That the Circuit Court refused to allow Scooter Libby out on bond during his appeal was an incorrect decision, but I also believe that President Bush made an incorrect move with his commutation of Libby's sentence today.

President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case Monday, stepping into a criminal case with heavy political overtones on grounds that the sentence was just too harsh.

Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That meant Libby was likely to have to report to prison soon and put new pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."

Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, and Bush said his action still "leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."

Now let me make a couple of things clear here. I believe the charges were unfounded. I believe the evidence indicates something other than an intent to deceive. I believe the sentence was too harsh, and based upon offenses with which Libby was not charged and against which he was never permitted to present a defense. Given that the actual leaker was known before the investigation even began and was not charged with any crime, as well as the fact that the perjury before Congress of Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame has not bee prosecuted, the trial and conviction of Scooter Libby over what was essentially an erroneous recollection of non-material facts is a travesty of justice.

However, President Bush made the wrong move today. Rather than the commutation, the President should have exercised his authority to grant a reprieve until the end of the appeals process -- a move which would have essentially reversed the move by the Circuit Court while still leaving the conviction and sentence intact pending the appeal.

Some may wonder why I take this position. Easy -- I believe that the elimination of the grossest miscarriage of justice, the 30-month prison sentence, has the effect of prejudicing Libby's appeal. It is hard to argue the sentence is too harsh when the worst element of it has been wiped away -- and since judges are human, it is possible that a court might reason that the President's action might lead certain jurists to have a bias against Libby due to the presidential intervention prior to the exhaustion of all appeals.

Personally, I believe a full and complete pardon may be in order -- but not at this time, when Libby still has a realistic chance of finding the remedy for this injustice in the Judicial Branch. And sadly, today's commutation also makes an eventual pardon harder to justify at a later date.

H/T Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller, Stop the ACLU, Ace, Jawa Report

Posted by: Greg at 04:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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