One corrupt and lawless act leads to another-- a kind of vertical integration of scandal. If the American people and their elected representatives allow the perpetrators of this assault on the rule of law to escape the appropriate consequences, that would be the biggest scandal of all.

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This administration lied us into a war.

That was a scandal.

When a respectable public official (Ambassador Wilson) exposed one of those lies, this administration avoided dealing with the substance of the issue and sought instead to personally discredit the messenger.

That was a scandal.

The means the Bush Administration chose for discrediting that credible messenger was to make public classified information that outed a covert American intelligence officer (Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame).

That was a scandal.

When an independent prosecutor sought to investigate the disclosure of this American intelligence officer, the right hand man of the Vice President of the United States (Scooter Libby) lied under oath and obstructed justice.

That was a scandal.

And now, the president of the United States --with the legal power but with no legal justification-- has commuted the sentence given the Vice President's right hand man.

This, too, is a scandal.

If the American people, and their elected representatives in Congress, allow this administration to continue its corruption and its assault on the rule of law --in this and so many other matters-- without its suffering the appropriate consequences set forth in the Constitution of the United States, that, ultimately, will be the biggest scandal of all.

Authors Bio:
Andy Schmookler, an award-winning author, political commentator, radio talk-show host, and teacher, was the Democratic nominee for Congress from Virginia's 6th District. His new book -- written to have an impact on the central political battle of our time -- is WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST. His previous books include The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution, for which he was awarded the Erik H. Erikson prize by the International Society for Political Psychology.