Scooter Libby Sentenced Today

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 10:32am

The highest-ranking official convicted of a crime since the Iran Contra affair. Will he get three years in jail for obstruction of justice or leniency?

===

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wants to put Libby in prison for up to three years because the investigation he obstructed _ the leak of a CIA operative's identity _ was so serious. Libby's attorneys are seeking no jail time and argue that it's unfair to increase the sentence simply because the investigation was serious.

"No one was ever charged. Nobody ever pleaded guilty," attorney William Jeffress said. "The government did not establish the existence of an offense."

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton was skeptical. By that reasoning, Walton said, witnesses benefit if they aggressively obstruct investigations so prosecutors can't make their case.

Libby was to have the opportunity to speak publicly about the charges later in the day. He has not discussed the case since his 2005 indictment. Throughout his monthlong trial, and following his conviction in March, he always let his lawyers do the talking.

Defense attorneys have not said whether Libby actually will speak. It's a delicate decision, one made more difficult because Libby has maintained his innocence and is appealing his conviction.

"The only thing any sentencing judge wants to hear is remorse, and if they don't think it comes from the heart or they think they're only sorry for getting caught, for losing their job, or for going to jail, it doesn't count," said Hugh Keefe, a Connecticut defense attorney who teaches trial advocacy at Yale University.

Libby Seeks Leniency at Sentencing

Updated On: 6/5/07 at 10:32 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 10:35am

This is Scooter showing remorse.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:12pm

30 months in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and two years of probation.

Now...will Bush pardon him?

[pab]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:19pm

The fact that he will be allowed to be out until his appeal is done, which could take up to two years, I doubt that he will even see the inside of a jail cell.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:20pm

He will get a pardon.

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:20pm

hee hee hee!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:31pm

It's all good.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:35pm

He'll be pardoned.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 12:56pm

Pardoning would tarnish Bush, so that's not a slam dunk.

Apparently Judge Walton was unwilling to consider the option of Scooter staying out on bail pending appeal, but allowed defense a hearing for next Thursday.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 1:15pm

Yeah, but does Bush even care whether he's tarnished at this point? He knows damn good and well no one will do anything about it (except bitch about it on their blog) if he does pardon Libby, so...why not?

[Roscoe]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 3:17pm

I doubt he'll get a pardon, pardons are too big to waste on small fry like Scooter Libby.

Scooter will get two months in a country club prison, and then a well-paying job at some conservative think tank. That's his "pardon" for being a good member of the Rove Organization.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 4:22pm

Statement from Joe and Valerie Wilson:

===

As Americans, both Valerie and I are grateful that justice has been served, reconfirming that our country remains a nation of laws.

We are also saddened for the pain that Mr. Libby has inflicted on his family, friends, and the nation. Mr. Libby benefited from the best this country had to offer: the finest schools, a lucrative career as a lawyer and many years of service in Republican administrations. That he would knowingly lie, perjure himself and obstruct a legitimate criminal investigation is incomprehensible.

It is our hope that he will now cooperate with Special Counsel Fitzgerald in his efforts to get to the truth. As Mr. Fitzgerald has said, a cloud remains over the Vice President.

Every official in this administration must be held accountable for their actions.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 4:34pm

If the judge denies bail, Scooter will go to jail within 45-60.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 4:51pm

I was hoping sentencing would include:

PVC pipe
liquid nails
box of roman candles
Zippo lighter

Inexpensive, yet satisfying

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 4:53pm

I hope the judge has the guts to deny bail.

Poor Scooter, couldn't happen to a more deserving man.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 11:12pm

When I think about what the Wilsons were put through and the idea that Libby may get a pardon....it makes me sick.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 6/5/07 at 11:37pm

Bush will pardon Libby. The Republicans runing for office in 08 will have distanced themselves so far from Bush, that no one will notice the pardon.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:13am

He wont pardon Libby. Yesterday he expressed "sadness" for the family, but -- interestingly enough -- not Libby. He's written the guy off because Scooter served his purpose.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 8:22am

For once, I agree with SeanMartin.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 12:32pm

Hey, c'mon, you've agreed with me more than that. Come out of that closet and admit it!!! :)

[pab]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 1:22pm

GOP Candidates Endorse Pardon for Convicted Criminal

Posted: 6/6/07 at 2:34pm

Republicans explain why Scooter shouldn't be punished:

Former Cheney staffer Mary Matalin: She explains that right after 9/11 the Cheney Grandkids were in that "undisclosed location" and couldn't Trick or Treat. "Scooter flew into action, finding treats, creating costumes and arranged an ad-hoc trick-or-treat and Halloween games for the kids."

SEC chief Christopher Cox: "The Libby children are...entering that time when girls grow and change startlingly quickly."

Presidential front runner to be Fred Thompson: "What they were looking at didn't constitute a crime. Valerie Plame ... wasn't a covered person under the statute. ... Scooter Libby didn't leak her name." (Three lies in that one statement! Impressive even for a Republican!)

Nina Easton, Conservative Yakker: "Fitzgerald made the case that a CIA operative's name was leaked....she's never been proven to be covert under the law that he's talking about."

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/6/07 at 2:48pm

From today's Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502715.html?hpid=topnews

It just kills me when they use the word "integrity" to describe Scooter.

[pab]

Posted: 6/14/07 at 1:32pm

Libby motion denied and will not be free during appeal.

Updated On: 6/14/07 at 01:32 PM

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/14/07 at 1:38pm

"Others offered details of what they described as Libby's crucial role in key administration decisions. Former ambassador and White House aide Robert D. Blackwill called Libby a "crucial voice" in President Bush's decision to accelerate transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

"Sadly I believe that Mr. Libby's premature departure from the Administration has been a major reason for the downward spiral of the situation in Iraq and the consuming mess in which we find ourselves today regarding that country," he wrote.
"

After reading insanity like that I wonder if we even share the same dimension.