Update: Jack and Jill Politics points out that Libby is white.
Many of the people whom Bush has not granted pardons or clemency to are not white.
I'm just sayin'.
I've been reading a lot about Bush's commuting of Libby's sentence. The liberal blogosphere is royally pissed off, maybe more than I've ever seen it, and in the last two days I think I've seen at least half a dozen calls for impeachment from folks who had previously counseled that impeachment was a bad idea. So it's safe to say that tempers are running a bit hot, which makes me wonder if people are going to retract their calls for impeachment once they cool down a bit. I hope not, actually.
Anyway, I wanted to lay out my own two cents on the topic, not because I think anyone reads this blog, but because I sort of want to try and organize my thoughts.
Libby was sentenced to 30 months in jail plus a $250k fine and some probation. I think there were four counts of perjury and/or obstruction of justice. To be honest, I didn't follow the details of the case that closely since I believed - and believe - that the legal part was going to be undercut by the politics the whole time. And lo and behold, it was.
Very soon after an appeals judge decided that Libby would have to go to jail pending appeal, Bush commuted the jail time. According to Josh Marshall at TPM (and a bunch of other folks), this allows Libby to pursue his appeal against the convictions, the probation, and the fine. It also allows him to plead the 5th in the future (though I don't know the mechanism behind this). It sounds like a pretty good deal, actually - there's a possibility that Libby will get off scot-free if he wins on appeal. Now, I'm aware that the appeals judges are very conservative, but the two judges that have convicted Libby thus far have been Republican appointees, so I hold out a sliver of hope that the legal system will function in a rational manner in the remainder of this case.
Having covered the legal fallout, what is the political fallout from Bush's decision to commute the sentence? I think there are a couple of pieces:
(A caveat - it appears that many of the mainstream media folks and many Republicans don't think this case should have ever gone to trial in the first place. So that's where they are coming from on this one.)
1) Media folks and Republicans everywhere get to do what they love to do - talk about what a great compromise this is. The argument will go like this: Libby's 'crime' wasn't really that bad, but he was convicted, so GWB is just making things right by commuting, but not pardoning, the guy. It's a great political argument (and especially great political cover for media operatives who are on Libby's side) because it allows the person making it to appear to play fair, even to claim neutrality on this one, when in reality Bush's commuting of the sentence is the worst kind of self-serving power-play.
2) It raises the possibility of anyone who opposes Bush's action being seen as an ideologue, not a team player, or someone who is simply partisan with no regard for 'reason.' Utter bullshit, of course, but that's what the TV is for, right?
3) This isn't strictly political fallout, but it's a Libby advantage. The fine and probation are no problem - he's not likely to do anything that will actually land him in jail anyway, and the fine will probably be paid by rich friends etc. There's been a pretty annoying attempt to paint this as a big blow to Libby's status, but given that many Republicans appear to think the trial never should have happened, then Libby's status among his own people is untouched. Raised, even, since he 'survived' an encounter with the enemy. Again, it allows both sides of the fence to be played - Libby gets a nice cushy job somewhere behind the scenes for awhile (the equivalent of leaving town until the heat is off), and Republicans and media folks are allowed to wail and cry over what a damaging blow this is to poor ol' Scooter Libby...who happens to be sipping margaritas at the Heritage Foundation.
4) Oh, and the Democrats? It's like they're not even a part of this. Yeah, all the candidates and party leaders released statements, but at this point, they've got the collective cajones of my neutered cat. They're not going to do anything - that would rock the boat. Or worse - it would actually have an effect and they would have to keep playing offense. Let's face it: Most of the Democrats in power at this point are political cowards as beholden to the same forces Republicans are, both monetarily and culturally.
There's also the claim being bandied about that this amounts to 'obstruction of justice' on the part of Bush. Certainly that's true politically, though I have no idea if it holds as a legal claim in this case. What it does raise is the issue of the invulnerability of the Presidential Pardon: Is it subject to the law of the land, or is it the equivalent of a parent putting their foot down? That is, is it an absolute power or not?
Finally, I'll also say that yes, Bush's decisions makes a mockery of the existing justice system, which isn't that great anyway. But, and perhaps more importantly, it reveals a little bit more about how much of a sociopath the man appears to be. Remember, this is the guy who a) hasn't really granted clemency to or pardoned ANYONE yet in his presidency; b) saw ~130 executed when he was Governor of Texas, a number that led the nation (and probably most of the world); c) openly mocked a woman who was on death row and later executed when asked if he had any plans to pardon her.
From the Wikipedia entry on Karla Faye Tucker:
In the weeks before the execution, Bush says, a number of protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Karla Faye Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask. Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them", he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with Tucker, though. He asked her real difficult questions like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?'" "What was her answer?" I wonder. "'Please,'" Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "'don't kill me.'" I must look shocked — ridiculing the pleas of a condemned prisoner who has since been executed seems odd and cruel — because he immediately stops smirking.
And yet, there is something scarier than all that: the fact that so many people, especially media pundits who know all of the above, think he'd be a great guy to have a beer with. What does that say about what our media thinks is
Update: The best line about the whole Scooter Libby thing, hands down: If I run out of vomit, can I borrow some of yours?
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