Bush statement on Libby order

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The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby’s request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.

I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby’s appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision.

From the very beginning of the investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name, I made it clear to the White House staff and anyone serving in my administration that I expected full cooperation with the Justice Department. Dozens of White House staff and administration officials dutifully cooperated.
After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a special counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com …
 
Should have pardoned them but I guess this is the best we could expect
 
estesbob said:
Should have pardoned them but I guess this is the best we could expect
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Since the appeal process is not complete yet, a pardon was not in order at this time. There is still a good chance the decision will be overturned.
 
WanderAimlessly said:
Since the appeal process is not complete yet, a pardon was not in order at this time. There is still a good chance the decision will be overturned.
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Me too. He was convicted for supposedly lying about a crime that didnt take place. I think the thing that will overturn it is the judge forbidding any testimony about the fact that no undlerlying crime was present but at the same time let Fitgerald rant about exposing an agent in his closing arguments,
 
What a waste of taxpayer time and money to even have a trial if the jury verdict is nullified before the individual even serves one day or exhausts his appeals. The same sentencing guidelines that would apply to all of us regular folks if we were in that situation were applied to this man, but the President finds the sentence excessive even before the appeals are finished? Apparently his administration needs to review the federal sentencing guidelines before one more person is sentenced by a federal court who is not the President’s friend. A commutation or a pardon is within the presidential powers, but it sure is imprudent politically at this time.

I can see from this board that a good portion of the president’s core of supporters will applaud the decision to commute the jail time, but I am afraid that he just put the nail in the coffin for the 2008 election. Not everyone is going to differentiate between other Republican candidates and this administration when it comes time to vote. I’m glad that I’m not running for office as a member of the GOP in this cycle! No presidential coattails, an unpopular war and now this.

People expect pardons on the last day of a presidency even if they are just gifts to friends or supporters, but this action before the primaries have even begun could be gift wrapping the election for the Democrats.
 
jc-servant said:
What a waste of taxpayer time and money to even have a trial if the jury verdict is nullified before the individual even serves one day or exhausts his appeals. The same sentencing guidelines that would apply to all of us regular folks if we were in that situation were applied to this man, but the President finds the sentence excessive even before the appeals are finished? Apparently his administration needs to review the federal sentencing guidelines before one more person is sentenced by a federal court who is not the President’s friend. A commutation or a pardon is within the presidential powers, but it sure is imprudent politically at this time.

I can see from this board that a good portion of the president’s core of supporters will applaud the decision to commute the jail time, but I am afraid that he just put the nail in the coffin for the 2008 election. Not everyone is going to differentiate between other Republican candidates and this administration when it comes time to vote. I’m glad that I’m not running for office as a member of the GOP in this cycle! No presidential coattails, an unpopular war and now this.

People expect pardons on the last day of a presidency even if they are just gifts to friends or supporters, but this action before the primaries have even begun could be gift wrapping the election for the Democrats.
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So please explain to us exactly what is it Libby did wrong. The Jury seemed to think they convicted him for exposing a covert agent-something he was not even charged with. I agree with one thing you said-it was a complete waste of taxpayer money.
 
estesbob said:
So please explain to us exactly what is it Libby did wrong.
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He perjured himself. He obstructed justice.
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estesbob:
The Jury seemed to think they convicted him for exposing a covert agent-something he was not even charged with.
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C’mon, bob. The jury seemed to think? Which means the judges seemed to allow??
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estesbob:
I agree with one thing you said-it was a complete waste of taxpayer money.
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Lanny Davis or Alan Dershowitz couldn’t have put it better 👍
 
jc-servant said:
What a waste of taxpayer time and money to even have a trial if the jury verdict is nullified before the individual even serves one day or exhausts his appeals. The same sentencing guidelines that would apply to all of us regular folks if we were in that situation were applied to this man, but the President finds the sentence excessive even before the appeals are finished? Apparently his administration needs to review the federal sentencing guidelines before one more person is sentenced by a federal court who is not the President’s friend. A commutation or a pardon is within the presidential powers, but it sure is imprudent politically at this time.

I can see from this board that a good portion of the president’s core of supporters will applaud the decision to commute the jail time, but I am afraid that he just put the nail in the coffin for the 2008 election. Not everyone is going to differentiate between other Republican candidates and this administration when it comes time to vote. I’m glad that I’m not running for office as a member of the GOP in this cycle! No presidential coattails, an unpopular war and now this.

People expect pardons on the last day of a presidency even if they are just gifts to friends or supporters, but this action before the primaries have even begun could be gift wrapping the election for the Democrats.
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This is not a pardon. President Bush just commuted the prison sentence of Libby which the prosecutor and judge seem to want enforced even before the appeal process was complete. The fines and parole are still in effect. If this was a pardon, not of those would be in effect.
 
jc-servant said:
What a waste of taxpayer time and money to even have a trial if the jury verdict is nullified before the individual even serves one day or exhausts his appeals. The same sentencing guidelines that would apply to all of us regular folks if we were in that situation were applied to this man, but the President finds the sentence excessive even before the appeals are finished? Apparently his administration needs to review the federal sentencing guidelines before one more person is sentenced by a federal court who is not the President’s friend. A commutation or a pardon is within the presidential powers, but it sure is imprudent politically at this time.

I can see from this board that a good portion of the president’s core of supporters will applaud the decision to commute the jail time, but I am afraid that he just put the nail in the coffin for the 2008 election. Not everyone is going to differentiate between other Republican candidates and this administration when it comes time to vote. I’m glad that I’m not running for office as a member of the GOP in this cycle! No presidential coattails, an unpopular war and now this.

People expect pardons on the last day of a presidency even if they are just gifts to friends or supporters, but this action before the primaries have even begun could be gift wrapping the election for the Democrats.
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With respect, this was NOT a pardon, but I think many will take it as such. When you hate someone as much as some hate Bush, they will milk it for all it is worth.
 
gnjsdad said:
He perjured himself. He obstructed justice.

C’mon, bob. The jury seemed to think? Which means the judges seemed to allow??

Lanny Davis or Alan Dershowitz couldn’t have put it better 👍
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And it was already known who leaked the name. No crime was committed. The whole thing should have been dropped before Fitzgerald ever appeared on the scene. Once there, a special prosecutor has to find something to point to to justify his existence.
 
jc-servant said:
People expect pardons on the last day of a presidency even if they are just gifts to friends or supporters, but this action before the primaries have even begun could be gift wrapping the election for the Democrats.
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A point of historical information: pardons and commutations can and do occur throughout a president’s term.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush’s decision to commute the sentence of former White House Lewis “Scooter” Libby marks the fourth time the president has exercised his power to reduce criminal sentences. Here’s where the president stands compared to other modern presidents, according to the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice.

Read the rest of this entry »
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mary_bobo said:
And it was already known who leaked the name. No crime was committed.
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Crimes were committed - by Libby. It strains credulity to say there was no underlying crime because nobody perjures themselves for no good reason.

Part of Fitzgerald’s legal mandate was to investigate the Vice President’s office. Libby obstructed this investigation. Afterward, Fitzgerald said “a cloud” still hangs over the Vice President because of Libby’s obstruction.
mary bobo:
The whole thing should have been dropped before Fitzgerald ever appeared on the scene. Once there, a special prosecutor has to find something to point to to justify his existence.
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I just can’t get over how Libby’s defenders continue to sound like Lanny Davis, Alan Dershowitz, and all the other Clinton apologists.
 
More on clemencies being issued throughout a presidency:

**
http://www.usdoj.gov/images/spacer.gifCOMMUTATIONS, REMISSIONS, AND REPRIEVES
GRANTED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON

Table of Contents
**usdoj.gov/pardon/clinton_comm.htm%between%
 
gnjsdad said:
He perjured himself. He obstructed justice.
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What specifically did he lie about?
C’mon, bob. The jury seemed to think? Which means the judges seemed to allow??
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Beacuse the judge supressed any testimony about whehter he had leaked a covert agents name-but allowed Fitgeradl to use it in the closing statment AND one of the reaosn he ignored sentencing guidelines is beacause of what he Libby was leaking an agents name… In addtion the jury when polled stated the leaking of the name as one of the reasons theuy convicted him. libby will get the conviction overturend on appealabout
 
What I can’t figure out is why we criticize every Democrat who gives pardons but praise the Republicans. Can the Republicans do no wrong? That is looking at the world with narrow sight.
 
goofyjim said:
What I can’t figure out is why we criticize every Democrat who gives pardons but praise the Republicans. Can the Republicans do no wrong? That is looking at the world with narrow sight.
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I can see a lot of criticism in this thread for Bush’s commutation (he didn’t pardon anyone). I don’t see anything wrong with a President commuting someone’s sentence or pardoning them, as long as justice is served. It doesn’t matter what letter they have after their name. The Constitution of the United States gives this power to the chief executive.

If I had to make the decision, I like Sen Shumer’s (D) conditions for clemacy: “If three conditions are met: ‘no danger is posed to society, real contrition is shown and the sentence is disproportionate to others who have committed similar crimes.’”
 
Apparently, Republican appointed judges (4 of 5 I believe) thought he should go to jail. Saddly, the big D got off Scott free.
And, Bob, the case transcript is easily available…he lied, under oath, about a matter of potential national security.

John
 
estesbob said:
So please explain to us exactly what is it Libby did wrong. The Jury seemed to think they convicted him for exposing a covert agent-something he was not even charged with. I agree with one thing you said-it was a complete waste of taxpayer money.
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I don’t need to justify the verdict decided by a jury of his peers after a fair trial presided over by an experienced and conservative federal judge who was appointed by President Reagan.

Libby lied under oath just like Pres. Clinton. He was convicted of perjury, not for exposing a covert operative. It was wrong to lie under oath in both instances. Clinton got impeached and Libby got 30 months plus a fine.

I don’t change my stance on law and order depending on the political leanings of the person involved. I spent most of my adult years working in law enforcement first as an officer and then as an attorney. I believe Libby should do the time that he was given just like the ordinary citizens who get sentenced under the same federal guidelines. I don’t like 2 levels of justice with special privileges for the elite and their friends.

You don’t have to agree with my statements or opinions because luckily in this country every citizen gets their own vote at the polls. I also get my own say in the GOP which does not solely belong to one viewpoint either, so hurrah for the USA.
 
What I can’t figure out is why we criticize every Democrat who gives pardons but praise the Republicans. Can the Republicans do no wrong? That is looking at the world with narrow sight.
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Welcome to an ever-shrinking universe.

John
 
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