Bush commutes Libby's sentence

[haplesshobo]

Wow.

Talk about political suicide, although at this point, maybe Bush doesn't give a damn anymore. Its worse than a crime, its a mistake. This is going to be one of the most unpopular pardon/commutes since Ford pardoned Nixon, but at least you could argue that Ford did that for the right reasons.

[MD2020]

Wow.

Talk about political suicide, although at this point, maybe Bush doesn't give a damn anymore.

Suicide? I propose the opposite. Bush currently has the lowest approval ratings since Nixon. The people calling for Scooter's pardon are the only people that are still supporting Bush and saying he's doing a dandy job. Of course this would happen, I'm a little surprised it isn't a full pardon. It's not like anyone else has any respect for the guy after the Iraq debacle.

What is delicious about this is that it will fuck over the next GOP candidate when the Left uses it as ammo for the corrupt ways of the current administration.

[Yeahman]

You're time as president is coming to an end. Your legacy is already set. Your friend is sentenced to 30 days, fined, and gets probation for being "confused" under oath. Your supporters are asking for a pardon. What do you do?

Not saying he should've done it, but I can understand why he did it.
The GOP candidates can walk the line "I believe the sentence was excessive but I would not have commuted his sentence."

[bluemonq]

Paris Hilton spent more time in prison for driving with a suspended license a second time than Scooter Libby did for obstructing justice and perjury. Discuss.

[Craig]

Paris Hilton spent more time in prison for driving with a suspended license a second time than Scooter Libby did for obstructing justice and perjury. Discuss.As we supposed to discuss the fucked up laws, criminal justice system, or values in California, or the corresponding issues in Washington D.C. :wink:

[power puff girl]

You're time as president is coming to an end. Your legacy is already set. Your friend is sentenced to 30 days, fined, and gets probation for being "confused" under oath. Your supporters are asking for a pardon. What do you do?


or, maybe, libby was the fall guy for his superiors, including shrub and cheney, and was willing to take the hit as long as he knew he wouldn't have to serve time in jail. if libby had to serve time in jail, he would have sang like a jailbird about all the dirty little secrets going on in the white house to get a reduced sentence.

the guy is a traitor and by extension, so is the president, for allowing these treasonous acts.

[yoMAMA]

Wow.

Talk about political suicide, although at this point, maybe Bush doesn't give a damn anymore. Its worse than a crime, its a mistake. This is going to be one of the most unpopular pardon/commutes since Ford pardoned Nixon, but at least you could argue that Ford did that for the right reasons.

how does this compare to clinton's pardon of marc rich?

[Arex]

^ Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice regarding the investigation which was focused upon the very same administration that just commuted his sentence. The whole thing reeks of an attempt to protect the administration.

I don't believe the Marc Rich had any ties to the Clintons, other than his wife's fundraising for the Clintons. Worst case scenario, this was nothing more than greed.

Interesting thing I learned on the internet: Libby was actually Marc Rich's attorney and defended President Clinton's pardon of him.

[SunWuKong]

^ Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice regarding the investigation which was focused upon the very same administration that just commuted his sentence. The whole thing reeks of an attempt to protect the administration.

right. this isn't just a case of Bush protecting someone from his own political camp, or even Bush protecting someone that worked for the White House. his conviction is directly involved with a case concerning the conduct of the administration itself.

[haplesshobo]

how does this compare to clinton's pardon of marc rich?

Personally, I thought that Clinton had felt he had been unfairly persecuted by the Rep. and that he was a sucker for stories that somebody else had been unfairly persecuted.

But, let's say, Clinton's pardon was done for baser reasons. While that would be unsavory, it wouldn't be as bad from a political point of view. He did it on the way out, where it would have no bearing on his political ability or have any effect on rest of the Democratic party since the presidential elections had already been held.

But, Bush still has time left off in office and this has just further damaged his political power to get anything done. And, it puts the Rep. presidential nominees in a uncomfortable position about this issue, where they need to support Bush's action to garner support from the base even though such a stance will just undermine them in the general election. The last thing Bush should have done was touch anything that would reinforce the Dem's charge of cronynism, especially after the way his administration mucked up the selective dismisall of some of the US Attorney Generals.

By not pardoning Libby, Bush acknowledged there was some validity in Libby's convciton but commuted it on the grounds that the sentencing was 'excessive'. If you were going to say the sentencing was excessive, then let Libby serve some time before you pardon him.

It'll be interesting to see how low Bush's numbers are by the time he leaves office. At this rate, he might even get the lowest in the last 50 years. The Dems hate him with a passion, and the Middle has slowly awakened to how disastarous Iraq has been. And, now, even his base is starting to turn on him after his Immigration proposal.

[monkeygone2]

if libby had to serve time in jail, he would have sang like a jailbird about all the dirty little secrets

doesn't anyone remember harriet grant's post conviction statement "we're gonna fuck'em" ?

now the dems are going to publicly speculate on who libby could've implicated.
hmmm, it's a mystery.

[AgentTofu]

The funny thing is that Bush didn't even care about Libby, reports are that he commuted him to make peace with Chaney. Really. The President just bowed down to the Vice-President. What a tool/puppet.

[Yeahman]

Bush's approval rating is the lowest so far and the lowest for any president since Carter. But it looks like the recent dip is due more to his failed immigration reform plan.

[Faithless]

Interesting article about Libby and Bush double standard regarding minimum sentencing.

DOUBLE STANDARD -- Bush's leniency for Libby doesn't jibe with administration's push to enforce mandatory minimum sentences (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/16/MNG9TR15PN1.DTL)

[huangalex]

Scooter Libby is a sick son of a bitch. Look at his book:

[The Apprentice] is set in northern Japan in winter 1903, and centers on a group of travelers stranded at a remote inn due to a smallpox epidemic. It has been generally described as "a thriller ... that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape." - Wikipedia

Here's an infamous quote:

"At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest. Groups of men paid to watch" (Libby 81).

:puke: Forget obstruction of justice, he ought to get life for writing this piece of shit.

And yes. This is set in Japan and is very much Yellow Peril fiction. I quote:

"Mr Libby's novel about rural Japan in the early 20th century reinforces all the yellow peril stereotypes. The characters who are usually nameless are sex-obsessed neolithic brutes. The men get their sexual thrills with the animals of the forest if necessary. The featured women travel from village to village to give entertainment shows which feature dancing, booze, and lack of clothing. Life is depicted as filled with endless violence unhindered by any presence of a police force. The job description of the apprentice innkeeper includes being a wallet thief and a peeping tom. One severely disabled man is so depersonalized that he is referred to by the terms "it" and "itself"." - Robert O. DeVries

[haplesshobo]

Bush's approval rating is the lowest so far and the lowest for any president since Carter.

You know, its weird. Alongside Nixon, Jimmy Carter is seen by many americans as the nadir of american presidents in recent memory. I don't know if anybody has any fond memories of his presidency in america, yet overseas Carter is regarded as one of the best presidents.

[hooligan]

I am not sure if anyone mentioned this, but as far as I was told, he didn't outright pardon Libby because if Bush pardoned him he would have to waive his fifth amendment rights. Then the whole sad truth will come out.

[hooligan]

You know, its weird. Alongside Nixon, Jimmy Carter is seen by many americans as the nadir of american presidents in recent memory. I don't know if anybody has any fond memories of his presidency in america, yet overseas Carter is regarded as one of the best presidents.

Everyone overseas hates Bush, that's what we call a two-fer.