Bloomberg news story here
Excerpt from Bush's statement below, what do you bet he had the aide that wrote this up create a mailmerge data file with it (here are some other names you might want to add to this later)
My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.
Comments (14)
wow, must be nice to have friends that look after your best interests. Way to go Scooter!!
Political friendships...what a novel concept.
I think we can safely coin a new term here: Bush hereafter is the lame F*** president. (Or maybe it's SITTING duck president.)
The nerve of this bastard.
ITMFA.
For those that do not read Dan Savage, or pay attention to the internets, see here
Way to go Stephan, this is typical MO for the Toxic Texan's administration, doing a news dump just before the weekend or a Holliday!
eh - they arent the only ones who do this. plenty of people on both sides of the isle play take out the trash-day
This is outrageous. This really has to be considered non-partisan- even Republicans must begin to realize that justice is being mangled to the point of being unrecognizable. This maniac only knows one thing- his own personal self-interests and whims.
How did we get to this place? Oh yeah, the Supreme Court signaled it's willingness to "play ball" in 2000 by intervening in a state matter and declaring it not to be used as a precedent.
Bastards!
glen beck or whatevz his name is proved hes not a complete idiot by saying "perjury is wrong, i dont care if its a dem or GOP"
This isn't a time for conservatives to cheer and liberals to lament. It doesn't matter whether you like Libby, don't like him, or think his sentence was excessive or not. It's a time for all of us to ask whether this action strengthens or undermines respect for the rule of law. What does the President's commutation of the entire sentence say about his regard for the judicial process? This isn't a partisan issue, and we shouldn't let the talking heads or the media make it one.
One of my collegues reminded me that the two most controversial exercises of the President's pardon and commutation power in recent years have involved Libby. Libby represented the "fugitive financier" Marc Rich, pardoned by Clinton on his last day in office, and now he is the beneficiary of the Executive's largesse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Rich
Duncan Hunter was on the news this morning. He was disappointed that Bush didn't offer a full out pardon, and said that Libby's punishment was excessive b/c anyone can forget details and have conflicting statements.
This is crazy. First of all, I think if you were participating in a Felony, whether he was the one who released the name or not, you'd remember the details (you would just lie about them after the fact)(I could be wrong). Second, didn't they impeach Clinton for purjery and now they want to claim purjery is nothing to worry about, it happens all the time due to aggressive prosecutors (no kidding, this came out of DH's mouth) (I am paraphrasing, of course). Not to mention good ole Scooter had multiple countes of multiple crimes. And third, what happend to republicans being tough on crime?
Mel, you are right, this shouldn't be a partisan issue. How can anyone support the decision of this administration who has shown blantant disregard for the justice system over and over again. What is happening to our country?
A $250,000 fine for Libby is just pocket change. A couple of years probation? Doing what? Picking up highway trash? Doubtful. Unable to practice law? So what? These guys never practice law anyway. He'll just work as a lobbyist for corporate interests, raking in millions. Can't vote? Why would he care? He'll wield more influence on the country by his lobbying work than by casting a lone vote.
Meanwhile, Valerie Plame's career is over - Her undercover contacts compromised, possibly in fear of their lives. And another ca. 1500 US servicemen soon to be killed in Iraq, and thousands more crippled for life, until the criminals in the White House are put out in the street in January 2009.
If ever there were justification for impeachment, this has to be it. Our nation is in peril and King George sits on his throne laughing his ass off.
How is this justification for impeachment? The President's power to pardon people is in the constitution. I believe it lists "treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors" as grounds for impeachment. Pardoning someone, even if it may be morally wrong to do so, is not a crime.
You want to impeach him, look for something he has done which is illegal, I am sure there is plenty there.
MotS,
I'm with ya. Is Bush an asshole? Yes. But merely being an asshole isn't grounds for impeachment.
It may not be a crime and it may not be impeachable, but one hopes that it will open a few Republican eyes to the extremes this administration will go to in order to protect itself.
And Allison, I would say that if you were under oath and didn't remember something, you should probably say "I don't recall", not make something up! But even Bush seems to be admitting that he lied.