It is over, Scooter....

[mrbowler]

Well defense spin did not work


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Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation.

Defense attorneys sought to have the sentence delayed until appeals run out. A delay also would give Bush more time to consider calls from Libby's allies to pardon the longtime aide.

Walton said he saw no reason to put the sentence on hold but agreed to consider it. He scheduled a hearing for a week from Thursday.

[whitequeen96]

Yes, but what about a pardon? That's still a possibility. I've just signed a petition for Bush NOT to grant a pardon. (Yeah, like he cares what the American people want! Sorry to sound so bitter, but . . .)

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by whitequeen96

Yes, but what about a pardon? That's still a possibility. I've just signed a petition for Bush NOT to grant a pardon. (Yeah, like he cares what the American people want! Sorry to sound so bitter, but . . .)

Any Lawyers/Folks-I thought that once you are found guilty & sentenced don't you usually start serving then you can file appeals?

Prosecutor Wants Libby Imprisoned Now:
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[mrbowler]

You would think that based on the wording "good chance" that very few folks should be allowed to remain free, but I can think of quite a few examples of politicians not being held to such a standard-I guess it's like the article says that "White Collar Crimes" are considered more acceptable.


"But there is also long-established law requiring defendants to serve their sentences immediately unless there is a good chance that their convictions will be overturned on appeal. More and more judges are starting to hew to a stricter standard"


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[mrbowler]

Looks like the countdown has begun 6 to 8 weeks. Does anyone think scooter will spend over 1 year in prison until Bush does his Dec. 2008 pardons?

Judge Denies Libby a Delay in Prison Sentence:
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"Libby was convicted of lying to investigators about his role in the leak of a CIA officer's identity. He was ordered to begin his sentence as soon as the U.S. Bureau of Prisons chooses a facility and orders him to surrender. Walton said he expects that process to take 6 to 8 weeks"

"In the meantime, Libby's lawyers will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn Walton's ruling"

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by mrbowler

I think that the best play is Libby get 1-2 years, but Bush then grants commutation of the sentence after a small amount of timed served.

"While Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution places no limitations on the president's power to grant or deny pardons, the Justice Department's U.S. Pardon Attorney prepares a recommendation for the president on each application for presidential "clemency," including pardons, commutations of sentences, remissions of fines, and reprieves"

Does anyone know what the Pardon Attorney's recommendation to the President was? I realize that the President can do whatever he wishes.
I thought that you had to at least start serving your sentence before you could be granted a commutation, but I guess this, and everything these days is open to interpretation Don't you find it kinda funny that Paris Hilton & Judith Miller(I believe that is the reporter) did more time, but the President feels that the sentence handed down was to excessive, and no time served is necessary-geez you think he could of had scooter do 30 days then commute the sentence..keep the items that he did(fine & prob), and then come Dec. 2008 you do the Holiday Pardons. IMO it just sends the wrong message if folks that lie & are buddies end up serving no time even after they have been found guilty by a jury.

Bush commutes sentence for Libby:
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[mrbowler]

Based on the second statement listed below I don't believe this would leave any room open to grant a pardon since they believe the faith in the system includes "keeping intact the conviction and some of the punishments"??


Bush won't rule out full Libby pardon:

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"However, the president made the decision without seeking any advice from the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department, the White House had previously said"

"He spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to maintain the faith in the jury system, and he did that by keeping intact the conviction and some of the punishments," Snow said.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald disputed Bush's assertion that the prison term was excessive. Libby was sentenced under the same laws as other criminals, Fitzgerald said. "It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals."

Some lawyers said Bush's statement about Libby's harsh sentence showed that the administration was out of touch with the reality of today's federal sentencing guidelines. People like Libby—first-time, nonviolent offenders—frequently receive lengthy sentences.

"This was a very common sentence, not a startling sentence," said Scott L. Fredericksen, a former federal prosecutor who currently works as a defense lawyer in Washington.

[mrbowler]

According to June 11, 2007 In all 113 Pardons issued in his six years as President-all of the people pardoned had completed their sentences and expressed remorse for their actions. Libby has done neither.

[FUNdamental]

It appears a former member of the inner circle will be telling us soon about some of the lies and deceptions from the highest levels of the Bush administration. It is a shame back in the day several members of DoD were banned from DoD for questioning the drumbeat to war. As we all have learned over the past few years, that drumbeat was based on fabricated news stories or questionable information at best that was never verified by our government. That questionable information, as we all know, turned out to be false.



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McClellan: President and others misled him
by Mark Silva

Scott McClellan came to Washington from Texas with George W. Bush, so that would make him pretty loyal, one suspects.

But the former press secretary to the president and ex-governor of Texas feels compelled to speak some truth in a book that he will be publishing next year, with the publisher releasing a select excerpt now. McClellan claims that he unintentionally misled the public about the leak of a CIA operative's name because both the president and his former chief political adviser, Karl Rove, had misled him.

The case ultimately led to the indictment and conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice

"I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby," McClellan, 39, writes in his book. "There was one problem. It was not true."

A three-paragraph excerpt from the book released by the publisher stops short of details about what the president told McClellan.

But McClellan writes that he "unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff, and the president himself."

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino says the president "has not and would not ask anyone to pass on false information." She also is directing reporters to McClellan, saying that he believes the excerpts were taken "out of context." But McClellan wasn't commenting.

McClellan does not suggest that Bush deliberately lied to him about Libby's and Rove's involvement in the leak, acoording to Peter Osnos, founder and editor-in-chief of Public Affairs Books, which is publishing McClellan's memoir next year.

"He told him something that wasn't true, but the president didn't know it wasn't true," Osnos said in a telephone interview. "The president told him what he thought to be the case."

In July of 2003, syndicated columnist Robert Novak identified Wilson's wife as a CIA operative, citing "two senior administration officials." That led to an investigation by a federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago, and a grand jury

Rove repeatedly was questioned by the gand jury, but never charged. Libby was indicted for providing false information to the grand jury and investigators, with testimony in his trial revealing that he had discussed Plame's employment with the CIA with news reporters.

In July, the president commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence but let his conviction stand. Rove left the White House in August, and is serving as a columnist for Newsweek. McClellan left as White House press secretary in 2006, having served three years.

McClellan's memoir, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong With Washington,is scheduled for release in April by New York-based Public Affairs Books.

[FUNdamental]

The book will be released next week, and Mr. McClellan actually uses the term "propaganda" to describe the selling of the Iraq war to the people. It is a shame so many people bought it "hook lie and sinker," and Mayor banned people from this board for questioning or exposing the falsehoods disseminated from the White House. I hope everyone has learned something here; lies coupled with political attacks and a rush to war should reveal a motive not in line with America's best interest. Be aware.

Originally Posted by FUNdamental

It appears a former member of the inner circle will be telling us soon about some of the lies and deceptions from the highest levels of the Bush administration. It is a shame back in the day several members of DoD were banned from DoD for questioning the drumbeat to war. As we all have learned over the past few years, that drumbeat was based on fabricated news stories or questionable information at best that was never verified by our government. That questionable information, as we all know, turned out to be false.



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McClellan: President and others misled him
by Mark Silva

Scott McClellan came to Washington from Texas with George W. Bush, so that would make him pretty loyal, one suspects.

But the former press secretary to the president and ex-governor of Texas feels compelled to speak some truth in a book that he will be publishing next year, with the publisher releasing a select excerpt now. McClellan claims that he unintentionally misled the public about the leak of a CIA operative's name because both the president and his former chief political adviser, Karl Rove, had misled him.

The case ultimately led to the indictment and conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice

"I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby," McClellan, 39, writes in his book. "There was one problem. It was not true."

A three-paragraph excerpt from the book released by the publisher stops short of details about what the president told McClellan.

But McClellan writes that he "unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff, and the president himself."

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino says the president "has not and would not ask anyone to pass on false information." She also is directing reporters to McClellan, saying that he believes the excerpts were taken "out of context." But McClellan wasn't commenting.

McClellan does not suggest that Bush deliberately lied to him about Libby's and Rove's involvement in the leak, acoording to Peter Osnos, founder and editor-in-chief of Public Affairs Books, which is publishing McClellan's memoir next year.

"He told him something that wasn't true, but the president didn't know it wasn't true," Osnos said in a telephone interview. "The president told him what he thought to be the case."

In July of 2003, syndicated columnist Robert Novak identified Wilson's wife as a CIA operative, citing "two senior administration officials." That led to an investigation by a federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago, and a grand jury

Rove repeatedly was questioned by the gand jury, but never charged. Libby was indicted for providing false information to the grand jury and investigators, with testimony in his trial revealing that he had discussed Plame's employment with the CIA with news reporters.

In July, the president commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence but let his conviction stand. Rove left the White House in August, and is serving as a columnist for Newsweek. McClellan left as White House press secretary in 2006, having served three years.

McClellan's memoir, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong With Washington,is scheduled for release in April by New York-based Public Affairs Books.