LawDog on Libby

[armedandsafe]

I like this guy's thoughts.
Pops

http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/

Saturday, July 07, 2007
Hypocrisy.

President Bush recently exercised a Presidential right listed in the Constitution of the United States of American to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Do note, if you please, that President Bush only commuted the 30 month prison sentence. Scooter Libby is still a convicted felon, still owes the quarter of a million dollar fine and is still under two years worth of community supervision (read: probation).

The shrieking and squalling from those politically opposed to President Bush has been ... awe-inspiring.

I haven't seen that many temper-tantrums and breath-holdings since I last stumbled into a Kindergarten class, truly.

Apparently, the decision of President Bush to commute this particular prison sentence is the death knell for American democracy.

I'm not making that up -- check DailyKos.

Also, the decision of President Bush to commute a prison sentence is actually a shot across the bow of the judicial and legislative branches of the Government, informing them that they are actually powerless before George Bush.

Again, I'm not making this up.

Chief among the outraged is Keith Olbermann, who hauled off and demanded the resignation of the POTUS and the VPOTUS for this commutation -- amongst a laundry list of other things.

I'm tired, I'm sunburned and I'm in a foul mood, so this probably isn't going to be as polished as one would like.

However.

I want Mr. Olbermann to tell me why, exactly, President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libbey's sentence of non-violent perjury is worthy of a harangue, but President Clinton's commutation of sixteen FALN terrorists convicted of robbery, bomb-making, sedition, conspiracy, firearms violations and bomb-making is worthy of ... not a peep.

Why is this? Olbermann was in media at the time, surely there are transcripts.

Congress condemned President Clinton's decision to commute these sentences by 95-2 in the Senate and 311-41 in the House. When Congress investigated, President Clinton refused to turn over documents related to his decision to grant clemency, citing executive privilege. Where was Mr. Olbermann's outrage at this?

Why is President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence for perjury a death-knell for American democracy, but President Clinton's commutation of the sentence of Henry Cisneros for perjury was met with silence? Why?

Marc Rich -- fully pardoned by President Clinton for tax evasion and illegally trading with Iran during the height of the Iran Hostage crisis -- no outrage, no declarations of the powerlessness of the US judicial and legislative branches of Government.

Yet, Scooter Libby -- who didn't trade with Iran for his own enrichment at a time when Iran was holding Americans hostage -- gets his sentence for obstruction and perjury commuted and the whole sodding sky is falling. Why is this, Mr. Olbermann?

President Bush's commutes the prison sentence of Scooter Libby and Mr. Olbermann acts like Ragnarok has arrived, and the sky is about to land right on his head.

When President Clinton issued 140 pardons and commutations on his last day in office, Mr. Olbermann was a media figure at the time. Can anyone get me transcripts of the Olbermann vents about those 140 Clinton pardons for drug dealers, embezzlers, liars, mail fraudsters, bank robbers, extorters, racketeers, and spies?

Presidential pardons have been around since George Washington pardoned the leadership of the Whiskey Rebellion -- why is this one commutation such an outrage?

Don't bother answering that -- the answer is obvious.

LawDog

[Kentuckian]

The question that really needs to be asked is whether or not there was a good reason for his sentence to have been commuted.

I've yet to hear of one.

[White Hawk]

Originally Posted by Kentuckian

The question that really needs to be asked is whether or not there was a good reason for his sentence to have been commuted.

I've yet to hear of one.

This may or may not work, but he'll do as much time for lying to a federal grand jury as Bill Clinton did for lying to a federal grand jury. The difference is that Libby will still have to pay a quarter million in fines, spend two years on probation, and have a felony conviction on his record.

[Kentuckian]

Originally Posted by White Hawk

This may or may not work, but he'll do as much time for lying to a federal grand jury as Bill Clinton did for lying to a federal grand jury.

Unlike Libby, Clinton was never sentenced to prison. Had he been, then he too should've served his time instead of being let off due to his political connections.

And I still don't see a good reason for commuting his sentence. You can bet your arse that if it had been you or I, we'd be in prison today.