Bush said it's OK because Libby's career is tarnished!

Just like Ollie North with his book deals, TV shows, speaking circuit, radio shows...ect.

Dick Morris can fucking suck the toes of a prostitute and still get a deal with Fox News and have #1 books.

nice

Here goes the left going apeshit because they wanted to jail libby in order to punish bush

Here goes the left going apeshit because they wanted to jail libby in order to punish bush

Yeah... you're right....and?

Wait, who the fuck says he's right?

Here goes the left going apeshit because they wanted to jail libby in order to punish bush

lying to the FBI and a grand jury might have something to do with it

oh well

countdown until someone brings up bill clinton in 5....4....3...2....

Yeah... you're right....and?
It doesn't punish Bush at all.

He didn't pardon him. He just granted him clemency and commuted his jail sentence. The conviction stands.

He didn't pardon him. He just granted him clemency and commuted his jail sentence. The conviction stands.
Correct. He's also going to pay the fines and be on probation... but don't worry. MSNBC and Keith Olbermann and Wolf Blitzer on CNN will mention the "pardon" word. Just wait.

lying to the FBI and a grand jury might have something to do with it

oh well

countdown until someone brings up bill clinton in 5....4....3...2....
The closest similarity I can find to Clinton is that he pardoned people outright who were convicted for refusing to testify against him... which is on its face a lot more serious.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/02/commutation-computations/#more-681

*yawn*

for the most part I think Plame and her husband have been hamming up a bit...

Marc Rich anyone? bfd. the Oligarchs win again...duh.

^seriously

POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS

Nothing new here people. Come on now, no use getting all upset.

ah, finally right in our face -- the law doesn't apply to them. Why? Shut the fuck up, that's why.

damn man. i dont see how this is a left vs. right issue. people should be pissed off whenever an elected official bends the law for purely political or partisan reasons. Clinton pardoning some douchebags was just as bad, but that doesn't mean that Bush is right. they're all fuckin crooks.

Oh good. Now we can all move on.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/02/commutation-computations/#more-681

What's your point? An analysis of the crimes these people were pardoned for is more important than the number of pardons a president has granted.

What's your point? An analysis of the crimes these people were pardoned for is more important than the number of pardons a president has granted.
Actually plebian, it was to show the number of pardons to commutations, since "pardon" is not what happened in this case.

Actually plebian, it was to show the number of pardons to commutations, since "pardon" is not what happened in this case.

The point still stands, just replace the word pardon with commutation. Nimrod calling people plebian: oh the irony.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The hypocrisy is unpardonable. President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of a convicted liar brought out the worst in both parties.

In keeping I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby out of jail, Bush defied his promise to hold wrongdoers accountable and undercut his 2000 campaign pledge to "restore honor and dignity" to the White House. And it might be a cynical first step toward issuing a full pardon at the conclusion of his term.

Democrats responded as if they don't live in glass houses, decrying corruption, favoritism and a lack of justice.

"This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

It was a brazen statement from a woman entangled in many Clinton White House scandals, including the final one: On his last day in office, President Clinton granted 140 pardons and 36 commutations, many of them controversial.

One of those pardoned was Marc Rich, who had fled the country after being indicted for tax evasion and whose wife had donated more than $1 million to Democratic causes.

Clinton's half brother, Roger, who was convicted of distributing cocaine and lobbied the White House on behalf of others, also received a pardon.

Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in his successful bid to win pardons for a businessman under investigation for money laundering and a commutation for a convicted drug trafficker. Her other brother, Tony, lobbied successfully for clemency on behalf of a couple convicted of bank fraud.

It's hard to fathom that those pardons had absolutely nothing to do with cronyism or ideology, but Hillary Clinton defended them. She drew a distinction between her husband's pardons and Bush's commutation.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the senator said Bill Clinton's pardons were simply a routine exercise in the use of the pardon power, and none was aimed at protecting the Clinton presidency or legacy. "This," she said of the Libby commutation, "was clearly an effort to protect the White House."

Indeed, there is ample evidence that Libby's actions were fueled by animosity throughout the White House toward opponents of the president's push to war against Iraq.

But Hillary Clinton will have a hard time convincing most voters that her brother-in-law would have gotten a pardon in 2001 had his name been Smith. Or that Rich's pardon plea would have reached the president's desk had he not been a rich Mr. Rich.

The hypocrisy doesn't stop there.

Bush vowed at the start of the investigation to fire anybody involved in the leak of a CIA agent's identity, but one of the leakers, adviser Karl Rove, still works at the White House. Libby was allowed to keep his job until he was indicted for lying about his role.

The president said Libby's sentence was excessive. But the 2 1/2 years handed Libby was much like the sentences given others convicted in obstruction cases. Three of every four people convicted for obstruction of justice in federal court were sent to prison, for an average term of more than five years.

Want more hypocrisy? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney praised the commutation for Libby, quite a departure for a guy who brags that he was the first Massachusetts governor to deny every request for a pardon or commutation. Romney even refused a pardon for an Iraq war veteran who, at age 13, was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun.

What about all the Republican politicians who defied public sentiment and insisted that President Clinton be impeached for lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky? Many of them now minimize Libby's perjury.

What about all those Democrats who thought public shame was punishment enough for Clinton lying under oath, basically the position adopted today by Libby's supporters? Many of those Democrats now think Libby should go to jail for his perjury.

"There appears to be rank hypocrisy at work here on both sides of the political spectrum," said Joe Gaylord, a GOP consultant who worked for House Speaker Newt Gingrich during impeachment. "It causes Americans to shake their heads in disgust at the political system."

The Libby case followed the same pattern of hype and hypocrisy established during Clinton's impeachment scandal. It's as if we're all sentenced to relive the same sad scene:

A powerful man lies or otherwise does wrong.

He gets caught.

His enemies overreach in the name of justice.

His friends minimize the crime in pursuit of self-interest.
advertisement

And the powerful man hires a lawyer.

Marc Rich had a high-priced attorney for his battles with the justice system. His name was Scooter Libby






there is some nice reality based fair reporting from CNN. I think it sums up the whole deal and gives it context.

Never really liked the Pres dealing out pardons, regardless of political parties. What's the point of having separate branches if the el Presidente can just overrule convictions that had their time in Appeals court?

That's kind of like Bud Selig saying, "Listen, Cardinals, I know you won the World Series, but I feel like giving it to the Cubs. Thanks for playing, though."

I think it should be amended to prevent pardons to people that have served in their administration. If its really worthy of a pardon the next president can do it.

Yeah, this wasnt a pardon, but people are talking about them, so shove it.

Yeah, this wasnt a pardon, but people are talking about them, so shove it.

Hoping this will at least stay at a commuted sentence now. No more voting and a felony record.

kinda lost in the discussion is that the original sentence is not uncommon for a crime of that nature. it was hardly an excessive punishment.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The hypocrisy is unpardonable. President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of a convicted liar brought out the worst in both parties.

In keeping I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby out of jail, Bush defied his promise to hold wrongdoers accountable and undercut his 2000 campaign pledge to "restore honor and dignity" to the White House. And it might be a cynical first step toward issuing a full pardon at the conclusion of his term.

Democrats responded as if they don't live in glass houses, decrying corruption, favoritism and a lack of justice.

"This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

It was a brazen statement from a woman entangled in many Clinton White House scandals, including the final one: On his last day in office, President Clinton granted 140 pardons and 36 commutations, many of them controversial.

One of those pardoned was Marc Rich, who had fled the country after being indicted for tax evasion and whose wife had donated more than $1 million to Democratic causes.

Clinton's half brother, Roger, who was convicted of distributing cocaine and lobbied the White House on behalf of others, also received a pardon.

Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in his successful bid to win pardons for a businessman under investigation for money laundering and a commutation for a convicted drug trafficker. Her other brother, Tony, lobbied successfully for clemency on behalf of a couple convicted of bank fraud.

It's hard to fathom that those pardons had absolutely nothing to do with cronyism or ideology, but Hillary Clinton defended them. She drew a distinction between her husband's pardons and Bush's commutation.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the senator said Bill Clinton's pardons were simply a routine exercise in the use of the pardon power, and none was aimed at protecting the Clinton presidency or legacy. "This," she said of the Libby commutation, "was clearly an effort to protect the White House."

Indeed, there is ample evidence that Libby's actions were fueled by animosity throughout the White House toward opponents of the president's push to war against Iraq.

But Hillary Clinton will have a hard time convincing most voters that her brother-in-law would have gotten a pardon in 2001 had his name been Smith. Or that Rich's pardon plea would have reached the president's desk had he not been a rich Mr. Rich.

The hypocrisy doesn't stop there.

Bush vowed at the start of the investigation to fire anybody involved in the leak of a CIA agent's identity, but one of the leakers, adviser Karl Rove, still works at the White House. Libby was allowed to keep his job until he was indicted for lying about his role.

The president said Libby's sentence was excessive. But the 2 1/2 years handed Libby was much like the sentences given others convicted in obstruction cases. Three of every four people convicted for obstruction of justice in federal court were sent to prison, for an average term of more than five years.

Want more hypocrisy? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney praised the commutation for Libby, quite a departure for a guy who brags that he was the first Massachusetts governor to deny every request for a pardon or commutation. Romney even refused a pardon for an Iraq war veteran who, at age 13, was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun.

What about all the Republican politicians who defied public sentiment and insisted that President Clinton be impeached for lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky? Many of them now minimize Libby's perjury.

What about all those Democrats who thought public shame was punishment enough for Clinton lying under oath, basically the position adopted today by Libby's supporters? Many of those Democrats now think Libby should go to jail for his perjury.

"There appears to be rank hypocrisy at work here on both sides of the political spectrum," said Joe Gaylord, a GOP consultant who worked for House Speaker Newt Gingrich during impeachment. "It causes Americans to shake their heads in disgust at the political system."

The Libby case followed the same pattern of hype and hypocrisy established during Clinton's impeachment scandal. It's as if we're all sentenced to relive the same sad scene:

A powerful man lies or otherwise does wrong.

He gets caught.

His enemies overreach in the name of justice.

His friends minimize the crime in pursuit of self-interest.
advertisement

And the powerful man hires a lawyer.

Marc Rich had a high-priced attorney for his battles with the justice system. His name was Scooter Libby






there is some nice reality based fair reporting from CNN. I think it sums up the whole deal and gives it context.
.. that's not CNN. That was an Associated Press article from this morning. Notice the (AP).

I guarantee you that he will be pardoned in 2008. Guarantee.

My favorite comeback in a political argument is the "Well [insert former office holder] did it!!!". Both sides do it, and it's hilarious every time.

I’m glad I’m not going to jail for my faulty memory.

The democrats aren’t worried about passing legislation. They are too busy attacking conservatives. Hannity warned me about endless scandal when the dems take over the legislative branch.

Who cares about Clinton?

is this a surprise to anyone? this way, libby won't have to say who is really responsible for the treasonable act of leaking a cia operative's name. a fine? yeah, like libby doesn't have the friends to hand that over in pocket change. and if you think he won't be pardoned? get real.

w is concerned with the terrible stress libby endured? for lying? he could have just told the truth, but that would have made him a disloyal bushie. what about valerie plame? high security breaches might have put some stress on her. a crime was committed, and this administration won't get to the bottom of it because they are at the bottom.

i agree with whoever said president's shouldn't be able to pardon people in their administration. i don't like that one man can go above the laws that everyone else has to follow.

and again, the punishment wasn't too extreme. it was standard. libby's life won't change one iota. he's probably still getting his government salary.

im glad bush had the balls to do this

He didn’t need balls. Clinton handed out pardons left and right.

He didn’t need balls. Clinton handed out pardons left and right.


but how does that make w better if he's doing the same as the guy before him? i thought it was supposed to be ABC.