Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] [POLITICS] News Alert: Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Sentence

["Jonathan King" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On 7/3/07, Rick <EMAIL:PROTECTED> wrote:
> Libby's punishment was, in no small way, retarded. I find it
> unsurprising that you condemn Libby, yet mention Clinton in the same
> post without bothering to condemn *him* for his blatant perjury.
>
> Additionally, IIRC, Bush only commuted the prison sentence. The rest of
> the sentence stands (probation, etc...)

OK, so I don't have time to follow this thread all of the way down.
But I have to say one thing: Libby's punishment was very minimal. The
judge who handed down the sentence was a Republican appointee who
found himself practically forced to give LIbby the maximum allowable
sentence under the sentencing guidelines because it was so clear to
him (and the jury) that Libby both perjured himself and obstructed
justice in this case. Again, the special counsel who brought the
charges was *another* prominent Republican, who was clearly not
looking for any reason to indcit anybody except for the person who
might have illegally named Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.

In Washington, it is widely understood that Libby lied to save either
Rove or Cheney or both, but in the absence of useful testimonry from
anybody in the case (and proven perjury in the case of Libby), there
was little or nothing you could do to move the case any further.
Conveniently, commuting Libby's sentence puts him in a very
interesting position. In particular, he is free to refuse to respond
to future questions by prosecutors on Fifth amendment grounds, whereas
if he were pardoned, he would not have fifth amendment rights in this
situation because he would not be in danger of being prosecuted. The
current situation is completely apalling: we have no hope of obtaining
the truth in the matter, and yet we know there are guilty parties who
could insure that they could not be prosecuted beasue of the Pardoning
Power of the president.

It really does not get much slimier than this.

jking

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