Posted on 06/08/2007 4:49:08 AM PDT by Laverne
Mr. President, do not leave this man behind.
Scooter Libby was a soldier in your--our--war in Iraq,...snip
The men and women who entrusted you with the presidency, I dare say, are hard pressed to understand why former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who was the admitted leaker of Mrs. Wilson's identity to columnist Robert Novak, has the comforts of home and freedom and privilege while Scooter Libby faces the dreaded prospect of imprisonment.
The "covertness" of Mrs. Wilson was never convincingly and fully established. ...(snip)...So the recollections of Scooter Libby clashed with those of journalist Tim Russert? Surely, we don't end an honorable career in public service and haul a man off to prison on that thinnest of reeds. ...(snip)...
This legal process thus removed from the higher ranks of our national security a man of real abilities and insight. ...(snip)...The critics of the war shall grant you no reprieve if you let Scooter Libby do prison time. ... (snip)..At the beginning of this ordeal, it would have been the proper thing to acknowledge that this case rested on a political difference over the prosecution of the war, that Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson were protagonists in a struggle over the conflict. ...(snip)... The better part of wisdom was to see the matter for what it was--a policy difference over the war, a matter that should never have been criminalized. The prosecutor, and the jury and the judge, had before them a case that purported to stand alone, a trial of one man's memory and recollections. ...snip
Scooter Libby was there for the beginning of that campaign. He can't be left behind as a casualty of a war our country had once proudly claimed as its own.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I think you will enjoy this article.
I am so deeply disappointed in this president. I feel betrayed and kicked in the face. I can only imagine how Scooter feels. Prayers for Scooter to help him through this.
W keeps telling us we are at war, and behaves like we are not. Which is it?
Who are you going to believe?
Bush, or your own lyin' eyes?
Excellent Bump.
Good post. Thanks.
I’m certain that President Bush will act on Libby when the time is right; for now, its not. Libby needs the opportunity to clear his good name through the appeals process. Should Walton (read that Ito) deny Libby his freedom during the appeals process, there are several ways for the President to fix the situation, and I believe he will.
I’m stunned that Mr. Armitage has allowed this to go forward and remain silent through it all. He is clearly not a man, but a coward. As for Fitzy — he is Niphong and worse. Even Susan Estridge recognizes this travesty for what it is, and we all know she is as liberal as they come.
Patience is something this President understands; I know he won’t leave Libby to twist in the wind, and I would expect that Team Libby hasn’t asked for the President’s help at this point. When they do, Bush will rise to the occasion; or he will rise to it without having to be asked.
I think Walton needs to hang up his robe and I think Fitzy needs to retire/resign/be fired for his egregios(sp) over reach.
I haven’t been following all the news on this, but could it be that Bush is waiting for the appeals process to run it’s course before granting a pardon ? I’m not saying he is, but just asking the question.
That is my take, Libby needs to be fully cleared and a pardon won’t do that. I’m certain that Libby wants to pursue the appeals process and if that fails, then a pardon will come. But...given the outrageousness of the entire case from start to finish, the verdict should be overturned and Libby should be cleared. Walton allowed into evidence gossip and inuendo, and kept from the jury evidence that was real evidence. Walton should hang his head in shame for what he did. Russert filed a false affidavit, the FBI lost evidence, yet the judge ignored these critical facts. Disgraceful behavior from both the persecutor and the judge.
I hate the “soldier” analogy being used for anything but, well...soldiers. It’s especially sickening to me when used for sports figures and even moreso when applied to mafioso. Even in this case, where I fully support “amnesty” for Scooter Libby, calling Libby a “fallen soldier,” is kind of a stretch. He may have been a loyal and effective political adviser who got railroaded AND thrown under the bus...I don’t dispute any of that, but I still think the analogy is a poor one.
Do the right thing immediately and grant him a Presidential pardon.
While you are at it, there are several Border Patrol agents doing time for doing their job, desperately needing you to do your job and grant them a Presidential pardon.
Just do it!
I agree with you on every point.
Thanks.
Fred Thompson said in a Sean Hannity interview that he, Thompson would pardon Scooter Libby.
It is a wonderful piece and Ajami is a true scholar and decent man.
Blame the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, IMHO.
When I see the same OpEd columns in syndication, they have various titles. This maybe the author's original title, but maybe not.
“He may have been a loyal and effective political adviser who got railroaded AND thrown under the bus...I don’t dispute any of that, but I still think the analogy is a poor one.”
Well said. Well put. Right on. If for no other reason than that he did not risk his life for our country in this GWOT, unlike the thousands of real soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who did, and do, and will for those next in line.
While you are at it, there are several Border Patrol agents doing time for doing their job, desperately needing you to do your job and grant them a Presidential pardon.
Just do it!”
I disagree with your first point, and seriously agree with your second, in a time-sensitive way.
Mr. Libby is in the process of appealing his sentence. He needs to complete that, first. If he fails, then he should, indeed, be pardoned.
The border patrol agents who’se stories I’ve seen are definitely in need of pardons, as their appeals have already failed. Looks to me like they got railroaded.
“Mr. Libby is in the process of appealing his sentence.”
make that “conviction” not “sentence.”
Railroaded, is how I see it with the Border Patrol Agents too.
I have to agree with you on allowing Libby to exhaust all appeals to the injustice system before giving him a Presidential Pardon. Just as long as he is allowed to remain free on bail while his appeals are being heard.
Last I heard the Judge was saying he saw no reason for Libby to not begin serving his sentence immediately.
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