I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted

[nlm]

WASHINGTON - Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted Tuesday of obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI in an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was accused of lying and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to reporters.

He was acquitted of one count of lying to the FBI.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070306/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_trial_19

[afleitch]

With all the 'stuff' happening over here I had almost forgotten about this Good result.

[Angel of Death]

I'm figuring he will have to sit out, oh let's say, about 610 days.

[KEmperor]

With all the 'stuff' happening over here I had almost forgotten about this Good result.

What's going on over there?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

With all the 'stuff' happening over here I had almost forgotten about this Good result.

What's going on over there?

This

[Joe Biden 2020]

This is a very good verdict.  Justice has been served.  He'll probably go to prison for up to 25 years which could very well be the rest of his life.  I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[Gabu]

I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I have a feeling it's more along the lines of an affirmation that as long as you can get the focus on some underling instead of yourself, you'll be fine.

[minionofmidas]

I'm figuring he will have to sit out, oh let's say, about 610 days.

Probably a reasonable estimate...

[J. J.]

This is a very good verdict.  Justice has been served.  He'll probably go to prison for up to 25 years which could very well be the rest of his life.  I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Libby wasn't actually convicted of anything involving his official conduct, only what he said to the FBI/Grand Jury.  It's like me saying "I shot the Czar," under oath.  It's a crime, but not job related.  Everybody else cooperated.

I'm not overly sympathetic, but I'll bet it will be either tossed on appeal or he'll be pardoned. 

[MODU]

This is a very good verdict.  Justice has been served.  He'll probably go to prison for up to 25 years which could very well be the rest of his life.  I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"Justice has been served..."  No, that would be if Armitage/Wilson were convicted.  Libby was railroaded by the classic "someone needs to be punished" mentality in DC.  While Libby is guilty of interfering with an investigation, he's not the one which the investigation was sent to find.

[Joe Biden 2020]

An interesting statement from then Texas Governor George W. Bush on March 6, 2000 -- 7 years ago today.  "My aim is to restore honor and dignity to the White House, thats what America is looking for."  America is STILL looking for that and they haven't found it, yet, from the maker of that promise.

[Deano963]

Good. He obtructed justice, covered for Rove and Cheney and the lies of the Bush administration that led to war. He deserves to rot in prison.

I just hope this leads to Cheney being put on trial as well.

[Deano963]

This is a very good verdict.  Justice has been served.  He'll probably go to prison for up to 25 years which could very well be the rest of his life.  I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Libby wasn't actually convicted of anything involving his official conduct, only what he said to the FBI/Grand Jury.  It's like me saying "I shot the Czar," under oath.  It's a crime, but not job related. 

Please explain to me how Libby lying under oath to the FBI about events relating to his work is not "job related"?

Oh, and you saying "I shot the Czar" is nowhere near the same as lying about how you found out the identity of a covert CIA agent. One deals with the national security of this country, the other is a silly, nonsensical statement you just made up - do you see the difference?

I'm not overly sympathetic, but I'll bet it will be either tossed on appeal or he'll be pardoned. 

Wrong and even more wrong. The judge most likely will toss out the appeal let alone let it go to a new trial.

I hope you are right about the pardon, however (but you're not). It would give the Democrats the best excuse in the world to impeach both Bush and Cheney if Bush were to pardon a federally convicted criminal.

[JSojourner]

The Decider will pardon him.

[CPT MikeyMike]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

[CultureKing]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

[J. J.]

This is a very good verdict.  Justice has been served.  He'll probably go to prison for up to 25 years which could very well be the rest of his life.  I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Bush Administration and especially the Cheney office as well as future administrations that illegal activities and name defamation will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Libby wasn't actually convicted of anything involving his official conduct, only what he said to the FBI/Grand Jury.  It's like me saying "I shot the Czar," under oath.  It's a crime, but not job related. 

Please explain to me how Libby lying under oath to the FBI about events relating to his work is not "job related"?

It was not related to the conduct of any official action.  Had he told the truth, there would be no charges.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Except that neither Libby or anyone else was even charged with leaking information on a covert agent.  We now know that the first source was Armitage.  Fitzgerald couldn't make a case against him.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Wrong and even more wrong. The judge most likely will toss out the appeal let alone let it go to a new trial.

I hope you are right about the pardon, however (but you're not). It would give the Democrats the best excuse in the world to impeach both Bush and Cheney if Bush were to pardon a federally convicted criminal.
[/quote]

The pardon won't happen unless Libby loses the appeal, but it will probably occur after the 2008 election, just like the pardons Bill Clinton granted.

[??????????]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

Here's to hoping.

[J. J.]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

Here's to hoping.

I'm actually mixed on that.  If he did perjure himself, I might go with eventual clemency from the prison sentence.  Let him pay the fine.

[CPT MikeyMike]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

Here's to hoping.

I'm actually mixed on that.  If he did perjure himself, I might go with eventual clemency from the prison sentence.  Let him pay the fine.

Bush is big on loyality - like it or not. He'll pardon him because Cheney will tell him too. If I knew you all (or lived close to you all), I'd bet a beer on this. You would all be buying me Guinness!

[MODU]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

Here's to hoping.

I'm actually mixed on that.  If he did perjure himself, I might go with eventual clemency from the prison sentence.  Let him pay the fine.

He should get no more than Sandy Berger, who stole/destroyed classified information, which according to our laws is a worse offense than obstruction of justice.

[nlm]

Prediciting a pardon on 19 January 2009.

lol, most likely you are right

Here's to hoping.

I'm actually mixed on that.  If he did perjure himself, I might go with eventual clemency from the prison sentence.  Let him pay the fine.

He should get no more than Sandy Berger, who stole/destroyed classified information, which according to our laws is a worse offense than obstruction of justice.

Would not the more ethical stand be that Sandy Berger should be punished for what he did - not "because Sandy wasn't punished, this person that lied to a grand jury should not be punished as well". That seems like the start of a very unjust cycle to me.

[MODU]

Would not the more ethical stand be that Sandy Berger should be punished for what he did - not "because Sandy wasn't punished, this person that lied to a grand jury should not be punished as well". That seems like the start of a very unjust cycle to me.

I'm just saying . . . you can't give the person who committed a greater crime just a fine while sentencing the person of the lesser crime to a long jail term.  Laws need to be enforced, and if the common citizen has to go to jail for theft/destruction of classified materials, so do the "celebs," which include politicians.  Now, I have a big issue with this doublestandard, since I believe that causes more people to commit crimes in the US because they can look at the TV and said "Well OJ got off and is playing golf" and what not.  However, if one gets a slap on the wrist, it's not unreasonable to recommend the other to get the same treatment.

[nlm]

Would not the more ethical stand be that Sandy Berger should be punished for what he did - not "because Sandy wasn't punished, this person that lied to a grand jury should not be punished as well". That seems like the start of a very unjust cycle to me.

I'm just saying . . . you can't give the person who committed a greater crime just a fine while sentencing the person of the lesser crime to a long jail term.  Laws need to be enforced, and if the common citizen has to go to jail for theft/destruction of classified materials, so do the "celebs," which include politicians.  Now, I have a big issue with this doublestandard, since I believe that causes more people to commit crimes in the US because they can look at the TV and said "Well OJ got off and is playing golf" and what not.  However, if one gets a slap on the wrist, it's not unreasonable to recommend the other to get the same treatment.

Then I would suggest getting behind the "let's punish Sandy bandwagon" - it's seems to be getting full now that the right is looking to deflect attention - and frankly - that bandwagons time has come on gone, it's too late to do anything about Sandy at this point I would guess.

One injustice doesn't justify another. It's a lame arguement and it's a common arguement on both side of the aisle in DC.

[MODU]

One injustice doesn't justify another. It's a lame arguement and it's a common arguement on both side of the aisle in DC.

That is true.  However, precedent does play a big role in DC, which is why I would not have a problem if Bush pardons Libby at the end of his term.  Libby would have served more time than Berger for a lesser crime, and to free him from that punishment after a year would be reasonable.