With Justice and Libbyerty for All

I don't think I can add much to the reactions that are pouring forth from all over regarding Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence. But I do want to post a few statements that have been made regarding this latest travesty starting with Amb. Joseph Wilson whose wife's outing was the reason behind Libby's trial and conviction. In an interview with Keith Olbermann last night Amb. Wilson made the following remark:

The president himself acknowledged in his statement today that Mr. Libby was guilty of serious crimes, and then he makes himself an accessory to the obstruction of justice by the mere act of commuting the sentence, so that now Mr. Libby—there is under no incentive whatsoever to tell the truth to the prosecutor, to remove that sand that Fitzgerald said that he threw into his eyes, or to do anything to lift the cloud that Mr. Fitzgerald says continues to exist over the office of the vice president.

The most appropriate follow up to Amb. Wilson's statement is that by Special Prosecuter Patrick Fitzgerald, the man who investigated Libby and secured his conviction:

We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as "excessive." The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Although the President's decision eliminates Mr. Libby's sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process.

On last night's Countdown, Olbermann had this to say regarding Bush's actions:

A president who lied us into a war and, in so doing, needlessly killed 3,584 of our family and friends and neighbors, a president whose administration initially tried to destroy the first man to nail that lie, a president whose henchmen then ruined the career of the intelligence asset that was his wife, when intelligence assets were never more essential to the viability of the Republic, a president like that has tonight freed from the prospect of prison the only man ever to come to trial for one of the component felonies in what may be the greatest crime of this young century.

Along with Amb. Wilson, Olbermann also interviewed John Dean, former Nixon White House Counsel, who provided some historical context to Bush's actions:

Well, it‘s certainly in just an internal regulation. It‘s totally within his power to do this. I‘ve been thinking about the historical parallel of this, and it would be like if Richard Nixon, on his way out, or Gerald Ford on his way in, had commuted the sentence of Bob Haldeman, the former chief of staff, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, or John Ehrlichman, same convictions, or former attorney general John Mitchell. That‘s sort of the parallel.

And that shows the seriousness of it. But Nixon nor Ford was about to touch that.

There have been very strong statements from leading Democrats condemning Bush's actions. But the important thing to remember, as Greenwald reminds us, is that:

The Plame investigation was urged by the Bush CIA and commenced by the Bush DOJ, Libby's conviction pursued by a Bush-appointed federal prosecutor, his jail sentence imposed by a Bush-appointed "tough-on-crime" federal judge, all pursuant to harsh and merciless criminal laws urged on by the "tough-on-crime/no-mercy" GOP. Lewis Libby was sent to prison by the system constructed and desired by the very Republican movement protesting his plight.

Predictably, though, cheerleaders for Libby on the right are no doubt ecstatic today as so many in the conservative movement have been loudly bemoaning Libby's conviction and sentencing. Included amongst those Republicans and conservatives who are quite happy that Bush has intervened on behalf of Libby are the following:

"I am very happy for Scooter Libby. I know that this is a great relief to him, his wife and children. While for a long time I have urged a pardon for Scooter, I respect the president’s decision. This will allow a good American, who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life." ~Fred Thompson

"After evaluating the facts, the president came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct." ~ Rudy Giuliani.

Meanwhile, editorial pages all over the country are condemning this outrage. As Republicans continue to take care of their own, even somone who was convicted of obstruction of justice in a case that involved serious national security matters, the outing of a covert CIA agent for political purposes, the Washington Post reports:

At a time when his popularity is as low as any president's in modern history, Bush's action also defied public opinion. Shortly after Libby was convicted in March, three national public opinion polls found that seven in 10 Americans said they would oppose a pardon of Libby.

Not only is this inexcusable from the perspective of the broader principles of justice and what is good for the nation's national security interests, it is politcially damaging as well. As John Dean stated in last night's interview with Olbermann:

Keith, the public‘s very savvy about this kind of issue. This isn‘t a question of who leaked what and why and what the statute said. This is a question of somebody who lied before a grand jury. The American public understands that. The right is trying to spin this that there was no underlying crime. The public gets it, though, that the man lied in front of a grand jury and was prosecuted and found guilty beyond a reasonable of a doubt.

The president has short-circuited that. He‘s tried to say that the sentence was too great. I don‘t think the public‘s going to buy it. So I think we‘ve just heard a little bit of what‘s an ongoing story.

And yet, you have prominent conservatives all over the place cheering Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence and candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination approving Bush's actions. Republicans have in few other instances illustrated quite so well their disdain for the public's opinion and desires when those views undercut loyalty to the Republican party and the Republican cause, not to mention the disdain for the rule of law and common decency that has come to characterize the Republican party.