Libby Gets 30 Months
Steven L. Taylor
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Tuesday, June 5, 2007
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13 comments
Via Bloomberg: Worldwide
— Former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for obstructing a CIA leak probe, the highest-ranking White House official ordered incarcerated since the Iran-Contra scandal.
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Man, I can’t wait to hear the rending of clothes & gnashing of teeth at the more ‘red-meat’ sites… I figure they’ll be calling for the judge’s lynching in 3… 2… 1…
Looks like a week or two before we find out if he’s going directly to jail (do not pass Go, etc.), or will be out on bond.
The pressure on Bush to pardon him in the former instance will be something to watch.
Libby seems to be something of an idealist, and has placed loyalty to Cheney above other values. I think part of him might actually enjoy serving his sentence as a martyr for the neocon cause. He’ll probably write a book while he’s there.
It will be interesting. I’m sure they were counting on him being out of jail pending appeal so that when Nov 2008 rolled around he would have spent, at most, a month or two in jail. Now he’s looking at more than a year before the election. OTOH, Bush may just do it now and hope the electorate forgets in 2008 (or doesn’t care).
OTOH, Bush may just do it now and hope the electorate forgets in 2008 (or doesn’t care).
That would be the smart thing to do — pardon him *now*. It’s not like Bush’s own ratings can go any lower, and it’s pretty hard to see its being an issue in fall 2008.
Of course, doing the smart thing is not a reliable choice by these people.
I wonder – especially now that the CIA itself has confirmed she was covert – if pardoning Libby for what amounts to treason will generate enough outrage among even connservatives to kick-start the impeachment process?
Man, legion, you must be smokin’ premium grade colitas today.
A Libby pardon would please the conservatives not enrage them.
Is *that* what “colitas” means? Another step in the hermeneutics of “Hotel California” …
… but yeah, Legion, wishful thinking. Unless the base finds Bush too lax and wants Cheney for president.
Despite the judge’s comments today to the effect that he may be disinclined to grant bail pending appeal, I haven’t heard a single good reason to support such a determination. He might make it; he might also be promptly reversed on it by the D.C. Circuit, even though (IIRC) that’s an “abuse of discretion” standard and pretty hard to overturn. But Libby’s no flight risk, and the case is bizarre enough that it’s pretty hard to rule out every possibility that he has a good-faith, serious appeal to make on both guilt and sentencing grounds.
Hey, I’m big enough to admit the possibility that there might be some ‘honest’ conservatives left in the world who might be deeply offended at what this schmuck & his cronies have done to America and the Republican party…
Yes, I am offended that Libby obstructed justice, and I believe he should do the time, but I am even more offended by total failure (IMHO) of the process. They knew where Novak got Plame’s name. If it was a crime, why didn’t they go after the main criminals? Going after Libby smacks of political persecution rather than criminal prosecution (not that that’s anything new in Washington).
Libby, for all his “inside-the-beltway” cleverness turned out to be pretty stupid;much like many of his co-workers.
He gossiped with reporters from the NY Times and Time magazine – sworn enemies of his boss.
These egocentric self-important political types think they are immune to consequences because they are”smart and connected.” WRONG.
Fitgerald and his investigation were total frauds, but Libby is stupid.
Life is tough enough, it’s tougher if you’re stupid.
it’s pretty hard to rule out every possibility that he has a good-faith, serious appeal to make on both guilt and sentencing grounds
But is that the standard at issue, Beldar? Or is it supposed to be more likely than not that he’ll prevail?
Well, arguing on sentencing grounds is far too arcane for mere mortals like me to comprehend, but the guilt factor seems pretty cut-and-dried. As Fitz noted in the sentencing speeches, this wasn’t simply a momentary lapse in judgement – it was a months-log concerted, deliberate scheme of lying to cover up the leak. And as an officer of the court himself, Libby knew exactly what he was doing.
Really, the only thing he could do to save his own bacon is the same option he’s always had (and eschewed): sell Cheney. But as the Magic 8-Ball says, “outlook not good…”