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Re: Re: Re: Sorry, John

By Robert Stacy McCain on 1.19.09 @ 10:48PM

If I may intrude on the rhetorical badminton match between John and Quin, the main thing about the Scooter Libby prosecution is that -- as once was said of the Whitewater scandal -- it was a cover-up in search of a crime. The whole theory of prosecuting Libby was that he supposedly had been acting on orders from his boss, Dick Cheney, who was believed to be ultimately responsible for an illegal "leak" involving Valerie Plame.

That "leak" was reported by Robert Novak, who has explained that it didn't come from Cheney or Libby, but from former State Department official Richard Armitage -- on the afternoon of July 8, 2003, as Novak places it rather precisely in his memoir, The Prince of Darkness.

It is by no means clear that it was a crime to tell Novak that retired diplomat Joe Wilson got a CIA assignment (to investigate British intelligence reports that Iraq had sought uranium ore from Niger) through the urging of his wife, a non-covert agency employee. But if it was a crime, it was committed by Armitage, not Libby. The only purpose of prosecuting Libby was to attempt to implicate Cheney, who seems to occupy in the minds of some liberals the role of Darth Vader in the Evil Empire of the Bush administration.

Whatever the truth of any specific allegations against Libby, the larger and far more significant truth is that he was a scapegoat who was crushed to satisfy the vindictive impulses of Wilson, Plame and their admirers.

View all comments (8) | Leave a comment

ruth| 1.19.09 @ 11:19PM

Exactly, RSM. But if Libby was just a scapegoat, as you say, why didn't Pres. Bush pardon him? I believe the President's actions (non-actions) are at issue here. It's just one more example of Bush's disloyalty that has contributed to the dismal state of our party.

Basil Plumley| 1.20.09 @ 12:34AM

Unfortunately, this was all part of the "new tone" Bush brought from TX. The "new tone" was nothing more than political surrender, hoping one's enemies will show mercy.

Bush earned himself a poor legacy as a result of such fecklessness.

Deborah| 1.20.09 @ 7:17AM

"Bush's legacy" has been thrown around in the media of late. He has many positives, but this slap at Scooter Libby (and, in my opinion, VP Cheney) is one that will live with conservatives if no others in the country. Bush helped himself and the country yesterday with the commutations of Ramos and Compean, but Libby's conviction was a travesty of justice. Bush's loyalty to some: Meirs, Gonzales -- and no loyalty to others -- seems to be based wholly on whether they were friends before his election. Apparently, it doesn't extend to friends of Cheney. This is a sad episode in Republican politics, and a black mark on the Bush administration.

Bob| 1.20.09 @ 8:58AM

In your rush to be a superb ideologue, you seem to forget that we are a nation of laws. The legal system depends on the fact that you won't lie after taking an oath that you won't. If we let people lie on the stand without punishment, we hare hurting our legal system.

Clinton was primarily impeached for lying to the public about Monica, not for the act that she performed on him. We want to send illegal aliens back to Mexico because they are illegal. Al Capone was caught for tax evasion of all things.

Thus lying is a significant crime and must be punished or whenever we have any governmental investigations. As conservatives, we should be persuaded to be law abiding citizens who support our legal system.

Libby should not have lied and should not receive a pardon -- it sends the wrong message to anyone who thinks they have a reason to skirt the law.

Basil Plumley| 1.20.09 @ 11:24AM

But Bob ...... you forget that Clinton was not convicted by the Senate of perjury. Yes, Clinton lost his law license but that did not stop him from earning the tens of millions of dollars over the last 8 years.

"Nation of laws" sounds great in theory but in actual practice it gets abused. I quote Lawrence Silberman:
"Our concern is based on the self-evident proposition that the whole raison d'etre of the independent counsel is not to adminster the criminal law across a whole population, but rather to focus on one individual or group of individuals targeted at the inception of the office. In effect, an entire self-sufficient government agency is created from scratch to investigate and perhaps prosecute a single individual."

I tend to think that St. Patrick of Fitzgerald's crusade against Libby was more than what it appears. Comey, Fitzgerald, and the DOJ were unable to convict Marc Rich back in the 1980's but they did manage to make Rich's lawyer pay. It is still prosecutorial abuse. So much for the "Nation of laws", eh.

It is sometimes hard to find sympathy for Libby when you remember he was Rich's attorney. I agree that Libby deserves a pardon for the reasons brought forth by Q. Hillyer and RS McCain. You would think that Bush would fight for those who worked for him. Then again, all conservatives should have learned from the fate of Miguel Estrada's nomination.

Ran| 1.20.09 @ 10:14PM

RSM, Gents,
To the future of Libby... Does he yet stand a chance to clear his own name? If so would this not be the preferable route?

Campean and Ramos' case isn't over yet. Both are determined to fight on to clear their names. In a way, it is better to do so than to be pardoned. Such a victory denies the opposition of claim to high ground.

At first I was disappointed by the commutations. Just asking...

bobklahn| 1.30.09 @ 3:18PM

Libby was guilty, Libbey was convictec, and Libby should have served time.

And the crime was real. The law makes it a crime to leak, not a crime to leak to Novak. Libby did leak.

So, why a commutation not a pardon? Not because Bush wanted to appease the democrats, but to protect his administration. Libbey could be further investigated for the leaks. He did not have a plea deal, but an outright conviction. Which means he could be forced to testify if he was pardoned. That would lead to Rove, who did leak. and others who did leak. As long as Libby has possible charges hanging over his head, however unlikely, he has a fifth amendment right to refuse to testify. A pardon takes that away and the whole house of cards falls down.

To Deborah, Bob and Basil, the above answers y0ur points.

To Robert McCain: Valerie Plame Wilson was covert. She did serve overseas during the time required. Anyone who ever served in the military knows, temporary duty (TDY) is service, and does count. The law does not say she had to be stationed outside the US, only serve outside the US. The law makes a distinction between Intel agency employees and those who cooperate with the intel agencies. Agency employees only have to serve outside the US, cooperative non-employees have to reside outside the US. Toensing was lying when she said otherwise.

To Ran, no, Libby can never clear his name, because to do so he would have to actually talk, and tell the truth, and that would crucify Rove and others. Hell, he would be crucifying himself if he didn't get a pardon.