When Martha Stewart lied to the FBI who were investigating a stock sale, she got convicted and handed a jail sentence and served it. When Scooter Libby lied to the the DOJ he got convicted, and handed a jail sentence the president to commuted his sentence. Must be that old politics magic. For me the they share the same issue, someone is investigating something, and they coughed up excuses instead of telling the truth. Either you uphold the laws, or you set precedent so that we can all pick and choose which part of an investigation we can all ignore. Accountability has taken a big hit today. Once we were a nation of laws, today we are a nation of cronyism.
Ugh; Libby Passes Go, Does Not Go Directly to Jail and still pays Fine
by turfgrrl
July 2nd, 2007 · 12 Comments
Tags: In the News
12 Responses so far ↓ “Ugh; Libby Passes Go, Does Not Go Directly to Jail and still pays Fine”
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Congratulations to the Republican Party! Cheney is exempt from executive orders and Convicted Criminal Scooter Libby’s sentence is commuted. 3,582 U.S. Soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Great job, Republicans!
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They’re self-destructing their way to obscurity. Might actually be a good thing in the long term.
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Burden of Proof from C-Span
Clinton Grants 140 Pardons, Commutes 36 Sentences Before Leaving Office -
News Flash! Scooter Libby was the lawyer for Marc Rich, fugitive financier who Clinton pardoned at the end of his term.
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It was a toss up between Scooter Libby or Paris Hilton. Paris got out early.
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So Scooter Libby’s sentence was excessive? Yet by Bush’s standards as Governor of Texas, it wasn’t “excessive” to execute a mentally retarded black man who functioned at the level of a 7 year old, ’cause he refused to commute that sentence.
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Hey, at least Bush acted like a true Republican when he was Governor. I understand the only social program left in Texas is the death penalty.
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Here’s what was being said in media editorial pages after the sentence was commuted.
Dallas Morning News:
Nearly a decade ago, a GOP-led House impeached President Bill Clinton for lying under oath and obstructing justice in a civil deposition. Yesterday, a Republican president commuted the sentence of former top White House staffer Lewis “Scooter†Libby, who was convicted of the same thing in a criminal investigation. Republicans are known for being tough on crime. Apparently there’s an exception when the criminal is a member of President Bush’s inner circle.
The New York Times:
Presidents have the power to grant clemency and pardons. But in this case, Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell.
The Washington Post:
We agree that a pardon would have been inappropriate and that the prison sentence of 30 months was excessive. But reducing the sentence to no prison time at all, as Mr. Bush did — to probation and a large fine — is not defensible.
Chicago Tribune:
But in nixing the prison term, Bush sent a terrible message to citizens and to government officials who are expected to serve the public with integrity. The way for a president to discourage the breaking of federal laws is by letting fairly rendered consequences play out, however uncomfortably for everyone involved.
San Francisco Chronicle:
In commuting the sentence of former White House aide Lewis “Scooter†Libby, President Bush sent the message that perjury and obstruction of justice in the service of the president of the United States are not serious crimes.
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TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT
Fitzgerald never should have asked Libby any questions to begin with. He knew where the leak was before any of this ever happened. He created a crime none existed.
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#9 - So that’s your opinion? If you want people to believe you have any credibility, try facts.
Because you know what they say about opinions: they’re like assh*les - everyone’s got one.
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$9
Sort of like the Clinton perjury trap, eh?
Wait, it’s EXACTLY like the Clinton perjury trap!
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Clinton should have been so kind to McDougal for her loyalty.
