
Perjury and obstruction of justice. We don’t get to get away with that. This was willful lying to deceive the entire country, and trying to prevent our courts from discovering the truth. It’s wrong. It’s unacceptable. It should be deterred.
On another note:
Happy Birthday to Justice
Today is the 292nd birthday of the Magna Carta and of thus of the writ of habeus corpus. That’s the right of a prisoner to a judicial review of whether (s)he is lawfully imprisoned. It’s a central pillar of justice that prevents arbitrary imprisonment, and permits all other of our rights.
It is unbearably sad that habeas corpus, is now considered a partisan issue because we, America, now violates that precious core of freedom, every day.
Happy 292nd. We will reclaim the right course ultimately because we must. Under all the grime of recent years, we are still America, and this is not an issue of right or left–it’s right or wrong.
It amazes me that the right still perpetuates the myth of ‘memory loss’. I live in the DC area and there was a ton of media coverage about the trial. The evidence against him was overwhelming.
The jury was apolitical and had no agenda. He got a fair trial and was convicted on real felonies.
BTW, Somebody-There are as many Republicans who think Libby should be pardoned as not- so I don’t see him making much of a martyr for the cause, LOL.
Correction – Magna Carta is 792 years old, almost 800 years ago the concept was born that the will of the king could be bound by law.
Kritter Im not talking about the trial. Im talking about the initial discussions with the FBI. While you might have found this interesting, I am sure Libby who has dozens of meetings, phone calls and memos daily was probably having quite a time getting his facts together in such a way as to not lie and yet not indict anyone.
He failed. So be it. Im guessing that if we put any senator on the hot seat and asked him something about a meeting or two a couple years back we could put them ALL in jail for lying.