Monday, June 25, 2007
A PARDON FOR SCOOTER?
Republican candidates for president are equivocating all over the landscape when the question arises of a pardon for Scooter Libby, who has been convicted by twelve of his peers for obstructing justice through perjury in his statements to FBI investigators looking into the illegal outing of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA analyst.
For those who have just awakened from a long, long nap, this all came about as a result of the president using in a state of the union speech a reference to an alleged attempt by Saddam to obtain a form of uranium from an African nation. This allegation had previously been found baseless by the CIA and British intelligence, a conclusion confirmed by a report of former ambassador Wilson, sent to Africa to double check the facts.
After the president’s incorrect words, used to justify the war, Ambassador Wilson wrote a piece for the New York Times exposing the false claim. Wilson turns out to be the husband of Valerie Plame, a CIA agent, whose identity was a classified secret until her identity was leaked to the press by Bush-related sources to cast doubt on his credibility by saying incorrectly that Plame had sent him on the errand .
Republican columnist Robert Novak first reported this. However, strangely enough, it was a woman reporter for the New York Times who served jail time for refusal to reveal her administration source.
Closing in on Bush aide, Carl Rove, and Vice President Cheney as insider manipulators of the leak, the prosecutor could not nail them because Scooter Libby (and perhaps others) lied to cover up the trail. An old administration crony serving as deputy to Condi Rice at the State Department was finally exposed as a leak source, but with no legal consequence.
So, now there are the big questions. Will President Bush allow Libby to actually go to jail for stonewalling to cover higher-ups’ illegal actions? Will Scooter threaten to spill the beans if they let him go to prison? Will a deal be made? Will this include a pardon for his lying to obstruct justice for his bosses? Will Bush wait until after the 2008 election to do the pardon? Will judges stall and allow Scooter to stay out of jail for appeals?
Maybe some other good questions would be: “Can Bush’s popularity ratings really sink much lower if he pardons Libby?” “Would that really even strengthen Bush with his conservative base?” “Would this be a favor to republican candidates by taking an unpopular issue off the table?”
Governor Romney was appropriately hoisted on his own petard by CNN reporter, John Roberts, in an interview. He questioned Romney’s equivocations in the debate, when Romney said there was “no crime” and Scooter should never have been sentenced to prison. Roberts pointed out Governor Romney’s refusal to pardon a young man who had been convicted as a 13 year old for shooting a companion with a BB-gun, had later served and won medals in Iraq, and was then applying for police academy. The young man needed the record cleared, and Romney refused.
Pushed by the reporter, a flustered Romney again did an ineffective verbal tap dance around the point. The country deserves a better, more honest and just president.
Then, again, we have the comparison of Martha Stewart. All the woman did was tell her broker to sell some stock she heard was going down, but she did not come clean with the whole story in conversations with investigators. But it became a political, federal case, and the woman went to prison. She suffered great financial losses and embarrassment.
Do republicans really think they will not be held accountable by the public for such inconsistent and unfair justice if they pardon Scooter Libby?
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
For those who have just awakened from a long, long nap, this all came about as a result of the president using in a state of the union speech a reference to an alleged attempt by Saddam to obtain a form of uranium from an African nation. This allegation had previously been found baseless by the CIA and British intelligence, a conclusion confirmed by a report of former ambassador Wilson, sent to Africa to double check the facts.
After the president’s incorrect words, used to justify the war, Ambassador Wilson wrote a piece for the New York Times exposing the false claim. Wilson turns out to be the husband of Valerie Plame, a CIA agent, whose identity was a classified secret until her identity was leaked to the press by Bush-related sources to cast doubt on his credibility by saying incorrectly that Plame had sent him on the errand .
Republican columnist Robert Novak first reported this. However, strangely enough, it was a woman reporter for the New York Times who served jail time for refusal to reveal her administration source.
Closing in on Bush aide, Carl Rove, and Vice President Cheney as insider manipulators of the leak, the prosecutor could not nail them because Scooter Libby (and perhaps others) lied to cover up the trail. An old administration crony serving as deputy to Condi Rice at the State Department was finally exposed as a leak source, but with no legal consequence.
So, now there are the big questions. Will President Bush allow Libby to actually go to jail for stonewalling to cover higher-ups’ illegal actions? Will Scooter threaten to spill the beans if they let him go to prison? Will a deal be made? Will this include a pardon for his lying to obstruct justice for his bosses? Will Bush wait until after the 2008 election to do the pardon? Will judges stall and allow Scooter to stay out of jail for appeals?
Maybe some other good questions would be: “Can Bush’s popularity ratings really sink much lower if he pardons Libby?” “Would that really even strengthen Bush with his conservative base?” “Would this be a favor to republican candidates by taking an unpopular issue off the table?”
Governor Romney was appropriately hoisted on his own petard by CNN reporter, John Roberts, in an interview. He questioned Romney’s equivocations in the debate, when Romney said there was “no crime” and Scooter should never have been sentenced to prison. Roberts pointed out Governor Romney’s refusal to pardon a young man who had been convicted as a 13 year old for shooting a companion with a BB-gun, had later served and won medals in Iraq, and was then applying for police academy. The young man needed the record cleared, and Romney refused.
Pushed by the reporter, a flustered Romney again did an ineffective verbal tap dance around the point. The country deserves a better, more honest and just president.
Then, again, we have the comparison of Martha Stewart. All the woman did was tell her broker to sell some stock she heard was going down, but she did not come clean with the whole story in conversations with investigators. But it became a political, federal case, and the woman went to prison. She suffered great financial losses and embarrassment.
Do republicans really think they will not be held accountable by the public for such inconsistent and unfair justice if they pardon Scooter Libby?
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
