Scooter Drops Appeal

Scooter has skated so he has decided to drop his appeal. That means there is no pending criminal litigation in the Plame case. That means the White House personnel can't use the "pending criminal litigation" no comment excuse any longer. I guess the information will start flowing as Democrats ramp up their investigations for the impeachment of Dead Eye Dick Cheney.

On second thought the only thing the inside the beltway Democratic leadership piss on more than rank and file Democrats demanding justice is the Constitution. My guess is somebody is going to write a stern letter. The entire affair will die before Christmas. You can't expect Nancy and Harry not to do what George tells them, can you?

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Short Take - Pardoning Scooter

TPMuckraker has a post on Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) who is advocating pardoning Scooter Libby. It's also the headline blog at The Blog Report. Basically, it's the argument we've heard before:

Davis' rationale? Since the commutation allows Libby continued appeals to contest his conviction, he would assert his Fifth Amendment rights in the event that Congress calls him to testify about the Plame leak.

"If a pardon had been granted this committee could have immunized him and brought him here," Davis said.

Sounds right? Uh, NO! We need to rid ourselves of this thought process right now.

Lest we forget, what was Libby convicted of? Perjury - that means lying, not telling the truth, fabricating, prevarication, omission.

The man is a liar and he will lie about anything to protect the Dick - even to Congress, pardon or not, immunity or not.

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Americans Get It, They Are Still Not Amused By Libby Commutation

Earlier I shared some fresh poll numbers showing that 54% of Americans want the Congress to impeach Dick Cheney.

That American Research Group poll contains some other startling numbers. We will try to share them in bite sized chunks over the next couple of days.

We all know the White House's commutation of Scooter Libby was immediately unpopular. As RJ Eskow elaborates, since then the White House and their lackeys among the mainstream pundits class have been desperately trying to turn American opinion on the topic. So far the efforts of the White House and the mainstream media have not met with much success.

Question:
Do you approve or disapprove of President George W. Bush commuting the 30-month prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby while leaving intact Mr. Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case?

Among All Adults 31% approve of the commutation, 64% disapprove and only 5% are undecided. The numbers among likely voters are 26%, 69%, and 5%. Among Democrats (38% of the sample) 13% approve, 76% disapprove and 11% are undecided. Among Republicans (29%)the numbers are 50%,47% and 3% and among Independents (33%) the numbers are 19%, 80% and 1%.

The poll is based on 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of adults nationwide July 3-5, 2007. The theoretical margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time. Of the total sample, 933 interviews were completed among registered voters.

Now you might argue that the disapproval numbers include a bunch of folks who really think the President should pardon Libby.

Not so fast. The same poll shows that 84% of those polled oppose a full pardon of Scooter "the skater" Libby. That number includes 70% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats and a very surprising 97% of independents.

It is beginning to look like, despite the best efforts of Joe Klein, David Brooks, Richard Cohen and the rest of the professional pundit class, George Bush has had his Rubicon moment.

By the way the Eskow post is about the best discussion of the pundit class's really bizarre response to the commutation I have read so far.

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"Whether ours shall be a government of laws and not of men, is now for Congress, and ultimately, the American people."

The title of this post is a quote from Archibald Cox. Many of you are not old enough to know about Archibald Cox, but those of us who lived through the Saturday Night Massacre know. When he was fired by Richard Nixon that Saturday Night, we "the American People" knew the jig was up for Richard Nixon.

Today some Tony Snow intern named Scott Stenzel was asked "Scott, is Scooter Libby getting more than equal justice under the law? Is he getting special treatment?"

He answered "Well, I guess I don't know what you mean by 'equal justice under the law.'But this is a unique case, there's no doubt about that. And we have said that there are a lot of people on all sides of this issue who've made good points. The President took a very measured approach to it. He believed that the jury verdict should be respected and -- but he did feel that the sentence was excessive, in terms of jail time. But this is a unique case, and there's no doubt about that."

Richard Nixon thought that firing Archibald Cox was a unique case, too, but we, the American people, knew the jig was up for Richard Nixon.

Talking to folks today it is pretty clear that most of us know what "equal justice under the law" means and the American people know the jig is up.

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House Judiciary Committee Schedules "Scooter Skates" Hearing

Mark you calendar now. Although it isn't yet showing up on the official docket just yet, RawStory is reporting that The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday, July 11, 2007, at 10:15 AM. Chairman John Conyers said in a Tuesday press release, "In light of yesterday's announcement by the President that he was commuting the prison sentence for Scooter Libby, it is imperative that Congress look into presidential authority to grant clemency, and how such power may be abused. . . .Taken to its extreme, the use of such authority could completely circumvent the law enforcement process and prevent credible efforts to investigate wrongdoing in the executive branch."

Make sure you have an ample supply of popcorn. Stay tuned for details.

I have a hunch the Senate Judiciary Committee will have it's own hearing. I don't think the Decider's decision to let Scooter skate is just going to be a three day story.

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Republican Congressman To Bush--Libby Did The Crime, Libby Should Do The Time

I was reading the news this morning when I ran across a snippet buried near the bottom of a story featuring Rep. Jessie Jackson Jr.'s call for an impeachment inquiry. Apparently, some Republicans haven't gotten the memo that the President's men are more equal that the rest of us.

North Chicago suburban Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) expressed his disappointment with the President's decision to commute Libby's jail time.

“He was indicted by a grand jury and convicted beyond the shadow of a doubt by one of the best prosecutors in America, Patrick Fitzgerald, and didn’t have a single member of a 12-member jury stand up with him,” Kirk said. “At that point, if you’ve done the crime, you should do the time.”

Congressman Kirk's comments give me hope that some Republicans realize that we are all Americans first. George W. Bush might turn out to be a uniter after all.

You can catch the video of Congressman Kirk's reaction at RawStory.

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What if Scooter Had Been Convicted Of Misdemeanor Traffic Charges?

What Libby was really afraid of before he skated.



Scooter Libby -- four felonies for obstructing the investigation of the outing of a CIA agent -- zero jail time.

Paris Hilton -- misdemeanor traffic charge -- 23 days.

I guess it is better to be rich and connected than it is to merely be rich.

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All Men Are Created Equal But Scooter Libby Is Just More Equal That Victor Rita

A lot of people, including Rudy Giuliani, have argued that that Judge Walton is a mean son of a bitch. His 30 month sentence was just too harsh. Others, like Tony Snow, have argued that the President was justified in his commutation because the sentence was excessive.

Gather around boys and girls and let me tell you about the case of Rita v. United States (No. 06-5754) decided by the United Supreme Court on June 21, 2007. The facts are taken from Justice Breyer's opinion. I have removed the exhibit reference and transcript page numbers.

The basic crime in this case concerns two false statements which Victor Rita, the petitioner, made under oath to a federal grand jury. The jury was investigating a gun company called InterOrdnance. Prosecutors believed that buyers of an InterOrdnance kit, called a “PPSH 41 machinegun ‘parts kit,’ ” could assemble a machinegun from the kit, that those kits consequently amounted to machineguns, and that InterOrdnance had not secured proper registrations for the importation of the guns.

Rita had bought a PPSH 41 machinegun parts kit. Rita, when contacted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), agreed to let a federal agent inspect the kit. . . .But before meeting with the agent, Rita called InterOrdnance and then sent back the kit. He subsequently turned over to ATF a different kit that apparently did not amount to a machinegun. . . .The investigating prosecutor brought Rita before the grand jury, placed him under oath, and asked him about these matters. Rita denied that the Government agent had asked him for the PPSH kit, and also denied that he had spoken soon thereafter about the PPSH kit to someone at InterOrdnance. The Government claimed these statements were false, charged Rita with perjury, making false statements, and obstructing justice, and, after a jury trial, obtained convictions on all counts.

You will notice that just like Scooter Libby, Victor Rita was charged with perjury, false statements and obstruction of justice. You will also notice that Rita was not really central to the underlying crime. If he had simply told the truth it is likely that little would have happened to him except he would have lost his machine gun "kit." His vendor was the real target. When it came time for sentencing the trial court followed the same procedure Judge Walton followed in sentencing Scooter Libby. The presentencing report assigned points on the basis of Rita being an accessory after the fact. The presentencing report gave him no criminal history points.

The report goes on to describe other “Offender Characteristics.” The description includes Rita’s personal and family data, Rita’s physical condition (including a detailed description of ailments), Rita’s mental and emotional health, the lack of any history of substance abuse, Rita’s vocational and nonvocational education, and Rita’s employment record. It states that he served in the Armed Forces for over 25 years, on active duty and in the Reserve. During that time he received 35 commendations, awards, or medals of different kinds. The report analyzes Rita’s financial condition.

In short, his history was pretty darn close to Libby's. A well respected man with a long and distinguished history who was caught covering up the activities of someone else. One distinction is that Rita had served in military law enforcement, a fact later argued by the DoJ. The Guidelines recommended a sentence of 33 to 41 months.

The Court gave the Defendant an opportunity to argue for a departure from the guidelines. Rita decided to argue on

“[j]ust . . . three” special circumstances, “[p]hysical condition, vulnerability in prison and the military service.” Rita presented evidence and argument related to these three factors. The Government, while not asking for a sentence higher than the report’s recommended Guidelines range, said that Rita’s perjury had interfered with the Government’s potential “obstruction of justice” claim against InterOrdnance and that Rita, as a former Government criminal justice employee, should have known better than to commit perjury

Considering all the factors the District Court sentenced Mr. Rita to 33 months. That decision was upheld by the United States Supreme Court just 11 days before the President commuted Scooter Libby's sentence. The next time Tony Snow tries to argue Judge Walton's sentence was excessive, you might want to remember that Joe Biden and Professor Berman over at the blog Sentencing Law and Policy, who has looked very hard at this matter, think Walton's sentence was right on the money.

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We Are Burning Daylight

Tuesday morning, the day after Bush gave Scooter a get out of jail pass free card and he skated into history. The blogosphere seems to have had all the air sucked right out of it. Every where I go, I see the same stories I saw last night. It is like we woke up yesterday thinking we lived in a land where we were all equal and all had to abide by the rule of law, and went to bed living in some banana republic.

Paul Begala has an interesting take. The President is tough on crime, he will throw the switch an a grandmother and laugh, but if you are one of his rich and right-wing and Republican buds, "George is a real softie." Bush reserves his compassion for conservatives.

Enough wallowing.

Wake up folks. George W. Bush and the rest of the gang that thinks they are more equal than the rest of us isn't going away for a while. There are elections in 18 months. It is time to start organizing for those elections. We need to sweep Republicans and their Democratic congressional enablers from the field. The same for Presidential candidates who pander to the rich elites, prouder of their fund raising ability than their policy positions. Eighteen months until those elections.

In the meantime we have to make sure the important stories are reported and light shines on every aspect of our government. We have to make sure that even after those elections our elected Representatives are really representing us. That is a job that will take the rest of our lives.

Rise and shine folks. Get up and get going. We have a republic to save. Time is wasting. We are burning daylight.

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All Men Are Created Equal

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said earlier today, "it is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals."

Broken down to its essentials the "Rule of Law" is not complicated. It simply means that no man is special. All men are treated the same. All men have the same rights. All men have the same duties. All men face the same punishments for failing in those duties. The phrase "Rule of Law" is the same as "All Men Are Created Equal." No man, be he President or Vice President, is special or entitled to special favor or treatment.

The President does have the power he exercised in the Libby case. It is a power that is to be exercised in very special cases when mercy is manifestly required.

To exercise that power simply because the unrepentant Libby is a friend of his or the Vice President is an abuse of power. It is a slap in the face of every man and woman who has died fighting for the sacred principle that All Men Are Created Equal, that we all live under The Rule of Law.

The Rule of Law cannot survive when some men think they are more equal than others. Neither can freedom.

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Breaking: Bush commutes Libby's sentence

AP just reported it. Apparently the order keeps the fine and probation in, but keeps Libby out of jail. Here's a better link to AP at the Washington Post.

So much for the idea of justice in this country.

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After facing angry letters & calls, judge refuses to keep Scooter Libby out of jail

The news just keeps getting better and better today.

A judge has just refused to allow Scooter Libby to stay out of jail pending his appeal. No date has been set for Libby to report to prison, but it is expected to be within six to eight weeks.

It's nice to see justice -- and not influence -- being done.

Interestingly, the judge's decision today could well put our not-so-beloved president in a hard spot.

The Washington Post reports:

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton's decision will send Libby's attorneys rushing to an appeals court to block the sentence and could force President Bush to consider calls from Libby's supporters to pardon the former aide....

Walton never appeared to waiver from his opinion that a delay was unwarranted. After 12 prominent law professors filed documents supporting Libby's request, the judge waived it off as "not something I would expect from a first-year in law school."

He also said he received several "angry, harassing, mean-spirited" letters and phone calls following his sentencing but said they wouldn't factor into his decision.

This is also posted on In This Moment.

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Libby Sentenced To 30 Months

Rawstory is reporting that Scooter Libby was just sentenced to 30 months in prison, fined $250,000 and given two years probation. Many of the letters blue girl and bmaz asked to have released can be found on the website the Smoking Gun. I imagine blue girl and bmaz will have more to say later.

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Why Did Scooter Libby Pick Tim Russert?

If you have been following the Scooter Libby trial you know that Scooter Libby has pretty consistently contended that he learned of Valerie Plame's connection to Joe Wilson from Tim Russert during a July 2003 phone call. Russert has said that the two didn't talk about Valerie Plame during that phone call. In fairness Russert first told the FBI he couldn't recall discussing Plame with Libby, but later firmed up his position and has steadfastly acknowledged he talked to Libby but denied Plame was ever discussed.

Fitzgerald has presented a mountain of evidence showing that Libby learned of Plame's identity long before he talked to Russert. He has also presented a mountain of evidence indicating that Dick Cheney was obsessed with contradicting Joe Wilson. Cheney thought Wilson had said that Cheney sent him to Niger. Early reporting made it sound like Cheney had directly ordered Wilson to Niger. In fact, Wilson only said that he was sent to Niger by the CIA to check on a concern of the VP. Both Cheney and Wilson were 100% accurate. The mainstream media had simply screwed up the reporting.

Cheney was hot to prove he didn't personally send Wilson. He found out that Wilson's wife was CIA and had something to do with Wilson's selection. He decided to push the story that Wilson's wife had sent Wilson to Niger as a boondoggle. Why anybody would consider a trip to Niger a boondoggle is beyond me, but that was Cheney was peddling to the Right Wing Noise Machine.

Prior to Plame ever being mentioned in the press, and prior to his discussion with Russert, the overwelming evidence proves that Libby had been part of several conversations concerning how Cheney wanted to respond to the report that Cheney had sent Wilson to Niger. Libby is simply lying when he claims he learned about Plame from Russert.

Here has been what troubling me about this whole Libby trial. Something that just doesn't hang together. When Scooter Libby was scrambling for a story that had a chance of holding water, why in the world did he point to a specific conversation with Tim Russert, of all people, as being where he learned that Plame was Wilson's wife. Was he counting on Russert's reported bad memory? Was he counting on Russert's unhealthy coziness with Cheney's office and his chief of staff? After all Dana Milbank has reported that Cheney thinks he owns Tim Russert. You know, they call guys like Russert journalists because they often take notes. Why would Libby reasonably think Russert didn't make notes of their phone conversation? Or was there something else? If so what?

I haven't seen this blogged. If you have post a comment. I am truly puzzled. Just why would Libby point to a specific conversation with a specific journalist to bolster his claim that he didn't learn about Plame from Dick Cheney or some other Administration official, unless he had some reason to believe Russert would back him up. Any other explanation sounds like a pretty stupid move for a very shrewed operator.

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