Libby gets a pardon

bobbyjoe

No surprise here then. Bush is now a judge as well as president.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6263616.stm


Bush spares Libby from jail term
Lewis Libby outside court in Washington
Lewis "Scooter" Libby was a key figure in the White House
US President George W Bush has intervened to prevent Lewis Libby, a convicted former vice-presidential aide, from serving a prison term.

President Bush described as "excessive" the 30-month prison sentence Libby was facing for having obstructed an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name.

Though no longer required to go to jail, Libby is still due to serve a period of probation and pay a fine.

Liam Byrne

No surprise.....he's been judge, jury and executioner for thousands of people to date; one more won't make a difference.

Ironic, though.....the leaking of a CIA agent's name warrants U.S. presidential intervention to get you off, while the leaking of the truth in relation to non-existent WMDs was viewed as treason (by either the U.S. or the U.K, can't remember which).

Just goes to show why sandwich filling is so intelligent....it knows what side its bread is buttered on, and stays on that side in order not to get left out to dry.....

bobbyjoe

Actually to correct the title its not a pardon his sentence was commuted bit different. Worst part is that since he's already been found guilty he can't be tried for the same offense again and can't be forced to tell the truth anytime in the future.

bonkey

I'm not sure about the "forced to tell the truth" bit.

OK...no-one can be forced to tell the truth, unless you're a supporter of "special rendition" or "agressive interview techniques" and believe in such things. But that aside, if Libby is questioned again and refuses to tell the truth again, he most certainly can be done for obstruction of justice again.

It won't happen, of course.

Liam Byrne wrote:

the leaking of a CIA agent's name warrants U.S. presidential intervention to get you off,

Not true. Lying in order to obstruct justice merits presidential interverntion.

That is what Libby was tried for, found guilty of and sentenced for - preventing the investigation into the leak from determining what really happened and thus determining whether or not anyone could be and should be held legally accountable.

It must be recognised, however, that this action by Bush is entirely and unquestionably legal and within his rights.

To be honest, I can't see it changing much. No-one is really going to have their opinion of the man or his Administration changed by this action.

I'm expecting TomF (if he's still around) to come along and applaud the move though....given that he always insisted that Libby did nothing wrong and was just a scapegoat for a Democratic smear-job or something.

seamus

bonkey wrote:

It must be recognised, however, that this action by Bush is entirely and unquestionably legal and within his rights.

This to me is probably the most worrying thing about it. I wonder what bright spark decided that the president knew more of the law and of punishment than the judiciary did. It's a rather glaring hole for legal corruption, but I can't see any president curtailing his own powers any time soon. It's perfect proof that being powerful will spare you from punishment in the U.S.
Clinton availed of this too by pardoning a largeish number of convicts just before he left office.

Pazaz 21

Lets face it Libby was just the fall guy for this whole thing and he has been rewarded for taking the blame like a good little boy.

Dick told his friend Bush to go easy on Scooter and he did. Hey, i think theirs a joke in their somewhere!:D

Oh ya, what happened to the actual investigation into who leaked the name of the CIA agent, all i heard about was Scooter's perjury, etc, and everything else seemed to just fade away, convient huh?

norbert64

apparently he still has to pay a fine, although, whether ''he'' will actually be the one paying it, is another matter :rolleyes:

CPT. SURF

I have no real issue with the pardon. Libby was the fall guy and I do not care if he gets a pardon. I am still pissed at the US population for giving Bush a second term. Has to be the most crap president ever. Cant get his immigration bill past so now he has no positive legacy. Next...

nacho libre

The former governor of Texas and a close friend of the House of Sa'ud - arguing that a particular sentence is too harsh. Is there a degree of irony in this?

The Saint

You think that's ironic? Here what he said in relation to clemancy when he was gov.

"I don't believe my role is to replace the verdict of a jury with my own, unless there are new facts or evidence of which a jury was unaware, or evidence that the trial was somehow unfair."

SteveS

It is also ironic that Libby was the attorney that orchestrated the Clinton pardon of Marc Rich.

Like a previous poster mentioned, Libby was not pardoned. He will still be subject to probation and a fine. I would bet that some wealthy donor will cover the fine, much like they covered his legal defense. I am not aware of the probation conditions, so I can't comment on them. I also wouldn't be surprised if Bush issued a full pardon just before he rides out of town. He doesn't seem to care what other people think.

The pardon power is one of the Constitutionally enumerated powers of the executive branch. Previous presidents have used it in the same way as Bush (though that doesn't make what he did ok). IIRC, one of the founding fathers said that presidential abuse of this power should result in impeachment, though I have never heard of this happening.

CPT. SURF

Libby is claiming he paid the fine, about $250,000 I think, with his own money. From his own bank account apparently. Believe what you will, he had his legal fees paid anyway.

bonkey

CPT. SURF wrote:

Libby is claiming he paid the fine, about $250,000 I think, with his own money. From his own bank account apparently. Believe what you will, he had his legal fees paid anyway.

More accirately. he had a legal trust fund established to help pay his fees. There have been comments already that that $5m accrued there may be insufficient. Lawyering up at that level ain't cheap.