The Day the Rule of Law Died

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.