(Updated) Pardon Me, But As Expected
A federal appeals court said today that Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, must go to prison while appealing his conviction for obstructing a CIA leak probe.
The three-judge panel found that Libby “has not shown that the appeal raises a substantial question” under federal law that would merit letting him remain free.
Steve Benen writes at Political Animal:
“For those who keep track of such things, Bloomberg reported, ‘The three-judge appeals panel that issued today’s order included Judges David Sentelle, nominated by President Ronald Reagan; Karen LeCraft Henderson, nominated by President George H.W. Bush, and David Tatel, nominated by President Bill Clinton.’
“In other words, for those keeping score, Libby was charged by a prosecutor appointed by a Republican administration, he was sentenced by a judge appointed by a Republican president, and his appeal was heard by two more judges appointed by Republican presidents. Naturally, this will lead Fox News and the Wall Street Journal‘s editorial page to decry the ‘partisan prosecution.â€
If Mr. President is going to pardon Mr. Libby, it will have to be soon.
More here.
10 Responses to “(Updated) Pardon Me, But As Expected”
“As anticipated,” that is. “As expected” reveals “as hoped.” (Note that I’m not denying he should go to prison. I’m surprised Bush didn’t pardon him yet.)
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Worst case Libby gets a lame duck pardon before Bush leaves office.
Sam:
Worst case Libby gets a lame duck pardon before Bush leaves office.
Worst case for who, Bush? What will a Libby pardon do for the Republicans’ prospects (hold your laughter) in 2008?
Correction, he just commuted Libby’s sentence. And I said worst case as in for Libby. The guy was not ever going to see the inside of a jail cell.
Shaun you might want to update your post. NBC just reported that Bush commuted Libby’s prison sentence. He will still have to pay the $250,000 fine and will lose his law license. Bush’s reasoning was that the 30 month sentence was excessive.
Did you really think Scooter would see the inside of a cell? I’m sure if any of the rest of the motley WH crew were convicted of anything, that Bush would likewise pardon or commute them as well.
Why bother hiring a special prosecutor in the first place? Just give the executive branch unlimited power and put them above the law. Saves time and taxpayer expense.
They have proven today that the law does not treat well-connected Republicans the same as a poor black teenager who made the mistake of having oral sex with a minor, two years younger.
“I did not pardon that man, Scooter Libby…”
The GOP candidates take a hit on this, anyway.
The base will be thrilled, but not the majority who will see this as corrupt Washington cronyism. I think only 18% believe Libby should be pardoned. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats capitalize on Bush’s decision to stray from another one of his campaign promises.
K. Ritter:
corrupt Washington cronyism
That’s what it looks like to me, too. I’m unsure about “blatant partisan gamesmanship” on the GOP side because many Republicans are critical of Bush; but it may have been an intentional slam at the Congressional Democrats.
DLS- Since I live here, I kept an eagle eye on Libby’s trial. The defense was laughable- they originally had Cheney, Rove and Libby himself on the witness list. Then —–at the end none of them testify. There were a lot of rumors swirling around that an intermediary set up a deal for Libby and his lawyer had to completely change his defense. By the end of the trial —his high-powered attorneys —the best that money could buy had presented an incoherent defense. The jury had no choice but to convict.
So, it was pretty obvious that Libby was protecting Bush and Cheney and that he expected to serve no jail time. No major Washington news analyst thought he’d serve his sentence. I don’t think it was partisanship- just the administration protecting itself. The reason there is so much loyalty is because the long term politicos like Rove, Libby and Gonzales all know too much about how things really work.