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July 2, 2007 at 19:41:23
by Anthony Wade Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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July 2, 2007 Let’s get something straight right away. Valerie Plame is the victim. A woman who dedicated her entire life to protecting this country from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction deserved better than this. A woman who served a NOC (non-official cover), meaning she would be killed and our government would have disowned her if she was caught, deserved better than this. Scooter Libby is a traitor to this country. He essentially committed treason against this country by deliberately lying to a special prosecutor investigating the outing of a covert CIA operative. Scooter Libby is not the victim. It is disgusting for President Bush to continue to portray him as one; today commuting his jail sentence; defecating on the rule of law as we know it. You remember the rule of law, don’t you? It was that critical concept that so many republicans bemoaned during the partisan impeachment debacle of Bill Clinton. Suddenly, less than a decade later, it apparently means nothing at all. When this leak occurred, we were assured by President Bush that he would take care of anyone involved with the leak of Plame and that they would no longer work in his administration. Now we know what he meant. Karl Rove, exposed as being involved, is still working for Bush and the man convicted by a jury of his peers receives a get out of jail free card. That is how George Bush takes care of felonious activity in his administration; he rewards it. The best argument the hypocritical Libby supporters can muster is that there was “no underlying crime.” This is a hollow argument of course because the prosecutor was unable to pursue anyone as a proper suspect because of the lies of Lewis Libby. That is why it is illegal to lie to a prosecutor under oath. That is why it is illegal to obstruct justice, because by doing so, justice itself is prevented. Someone or multiple persons deliberatively leaked the identity of Valerie Plame and because Libby lied, those people are never held accountable. Thus the prosecutor correctly went after the liar; the traitor. Convicted by a jury of his peers and sentenced by a republican judge, Libby deserved the sentence he received. He tried twice to defer his jail time while his appeal went forward but two more republican judges said no. George Bush apparently does not care about any of that though, as long as his boy gets off. 
Don’t fall for this specious argument that Lewis Libby has “suffered enough.” Bush tried to split hairs today by not granting a full pardon but rather commuting the jail time portion of the sentence. He did this for two reasons. One, it allows his base to pretend that Libby was somehow still screwed by not receiving a full pardon, and more importantly, it allows Bush to pretend that Libby still is somehow paying for his actions. Nonsense. The remaining portions of the sentence for Libby are that he cannot continue in public service, which was probably not going to happen once Dick Cheney rode off into the sunset on his Halliburton paid horse in less than two years. Secondly, he will probably be disbarred, which he deserves. What affect that has on Libby would probably be minimal. Lastly, he faces two years of probation and a $250,000 fine, which he will not have to pay himself. Wow. Tough break for Scooter.
Bush though went further today in justifying his spitting in the face of justice. As a justification for the commutation, he had the audacity to say that Libby and his family and children have suffered immensely. Excuse me? What about Valerie Plame and her family? What about her 25 plus years of service ruined by your administration Mr. Bush? How vile is it to portray the traitor as the victim, while the real victim, Valerie Plame has still not received an apology from this administration?
Make no mistake America at whom the President spits; he spits at you. He pretends to agree with the conviction in the same statement where he tramples all over it. This president is known as being a miser with pardons and commutations but suddenly he feels this particular one is too harsh? No my friends, this was a reward to a loyal foot soldier in taking one for the team. Valerie Plame’s husband had written an op-ed piece telling the truth about a lie told by Bush in the state of the union address about Saddam Hussein trying to obtain nuclear materials from the Niger. Keep that in mind America because it was these lies that were behind the Iraq War. Suddenly, it was revealed to the press that Plame, who was a covert CIA agent, had sent her husband to the Niger and not the Office of the Vice President; in an attempt to discredit her husband. This of course was also a lie. The primary person behind all of these machinations was Dick Cheney, at the behest of George Bush himself. Someone that powerful though never takes the fall. Instead he sent out his Chief of Staff to take the fall. After years of investigations and trials, Cheney’s boss rewards Libby for taking the bullet.
Perhaps it is even more sinister than that. Because it is fairly apparent that Libby was actually protecting Cheney and Bush and their role in the illegal outing of Valerie Plame, today’s commutation appears far more ominous. President Bush has now commuted the sentence of a man convicted of obstructing justice in a case that leads back to the same man that commuted the sentence. This essentially covers up his own illegal activities and now provides no incentive for Libby to ever tell the truth! Either way, today’s activities rewards the betrayal of this country. George Bush has now decided that he will put his own personal politics before the rule of law, the judicial branch of government, and treason against the United States of America.
Remember this well America. Next year you will vote for a president and it is important that you know where that man or woman stands on this dark day in American history. People like Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, as well as nearly every GOP candidate are in support of this subversion of justice. This is indeed a dark day for America. A day when traitors are rewarded and treason is celebrated. A day when the betrayal of a nation is supported by people who like to pretend they believe in law and order. Scooter Libby lied under oath and obstructed justice and today he was rewarded for it. The rule of law is now dead. Smothered by a president who is corrupt to his core; representing a party that has lost any credibility it once had. Remember this well.
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| 19 comments |
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Plame is just one victim
It's also likely that people connected to the operation were killed when she was outed, the CIA and intelligence community are victims (now those are people I would not to be angry with me), but the greatest victim is the US -- plame was working on disrupting WMD transfers -- and because of that we might get hit with attacks which otherwise would have been prevented. This goes way beyond Valery Plame. by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 8:22:41 PM  (0+)
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Reply: true Enough
No argument, although Plame is certainly a victim as well. by Anthony Wade (160 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 890 comments [19 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 8:33:01 PM (0+)
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So does this mean...?
"So does this mean I can get paid for the months I spent in jail for lying to investigators?” - Martha Stewart “So does this mean I can get my sentence of hours of community service commuted" - Paris Hilton "So does this mean I can go back to my destitute family in Afghanistan and resume my hard-scrabble existence?" -Unnamed enemy combatant, Gitmo, Cuba “So does this mean I can get my life back like Scooter?” - Carla Faye Tucker by Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 8:46:04 PM (0+)
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Hypocrisy Unparalleled
“We must protect the rule of law over the rule of men.” - Republican lawmakers voting to impeach Bill Clinton for obstruction of justice in order to cover up the underlying crime of …er,…uh, …say, what was the underlying crime? by Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 8:48:16 PM (0+)
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a sad day indeed
good article, anthony. what have we come to? Joan Brunwasser, voting integrity ed., OpEdNews by Joan Brunwasser (208 articles, 3760 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 752 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 9:48:35 PM (0+)
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The Agony of Tongue Lashings
(Many thanks to Kathlyn Stone for assimiliating the quotes) Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois: “This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York: “As Independence Day nears, we are reminded that one of the principles our forefathers fought for was equal justice under the law. This commutation completely tramples on that principle.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada: “The President’s decision to commute Mr. Libby’s sentence is disgraceful. Libby’s conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War. Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone. Judge Walton correctly determined that Libby deserved to be imprisoned for lying about a matter of national security. The Constitution gives President Bush the power to commute sentences, but history will judge him harshly for using that power to benefit his own Vice President’s Chief of Staff who was convicted of such a serious violation of law.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California: “The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people. The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable.” Oh, the agony of such tongue lashings… Humiliated and crushed into a crisis of self-confidence by these tongue lashings, Bush is undoubtedly as we speak gathering his aides, cowering behind his desk, pulling down the shades, and scribbling his letter of resignation which he will soon tender to these brave and patriotic Democratic defenders of our Constitution (after he clears it with Uncle Dick, of course). by Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 11:14:13 PM (0+)
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Just curious
Was everybody here this worked up when Marc Rich was pardoned? Not commuted, but pardoned? by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 745 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Jul 2, 2007 at 11:44:02 PM (0+)
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Reply: I'm curious too!!
Does any one here remember that Scooter Libby was Marc Rich's attorney? Also curious as to why whenever someone tries to make this administration accountable for its actions, the right wing always try to justify themselves by bringing up some misdeed of Clinton's. by Athena88 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 23 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 7:42:44 AM (0+)
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Reply: First of all...
"here" wasn't HERE when Clinton pardoned Rich. In those days, we just voted, and then let the politicians do their thing. And with last day of second term pardons, there wasn't much we COULD do, as we couldn't vote them out of office. But, for every right-wing Rethuglican who brings up Mark Rich, I have only this to ask... Didn't George W. Bush promise to "restore honor and integrity to the Oval Office"???? Hmmm? Doesn't that mean he was running on the promise that he would be BETTER than Clinton, not just as bad? Hmmm? Stop saying.. "But Clinton did it." This is NOW, not ten years ago, and the Rethuglican administration in power has done 1000 times more evil, vile, disgusting, illegal, immoral and deadlyh things than Clinton could even have imagined in his best BJ-induced daydreams. Just grow up and make it simple. Rethuglicans are either the worst, most corrupt, most evil bunch of scum on the face of the earth and PROUD of it, or they are the worst, most corrupt, most evil bunch of scum on the face of the earth and too damn hypocritical and/or delusional to even ADMIT it. by Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 747 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 4:48:36 PM (0+)
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Of Course
Interesting that you bring up Marc Rich, given that it was Scooter Libby who talked Denise Rich into approaching the Clintons to request a pardon for her ex-husband (a pardon that was granted, but with a $100m price tag attached). I was as incensed then about the Rich pardon as I am now about the Libby commutation. Anytime the rich and powerful decriminalize the criminal actions of their rich and powerful colleagues and cronies, it makes a mockery of our criminal justice system, a system that already struggles to maintain credibility. Clinton was as wrong to pardon Rich as Bush was to commute Libby's prison sentence. Injustice in our political system is not confined by party labels. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just kidding themselves. by Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 12:20:32 AM (0+)
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The President commits treason, again.
Rewarding treason, yet another infringement on our rights by the gov't. Add it to the ever-growing list of violations: by Lorring II (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 87 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 6:06:35 AM (0+)
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Listen to the message, folks
Bush sends a message to all his servants that he is a reliable boss and that he does not leave his people to the vultures. Dems so far had sent quite the opposite message- that they sellout as much as they can. What would the average person think: who is more reliable and worthy to lean at? In 1860s the exactly same thinking rose Chancellor Bismarck to power- he promised never to betray his people, his supporters while his opposition always(!) betrayed each other. That simple If Dems had a nerve they should push for full reopening of the case citing Bush as co-conspirator. BTW, who mentioned Mark Rich here? Was Rich a traitor? Did his actions result in deaths, millions of lives? Clinton was wrong but he was already leaving and yes, it was a very very different time. If Bush now leaves the office as a condition of commuting Libby's sentence I would be the first to cheer. What a crock, really. by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4103 comments [131 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 7:42:53 AM (0+)
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The Marc Rich pardon
and others, according to Clinton. click here by Daniel Geery (26 articles, 95 quicklinks, 127 diaries, 918 comments [27 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 10:16:50 AM (0+)
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Well Said Todd
Well Said. It is however amusing when one has no defense, that they get desperate to try and talk about anything but the matter at hand. by Anthony Wade (160 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 890 comments [19 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 10:23:30 AM (0+)
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Scream for Impeachment
This isn’t just about lying, that was just the beginning of the Republican Crime Spree which began with a Supreme Court Decision to appoint George Bush president. The treason and multitude of crimes that began at that point has swept America into a feeding frenzy of corruption. Sharks rip into our Constitution day after day, tearing off ever greater chunks of our flesh, and swallowing our rights whole. This is a bout a Republican coup d’etat, that is now a fait accompli. We aren’t becoming a dictatorship, it’s already a done deal. Are content with this deal? If not, scream for Impeachment. . by rabblerowzer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 227 comments) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 11:03:09 AM (0+)
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Decider of the United States
Come on, after 7 years on the job, we should know by now that Bush does not come under rule of law. He does not even come under the rule of the Constitution. He operates under rule of God!! With his supreme morality, he is the sole Decider of right and wrong. He is above Congress and mere citizenary. How can he be a traiter when he is the country? And he cannot be wrong because his God is always right. Indeed, Bush is not only the 'be all' but also the 'know all' - able to precisely recast the decisons of jury and judges. He can invade a country pre-emtively, triggered the deaths of quater million people, and feel completely rightous. He can create his very own jail of God, aka Gitmo, under his laws. America is truely blessed with having such a saint as chief executive. Yes, George W Bush, Decider of the United States, The Pope of Popes, The Second Jesus, Leader of New Rome and Sole Representative of God. by TomK (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 331 comments [24 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 11:50:08 AM (0+)
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It's getting clearer by the day
Rethuglicans are evil and vile scum. Anybody who continues to support them (whether Democrat, DINO, Independent, Apathetic or Rethuglican) is equally evil and vile scum. When the bloodletting starts (and make no mistake, an evil and vile and corrupt and arrogant government such as this makes people ANGRY and eventually VIOLENT), don't come crying that "I didn't agree with what they were doing... I was just a Good Republican but I didn't support the Rethuglicans in all their evil and vile, I just let them get away with it because I didn't know what to do." Rethuglican blood will flow in rivers so deep and wide that trees and dogs and heavy rocks will be swept away. by Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 747 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 4:51:48 PM (0+)
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Hyperbole samba
"Republicans are evil scum..." Liberal Democrats are traitors and cowards. Do I believe that statement that I just posted? No. I just threw it up there to show you how foaming-at-the-mouth stupid you sound. by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 745 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jul 4, 2007 at 12:11:38 AM (0+)
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Almost forgot
"Republican blood will flow..." Try it, son. You will fail miserably and will wind up in jail. by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 745 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jul 4, 2007 at 12:35:08 AM (0+)
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