Bush Frees 'Scooter' Libby

[durcam]

WASHINGTON — President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case Monday, stepping into a criminal case with heavy political overtones on grounds that the sentence was just too harsh.

Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That meant Libby was likely to have to report to prison soon and put new 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.

"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."

Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, and Bush said his action still "leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287780,00.html

I agree with this decision , only prob I have with it is , it won't apply to all people serving too much time . The timing is terrible , may cost him his presidency. The funny thing is how all these "law and order , lock em up and throw away the key republicans" will agree their comrade deserved a second chance , but not some poor kid doing time for some weed and shit.

God bless the USA !!!

.......:013: :D :013: :D

[TheNewNo.2]

I generally try to stay away from political discussions on here because I come here for fun, not to get all worked up, but this is so outrageous, I've got to vent. That a man who clearly has no respect for the law, the Constitution, or the American people ever became President is one of the greatest embarrassments in this history of the United States. It stuns me that Bush didn't even wait for a day to pass before letting Scooter out of the sentence the court decided he deserved. And don't tell me he just "reduced" the sentence to something more suitable--a fine (which I guarantee doesn't come out of Libby's bank account--Bush's money men will be kicking in for that) and probation means Libby faces no discernible punishment for breaking the law, being found guilty by a jury, and being sentenced by a judge who Bush himself appointed. He got a free pass, plain and simple. Obviously, there are no punishments or consequences possibly for anyone in the White House inner circle for anything they do. Congress should just pull the plug on any other investigations into all the sleazy, underhanded, illegal political operations going on under Bush & Cheney because even if, after months of comprehensive investigations and trials, anyone in Bush's White House is found guilty of a crime, Bush will ignore the courts and the laws of the nation and just throw their sentence out. Clearly, Bush has decided that his presidency is above the law, that he is an elected dictator, and that he and his associates are not answerable to ANYONE. He is a disgrace as a President, an American, and a human being and now there is no question that his is the most corrupt White House this nation has ever seen and he is the worst, most damaging President in our history. And to do this on the eve of the Fourth of July, the founding of our country, is Bush spitting in the face of everything this nation is supposed to stand for. Presidents almost always pardon a bunch of their allies on the way out of office--Bill Clinton, ever the sleazy operative, did a bunch of it himself--but by protecting his own White House insiders who were convicted while doing his own political dirty work, Bush shows that the rule of law does not operate inside his presidency. That's all I'm going to say about this. Now I'm going to stick my head in the sand for the next 18 months until this nightmare is over.

[bitchbang]

Yeah, but who's the next in line to take the states ever deeper into the sewers?

[ÜberDork]

All this from a president who ran in 2000 on the platform of “restoring honor and integrity to the Oval Office".

[durcam]

Among the fascinating aspects of Lewis Libby's now upcoming sentencing is that his high-profile case resembles in various ways the case of Victor Rita, the defendant whose 33-month (within-guideline) sentence is currently under review by the US Supreme Court. I detailed some Libby-Rita parallels in this post last month, and here are the major highlights.

1. The parallel nature of the crimes. Like Lewis Libby, Victor Rita got caught up in a criminal investigation and ultimately was indicted on five felony counts based on allegations that he lied under oath as part of the investigation. And, like Libby, Victor Rita asserted his innocence and exercised his right to a jury trial. (Victor was convicted of all five counts at trial; Libby's was acquitted on one of five counts, but that may not matter much for sentencing purposes.)

2. The parallel personal history. Like Lewis Libby, Victor Rita is an atypical federal defendant because of his career in government service. Rita served 24 years in the Marine Corps, had tours of duty in Vietnam and the first Gulf war, received over 35 military metals and awards. Libby's pre-conviction resume is (equally?) impressive. The federal guidelines do not provide any formal breaks for government service or prior good works. But, with Booker making the guidelines advisory, federal judges have more discretion to consider these matters at sentencing (though Rita's sentencing judge decided just to follow the guidelines).

Since Victor Rita's crimes seems, in context, to be less serious than Lewis Libby's crimes, I view Rita's 33-month sentence as a possible benchmark for Libby's sentence. Moreover, I have heard that Judge Walton has a reputation as a tough sentencing judge, and so Victor Rita's 33 month sentence might even be viewed as just a floor for considering Libby's fate.

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2007/03/comparing_lewis.html

Who's gonna 'pardon' him and write op-eds demanding his freedom ? Oh damn , I forgot , some people are more 'equal' than others and she's not a hypocritical neoCON/wingnut weasel , life aint fair..........:013: :013: :013: :013:

[ronmexico]

bush being a hypocrite:013: .....but by commuting Libby's sentence and not giving him a full pardon (as of now), he protect scoots 5th amendment privileges against self incrimination and that will be helpful in any future congressional hearings.....

[jdrock24]

Isn't politics funny?

All the conservatives were outraged when Clinton gave a full pardon to his billionaire friend Mark Rich from tax evasion while Democrats/liberals didn't make one peep. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, liberals are making the exact same arguments that conservatives made back then.

Just goes to show you: All politicians are crooked!