Pardon Me, Do You Have Any Grey Poupon
Posted by Seth Kramer on Tuesday, July 3rd 2007 at 12:21am
The News
Today President Bush announced, via press release, that he was commuting the sentence of the Vice-President's former chief of staff, Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby, who was unanimously convicted of 4 felony charges (1 count of making false statements, 1 count of obstruction of justice, and 2 counts of perjury) will not serve the 30 month sentence handed down by District Court Judge Reggie Walton, who was nominated to the bench by the very same President.
The announcement came a few hours after a unanimous DC appellate court ruling that Mr. Libby should serve time while appealing his conviction. "I respect the jury's verdict," Mr. Bush said. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend 30 months in prison." Libby will still be required to serve 2 years on supervised release, and pay a $250,000 fine.
The Comment
This commutation is odd in so many ways. There is at least in one way it is predicable. Anyone with even a passing interest in politics knows that President Bush values loyalty above all else. Competence, vision, and effectiveness are all trumped by the ability to "Stand By Your Man" in this Administration. As a result, I think many of us knew this day would come. Perhaps we thought he would issue a pardon on his last day in office, January 20, 2009, but that clemency would be given for the man unceremoniously thrown under the bus to protect the Vice-President, Karl Rove, or whoever directed the leak of the covert CIA operative's name.
But it is odd that a president who has
I don't mean to portray the president as some sort of evil man, but at best he is clearly not the sort of fellow who worries a great deal about the plight of your average federal inmate, and at worst he's a sociopath. It would seem he has no interest in the penal system until one of his friends finds himself at the business end of a jury verdict ordering him to serve therein.
Further this case is odd because Presidential clemency is almost always issued after all appeals have been exhausted and are generally given when genuine contrition and recognition of one's own culpability is exhibited. Mr. Libby would have been appealing his decision for quite some time, and was clearly remorseless. Ergo the Bush commutation is akin to the Ford pardon of Nixon, Preemptive and rather extravagant. After all, does any reasonable person believe that a heiress drunk driving deserves a stiffer penalty than a man entrusted with government secrets attempting to cover-up the outing of a CIA operative specializing in non-conventional weapons?
But of course this is not the first time a President has pardoned a friend or colleague under fire. Clinton pardoned Susan McDougal, Bush 41 pardoned Caspar Weinberger and a host of other Iran-Contra scumbags, and so on. But what is so shocking, at least to me, is that the President has vacated the sentence of a man who helped cover up an act of retribution against an early critic of his war policy. A war that would later prove to be almost universally recognized as a disaster.
This situation is still stranger when we consider that our President has had an approval rating hovering in Nixon territory for much longer than Nixon himself was there. Most lame-duck presidents would not resign themselves to such ignominy. They would push for popular legislation, not unpopular agenda bullet points like half-assed immigration reforms and turning felons loose (see Ben, I've used it properly this time). Indeed what irony that the 28 percent of Americans that believe Bush is doing a good job would happen to be the same people pleased by this action. And as for those who disagree? Well, you can't get much lower that the 20s. It would seem Janis Joplin was correct. Freedom IS in fact just another word for nothing left to lose (again Ben, check me out, I'm a machine here when I proofread).
What worries me is the inevitable. Mark my words when Libby uses up his appeals (assuming that the newly rightward lurching Supreme Court doesn't do George just one more solid before he goes) Bush will pardon him. Possibly on his last day in office. Then and only then will our long national nightmare be over. Then the Nelson Mandela-like ordeal that Scooter's been through (but without the prison time that is) will be over. Why it's probably forever just wrecked his putting game.
So here we are. In a world where a fine and probation is amnesty if you are an illegal immigrant, but if you're a Bush crony it's a stiff penalty befitting the crime.
So what are our remedies? An impeachment would be divisive, and Congress has all but taken a blood oath that they would not do such a thing. I would say call the White House Comment Line (Switchboard: 202-456-1414) and leave a message, but if the last 6.5 years haven't made it abundantly clear that the Bush administration does as it pleases regardless of the will of the people or any consequences then there's nothing I can say to convince you. There is no constitutional means for a recall, and Congress' typical numb-nutted method of sternly worded letters and votes of "No confidence" are as useless as the members themselves. So what is an active citizen to do?
I don't know. I'm not inclined to just throw my hands up and say "a pox on both your houses", and shy of a full scale revolt I have no idea what to do. I suppose for now I'll continue to do what I was. Try my damnest to ignore the President and focus on who might become the next one, and begin picking up the pieces from this fool. That's probably what I'll do for now.
I had toyed with the idea of opening a monopoly game and taking out the get out of jail free cards and mailing them to the White House. Again, they won't listen, but it might be fun.
...just a thought.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
I'm feeling dissappointed
I'm spinning Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee
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