President Bush said today that he had used his power of clemency to commute the 30-month sentence for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted of perjury in March and was due to begin serving his time within weeks.
The action, announced just hours after a federal appeals court denied Mr. Libby’s request to allow him to remain free while his case is on appeal, spares Mr. Libby his prison term, but it does not excuse him from stiff fines or probation.....
Isn't that nice? Even though Libby exposed an undercover agent for political payback, and was convicted of perjury, he doesn't have to serve prison time! Well, golly gee! So apparently we are left with the notion that if one of us committed the same crime, we'd be in federal prison already. However, if you are a F.O.W. (friend of W's) or a F.O.D. (friend of Dick's) you can get off. You don't have to serve your time for the crime.
Don't worry about that huge fine that Libby will need to pay. I bet that right now Republicans are organizing fundraisers to help the Scooter. If Scooter loses his law license, because he'll still be a convicted felon, his GOP buddies will find Scooter a nice, cushy job with one of their lobbyist friends or within their party as a "consultant." Isn't that just fabulous?
All this just confirms my belief that this entire administration is immoral.
Update: Senator Hillary Clinton said it best (from Scoop):
"Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."
I totally agree with Senator Clinton!
