The Blue State

Why Bush's commute was really a pardon

It's all about cause and effect.

Just days after President Bush commuted the prison sentence of Scooter Libby, legal scholars now say his probation will likely get axed as well.  The sentenced stated that Libby's probation would include "supervised release."  But according to federal law, someone can only serve a supervised release after being released from prison.  Since Libby will not go to prison, there is no precedent that forces him to serve his probation.

SCOTUSblog explains it for us:

The federal judge who sentenced former vice presidential aide I. LewisLibby for lying to federal investigators and a grand jury on Tuesdayraised the possibility that Libby might not have to serve two years on"supervised release" after all. In a two-page order (found here), U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton told lawyers on both sides to file briefs on the issue by Monday.

When President Bush in granting clemency on Monday nullified the30-month prison sentence Walton had imposed, the President said hewould leave intact the part of the sentence that required two years ofsupervised release -- a form of probation. But Walton on Tuesday notedthat the federal law governing such a requirement states that it is tobe served "after imprisonment."

Expect Libby's lawyers to argue that it would be unprecedented for their client to go on "supervised release" if he never went to jail.  They will want the probation waved.

Even if the probation is waved, Libby still has to pay the $250,000 fine.  However, Libby's friends, such as Fred Thompson, are continuing to raise money for him -- which would more than cover the cost.

Bush will not even need to pardon Libby at all.  He already has been pardoned.  He is not going to jail.  He might not serve probation.  His friends will help him pay the $250,000 fine.  So Justin was correct in reporting on Monday that Libby succeeded in "Getting Off 'Scoot' Free."

Snow says politics was not considered in Libby commutation

TPM Muckraker has been all over the commutation story more than any other blog on the internet.  They covered the White House Press Conference this morning, in which Tony Snow denied that politics was involved in the elimination of Scooter Libby's jail sentence:

SNOW: The key considerations were... let’s figureout what we think is appropriate, what he thinks is appropriate interms of punishment and let’s also do it in a way that does not doviolence, but in fact shows respect to a system of justice... not goingin and overthrowing the hard work and the verdict of a duly constitutedjury. That, to me, demonstrates just the opposite of politicalconsideration....

Here is the video:

Fitzgerald responds to Bush's claim that Libby sentence was "excessive"

While stopping short of challenging the legality behind Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's jail sentence, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald responded to part of Bush's statement:

Wefully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutationdecisions are a  matter of presidential prerogative and we do notcomment on the exercise of that prerogative.

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed thesentence imposed by the judge as “excessive.”   The sentence in thiscase was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occurevery day throughout this country.  In this case, an experiencedfederal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and thenimposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws.  It isfundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the barof justice as equals.  That principle guided the judge during both thetrial and the sentencing.

Although the President’s decision eliminates Mr. Libby’s sentence ofimprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of seriousfelonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictionsthrough the appeals process.

Many White House critics are hoping that Bush's decision will motivate Patrick Fitzgerald to open a broader case into whether the Administration deliberately obstructed the CIA leak investigation.

Back to the commutation for a moment.  An Administration source that spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity said there is "comfort" at the White House because the case will probably not hurt the President politically.  Then again, when you are at 26%, it is hard to get any less popular.  Bush is approaching his approval rating floor, which is about 23%.  In other words, there are some people that will support this Administration no matter what.

Lastly, this was the first time under the Bush presidency that the Justice Department was not consulted before commuting someone.

Bush's pardoning of Libby violates pardoning rules

This is a continuation off the previous post about the Libby pardon.

It's interesting how the White House is not calling this a "pardon."  Instead, they are choosing to use the word "commute."  Nonetheless, it still is at least a partial pardon -- and it is illegal, according to the Justice Department's own web site:

They “require a petitioner to wait a period of at least five yearsafter conviction or release from confinement (whichever is later)before filing a pardon application,”  according to the Justice Web site.

Moreover, in weighing whether to recommend a pardon, U.S. attorneys aresupposed to consider whether an applicant is remorseful. “The extent towhich a petitioner has accepted responsibility for his or her criminalconduct and made restitution to ... victims are importantconsiderations. A petitioner should be genuinely desirous offorgiveness rather than vindication,” the Justice Web site states.

As we have seen with the ongoing battle over Executive privilege, the White House thinks it is above the law.

Useful links:

• Bush justifies Libby pardon
• Harry Reid's office releases statement

Getting Off "Scoot" Free

It's official. After the Judge ruled that Libby could not wait until his appeals had been exhausted before reporting to jail, President Bush commuted his sentence. Translation: No jail time for Scooter.

President Bush commuted the sentence of former White House aide I.Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prisonterm that Bush said was excessive.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen. I think most people saw this coming, although it came a bit sooner than expected. Since Bush did leave the two years of probation and $250,000 intact for Libby, it's not viewed as an absolute pardon, which is probably intentional since Title  28 of the U.S. code of Federal Regulations states:   

No petition for pardon should be filed until the expiration of a waiting period of at least five years after the date of the release of the petitioner from confinement or, in case no prison sentence was imposed, until the expiration of a period of at least five years after the date of the conviction of the petitioner. Generally, no petition should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or supervised release.

Congress has one foot out the door for the July 4th recess. Let's see if Harry Reid strikes back after his statement following the conviction was ignored. Note to all of you readers out there; run for President and give all of your old friends great jobs where they can do whatever they want. If one of them gets caught, simply pardon them commute their sentence! As a send-off here's the dictionary.com definition of cronyism.

US Bureau of Prisons gives Libby his inmate number

Though Scooter Libby is still fighting to overturn his jail sentence, regardless of the fact he was found guilty on four counts by a grand jury, the US Bureau of Prisons has issued Cheney's former Chief of Staff an inmate number.  Libby will be inmate No. 28301-016:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has notindicated how quickly it will rule. Lawyers in the case said Libby hadnot yet been assigned to a prison or given a date to surrender.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald opposes Libby's bid to delay hisprison term. He says Libby does not have a good chance of having hisconviction overturned and should begin serving prison time immediately.

If Libby does go to jail, it is still uncertain where he will serve out his prison sentence.  Usually, according to this same article, inmates tend to serve within 200 miles of their home.  So we're probably looking at him serving somewhere in Virginia or Maryland.

Still, this does not stop conservative newspapers from asking the President to pardon Libby, and in one case even giving Bush advice on how to play it.

Fred Thompson a backer of Libby and Washington establishment

Fred Thompson, who is announcing his intention to run for president, is an ardent supporter of guilty Cheney official Scooter Libby.  Earlier this month, Thompson wrote a column for a conservative blog that attacked both Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and the judge for being too tough on Libby:

Proving once again that Fitzgerald can get away with practicallyanything in Washington, the judge apparently accepted Fitzgerald’sargument, contrary to all notions of basic fairness.  The judge rejected his ownprobation office’s recommendation, not only doubling the 15-monthminimum to 30 months, but also fining Mr. Libby $250,000 and giving him400 hours of public service.

...Official behavior, with regard to matters like the ScooterLibby case, are not what our framers had in mind. Now this excessivesentence, given by the Federal District Judge is just another in a longline of reasons why Mr. Libby should be pardoned.

Of course, there was more to it than just the judge and the prosecutor.  The jury unanimously found Libby guilty on four criminal counts.  That is how our justice system is supposed to work.

Fred Thompson likes to paint himself as a Washington-outsider.  Still, that did not stop him from holding fundraisers for Scooter Libby's legal defense fund. 

Thompson is part of the establishment.  He served as a lobbyist for twenty years:

As a lobbyist for more than 20 years, billion-dollar corporationspaid Thompson for his access to members of Congress and White Housestaff. During that time he was close to two Senate majority leaders,both from his home state of Tennessee - his political mentor HowardBaker and, more recently, his former colleague Bill Frist.

DuringBaker's tenure, Thompson lobbied for a savings-and-loan deregulationbill that helped hasten the industry's collapse and a failed nuclearenergy project that cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars.

Morerecently, while Frist led the Senate, Thompson earned more than$750,000 lobbying for a British reinsurance company that wanted tolimit its liability from asbestos lawsuits.

So much for having clean hands.  This guy would do nothing to fix Washington.

Bush will make Libby pardon decision in weeks

Immediately after the judge in the CIA leak trial read Scooter Libby's 30-month prison sentence, speculation began over whether President Bush would pardon Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff.  The Bureau of Prisons says Libby must surrender to authorities within 45 to 60 days.  So if Bush is going to step in before Libby sees jail time, he will need to do so in a matter of weeks:

The White House publicly sought to defer the matter again yesterday, saying that Bush is "not going to intervene" for now. But U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton indicated that he is not inclined to let Libby remain free pendingappeals, which means the issue could confront Bush in a matter of weekswhen, barring a judicial change of heart, Cheney's former chief ofstaff will have to trade his business suit for prison garb. Republicansinside and outside the administration said that would be the momentwhen Bush has to decide.

However, if you read the pardon law, it would be illegal for Bush to free Scooter Libby.  The pardon rules specifically "require a petitioner to wait a period of at leastfive years after conviction or release from confinement (whichever islater) before filing a pardon application."

The only way around this is if Bush issues an Executive order overturning the law.  That would really be pushing it.

Scooter Libby Sentenced. Scoots off for 30 Months

Federal Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 2-1/2 years in prison for lying and a $250,000 fine, and 2 years probation once his sentence has been served.

Federal Judge Reggie Walton also ordered I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby topay $250,000 in fines. Additionally, the former aide will be onprobation for two years following the completion of his prison term.Libby must report to a probation officer within 72 hours of sentencing,unless Walton allows Libby to be free on bond pending appeal of thecase. Court is still in session while the judge considers the request.

White House Aide to Convicted Felon

Libby was convicted in March on four felony charges -- claiming he liedto the FBI and a grand jury, as well as obstructed justice -- relatedto the CIA Leak probe, the three-year investigation that revealed thebehind-the-scenes workings of the White House's inner circle. Read on...

Firdoglake: Blogged trial and sentencing. 'Sentencing For Libby Trial'

It's sentencing day today for I. Lewis Libby. Today, Judge ReggieWalton will sentence Libby based on his conviction on multiple felonycounts after a trial and conviction before a jury of his peers.

Libby Sentencing One, Libby Sentencing Two, they continue through 8. They give a play by play.

As far as I'm concerned, they can continue to round up the criminals on the Hill and keep locking them up. And I'd really like to see the excuses stop by their party members. On that note, Jefferson should be rammed into a freezer with his money.

I may have overdone the images, but these type of issues really chap my ass.

Libby sentencing tomorrow

At the moment, we find ourselves engulfed in a late-spring presidential campaign preview.  The Democratic debate was last night.  Today, the Obama, Edwards and Clinton will attend a forum on religion.  It all ends tomorrow with the Republican debate.  But there is another important story going on tomorrow that is worthy of some notice (depending on how you feel about government officials that lie to a grand jury).

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was already found guilty in March, will be sentenced tomorrow.  Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wants Libby to serve three years in prison.  Libby's lawyers want him to do community service instead.

As Time Magazine's Reynolds Holding reveals, last week Fitzgerald released proof of Valerie Plame's covert agent status as a trump card to convince the judge that Libby deserved a harsher sentence:

Thanks to Fitzgerald's brief advocating a stiff sentence for Libby, wefound out last week that the CIA did indeed consider Plame's identityclassified, at least for 18 months. The prosecutor has brought this upnow in apparent support of a remarkable claim: Libby should serve 30 to37 months in prison -- about twice what the federal probation officerecommends and way more than the probation favored by thedefense -- because the underlying (and uncharged) crime was so serious.

The Libby defense team issued one last plea for forgiveness:

"Mr. Libby is known for his fairness and generosity," the defense lawyers write, and "for his caring and unselfish nature."

One thing is for sure: there will be a lot of angry people at the CIA if the judge lets Libby off the hook.  It will have sent a dangerous precedent that it is tolerable for the Executive to bully our agents in the field.