Bush Will Commute Libby's Sentence

things that need explained to me;

does his conviction bar him from having a security clearance in the future?
a 'Pardon' would have washed his slate clean, but a commuted sentence does not...correct?

Libby can not ever be a registered Lobbyist either, is that correct??

So, GWB saved the skin if Libby, (Cheney's valet extraordinare)
enough ahead of the election cycle to not be a campaign issue...
are both those observations in the ball-park?


Is this a political payback to Cheney...who is quietly making the Presidency an Imperial Office with extensive powers & latitude??


the stone hit the Ponds surface...and expanding concentric rings/ripples are observed....but beneath the surface, the thrown stone has also descended to the mucky bottom of the pond....& created an Effect!
We'll just have to see what impact & effects that slow moving meteorite
will cause the the mucky bottoms ecosphere.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
Am I mistaken then, that Libby was busted for lying about the case...

Yeah that's what the jury said.

He lied.

But even if he had done absolutely everything bad that the prosecutor, the Democrats, etc. said he did and admitted to it, he wouldn't have broken any law.

So again, what was the purpose of this investigation?

You are still hung up on this "there was no case to begin with" schtick, aren't you?

There was a case, a breach of national security, a leak from the executive branch of the identity of a CIA operative. Under normal circumstances, her identity would never have been leaked, especially by the executive branch. The identity was leaked in response to the "Nigerian yellow cake" claim being debunked by her husband.

It was retaliation pure and simple. You know it, and I know it. Everybody knows it.

The big "T" word has been applicable all along. Now more than ever.



[edit on 2-7-2007 by Icarus Rising]

Originally posted by cashlink
This is an outrage!
Maybe Now People will wake up if its not to late already!
Might this be good grounds for impeachment?

Well if you ae screaming for his heaad where were you when Ford pardoned Nixon????

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Libby's conviction stands and a quarter of a million dollars is a pretty hefty fine for anyone.

My boss is spending double that so he can have internet on his private plane, which he only flies once in a while.

According to Kenneth T. Walsh, in "A Rough Road for Scooter", Libby was born to "a prosperous family" in New Haven, Connecticut; his father was "an investment banker" (1).[19] As several sources relate, the Libby family lived in the Washington, D.C. region, Miami, and Connecticut.[1][20][21]

In 1965 Libby graduated from the Eaglebrook School, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he was a co-captain of the debating team, according to his old friend, former roommate and co-captain Nick Bromell, who is now professor of English and director of graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.[21] In 1968, Libby graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[1][21]

According to Scott Shane, "[Lewis Libby] and his [older] brother[,] Hank, a retired tax lawyer, were the first in the family to graduate from college."[1] In 1972 he graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, where, according to Shane and others, Paul Wolfowitz, a professor who became his mentor, "fascinated" him and influenced his political thinking intensely.[1][19][22]

He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia Law School in 1975.[23]

en.wikipedia.org...

$250,000 is nothing.

Originally posted by shots
Well if you ae screaming for his heaad where were you when Ford pardoned Nixon????

Probably in utero, but most likely not even conceived.

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
$250,000 is nothing.

Okay. I'll open an account at the bank tomorrow and send you a U2U with the account number.

I'm sure you won't mind depositing a mere quarter million in my account.

Thanks for clearing up this major misconception I've had regarding the value of the American dollar.

a little OT but since you brought it up grady.

The American Dollar is no longer the powerhouse it used to be. As of today you currently have to pay 2 US dollars for 1 British Pound. And the pound isn't the only currency exhibiting strength against the dollar, the NZ Kiwi, Aussie, Euro and even Canadian have made significant gains against the dollar.

$250K really isn't a large amount when you have millions.

Originally posted by Rasobasi420

$250,000 is nothing.

Huh one quarter of a million is nothing.? Just what planet do you live on? I am sure every member on ATS right up to SkepticOverlord would be happy to take thata t amount off your hands. When can we expect it?

Originally posted by djohnsto77
It's clear public record that Libby had NOTHING to do with Plame being exposed as a CIA employee. It's far from clear that even if that was proven it would be a crime after all.

That is all fair and good, in written words. However, a jury convicted this person of a crime. If it had been appealed and lost, I would say "fine." Such in this case, it is not a matter of who "thought" he did/did not do something, it is a case of someone commuting a sentence for a buddy that worked with him.

I don't like the idea of a president overturning the conviction of a friend. As I said, if this was from an appeal, I would feel differently.

Before I am called a neo-liberal, I will add that I would easily hold this judgement against a democrat, or any other person. Friends getting friends off is not a good thing, imo.

And yes, JohnnyCanuck, the fix was in.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
We stand back watching in dismay.

I don't blame you. Sometimes I wish I was in the bleacher seats.

Originally posted by grover
...if it had been you or me

Or, let''s say a previous president... The same people who are supporting Bush's decision here would be screaming like little girls!

Originally posted by djohnsto77
It's clear public record that Libby had NOTHING to do with Plame being exposed as a CIA employee.

What you're saying doesn't even matter. He was convicted of perjury!

Originally posted by djohnsto77
So again, what was the purpose of this investigation?

It doesn't matter! He LIED under OATH. You're not allowed to do that!

$250,000 is nothing to this man. It's like a $100 fine to most of us. He has a legal fund. He's covered.

This may not be over. Bush can (and probably will) still pardon him. He took the fall. Of course he must be rewarded.

What a proud moment in American history!

The President has plenary power to grant pardons and/or clemency as he sees fit.

If you have a problem with that, take it up with our founding fathers, since it's in black and white in our Constitution, as opposed to so many other so-called rights fabricated out of thin air by jurists in the recent past.

Nobody has disputed that Bush has the legal right to do this. It's an obvious example of crony-ism and quid pro quo. Libby obstructed the investigation, lied under oath, and was convicted.

You know, even if you didn't do what they're asking you about, you still have to tell the truth. You're putting forth that it's ok that he lied because he "didnt' do it".

Shots and Grady.....

cmon....

Who are you fooling?

The President has plenary power to grant pardons and/or clemency as he sees fit.

Yes. I believe the intent of this power is to right egregious wrongs unwittingly, or otherwise, committed by the judicial branch, not to reward players for taking one for the team.

This is par for the course for our current President running the country "as he sees fit." That is, corruptly, for the sordid gain of himself and those who put him in and are keeping him in power.

This is great. This entire thing was nothing more than a witch hunt with the intent to blacken an eye of the Administation. Part of the charge of perjury is intent and all I saw here was someone with a bad memory screwing up the facts, not an intentional act of perjury.

Hooray for Bush for slapping back.

Well, even if a quarter million dollars is just pocket change as some of our members insist, Libby still has a felony conviction and for a lawyer, that's no small potatoes.

Frankly, most of these comments leave me scratching my head.

If it was me, I'd rather serve the 30 months than to pay the fine and if I had the goods on the "gang of four," I'd be expecting a full pardon and nothing less.

Like I said, I barely followed this case. I just posted the story.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Bush Will Commute Libby's Sentence

GOOD! He should. This was a travesty of justice. Libby should NOT have been put through this.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Libby had NOTHING to do with Plame being exposed as a CIA employee.

You are right. It was Plame and her hubby that outted her. They outted her all over DC. It was the worst kept 'secret' in DC. If anyone should go to jail for 'outting' Plame, it's Plame and her husband.

What a slap in the FACE of justice! Friends getting friends off .....aaaarrrggggh! Somebody please tell me this isn't really happening it's just a bad dream!

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Bush Will Commute Libby's Sentence

GOOD! He should. This was a travesty of justice. Libby should NOT have been put through this.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Libby had NOTHING to do with Plame being exposed as a CIA employee.

You are right. It was Plame and her hubby that outted her.

Ok...lemme get this straight. The guy convicted by the jury and sentenced by the judge was an innocent victim. And the spy that was outed by the administration, and her husband, who weren't supporting the fake Niger yellowcake scam as a pretext for going to war...are the bad guys.

So the guys that faked the call to war, 'liberated' Iraq, and bailed out the good-guy criminal...are all heroes now?

We Canadians have a federal party that wants to secede from the country and we refer to them as 'Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition'...and I thought that was nuts!