From CNN 6/2/07
Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence
What a shocker, Bush commutes Libby's sentence for his role in the treasonous act, the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
"Scooter Libby is a traitor", says Joe Wilson, Valerie Plames husband. I agree, he should die a traitors death.
Essentially, this administration has just avoided all accountability for how they have handled the war and pre-war "intelligence". Well, except for the obvious fact that they are losing the war and creating more terrorist than has ever existed at one time generating an unprecedented world-wide hatred of the United States.
You know, I'm not saying Bill Clinton set a good example for kids with his blow but when someone is convicted of a crime and the President says it's ok and not fair to punish him, what does that say to the children? I know, if you are rich and white and have even richer, whiter and more powerful friends, you can get away with anything.
Bush: "I respect the jury's verdict, 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 30 months in prison. My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."
Could you imagine if an attorney used that as an excuse to defend a poor black kid who got caught with cocaine? He would be laughed out of the courtroom.
4 comments:
Funny you should mention that: my boyfriend is a defense attorney and has been having me turn up all the sentencing guideline arguments relating to Libby's commuted sentence to do that very thing: defend a black kid caught selling the crack. (The kid has no other argument: guilty as sin).
My guess is the judge will not only laugh, but may go so far as to hold my boyfriend in contempt if he dares present Mr. Bush as a legal authority in a legitamate US Court Room. Monkey Justice.
But why not?
You can chalk it up to air-headed liberal optimism or possibly even self delusion, but the commutation of Libby's sentence seems to me another gift from the Gods of political justice.
If little scooter was forced to endure the difficult, yet lenient sentence that was doled out for his misdeeds, he would be seen by joe public as a sorry scapegoat for the quite high crimes and misdemeanors of Bush and Co.
Even though the public would realize that he alone should not be suffering for this whole lot of scoundrels, there would still be a sense of finality to the whole scandal.
You think of the failings of W's foreign policy, the bungling of the Iraq war, all of the wiretapping, lying, intimidation of whistle-blowers... for all of this one man (though a member of the tight neocon inner circle) must bear the whole brunt.
It seems so much more just that they would all get away scott free, unless and until they may all hang together. Also, being that Bush (unlike Nixon) couldn't let even one of his cronies serve for his crimes, the public bloodlust may grow unsatiated.
Since the 2004 election I have held fast to the idea that only if W does his absolute worst will America ever really learn its lesson.
Its a tough pill that this country needs to swallow but it will be the only way that mainstream America will ever truely learn what unhinged, full on neoconservativism really means to regular American people.
True, there is no way this was all the doing of one guy. Who knows, maybe this "pardon" will anger people enough to get to the real people involved.
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