Bush (channeling Solomon) spares Libby’s butt by splitting his sentence in half

Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that there were no legal grounds for VP Cheney’s former chief aide, I. Scooter Libby, to remain free pending appeal of his conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice charges – for lying to federal investigators about his role in the White House leak of a CIA officer’s identity. And this meant that he would have to report to prison within weeks.

Within hours of the court’s ruling, however, President George W. Bush commuted his 30-month prison sentence. But he let stand Libby’s felony conviction and (trial) Judge Reggie B. Walton’s imposition of a $250,000 fine plus two-years probation.

Indeed, even though he gave Libby a stay-out-of-jail card, here’s how Bush accurately catalogued the consequences he will still suffer:

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

But frankly, this commutation represents one of the few instances where Bush exercised his presidential powers with commendable skill and sensitivity; which is ironic considering that his presidency has been bereft of relevance, credibility and respectability by “a parade of setbacks“. Never mind that (rabid) Republicans will criticize him for not wiping Libby’s record clean; and their Democratic counterparts will charge that it reflects the arrogance of power and wanton disregard for the rule of law that has characterized his administration…yada, yada, yada!

Of course, such political carping is to be expected. After all, the prosecution of Libby was an inveterately-political affair. Nevertheless, it was not without legal precedent. And it is in this context that I hail Bush’s executive decision as sound and just. Here’s what I mean:

In 1999 US District Judge Susan Webber Wright of Arkansas ruled that her states’ favorite son, Former President Bill Clinton, committed perjury when he testified (as pictured here from his actual deposition) about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky before a federal grand jury. And, moreover, that his false testimony was “intended to obstruct the judicial process in the sexual harassment case Paula Jones filed against him”.

Accordingly, she held Clinton in contempt, which led to him being disbarred. His lies proved insufficient, however, to convict him at his farcical January 1998 impeachment trial in 1998.

But given this precedent, it seems more than sufficient that Libby will be not only disbarred but also marked as a convicted felon for the rest of his life (with all of the social, professional and political limitations these entail).

Meanwhile, it is nothing short of hypocritical for people – like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) – to demand a pound of flesh (or Libby’s hide in jail) for this political crime. After all, these are the very same people who fulminated with moral indignation against the fact that Clinton was even being tried for a similar crime. Indeed, one could’ve been forgiven the impression that they would have considered it just cause for another civil war if the patently-mendacious Clinton had been convicted and properly punished – instead of getting off with what amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist.

More to the point, however, these partisan criticisms ring hollow given the way Clinton used his presidential power to completely pardon embezzlers, tax-avoiding arms merchants (remember Marc Rich?), drug fiends (including his brother Roger) and other unsavory criminals. But this puts into stark relief his wife Hillary’s self-righteous charge that by pardoning Libby, Bush was:

…elevating cronyism over the rule of law.

Indeed.

Good call Bush!

NOTE: Notwithstanding all of the above, I am cynical enough to believe that – as he slinks out of the White House in January 2009 in utter disgrace – Bush will completely pardon Libby and expunge all vestiges of this criminal episode from his record. And so it goes….

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