Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Bush and the Libby Pardon
Wall Street Journal ^ | 1.15.09 | Daniel Henninger

Posted on 01/15/2009 7:10:03 AM PST by meandog

As the curtain closes on the presidency of George W. Bush, the one loose end dangling is the pardon of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. In 2007 Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Let us be clear about the Bush legacy. After September 11, not a year into Mr. Bush's term, his became a war presidency. George Bush's place in history will turn on what becomes of Iraq and al Qaeda. If Iraq fails, history will mark down the Bush presidency. If by fits and starts Iraq grows into the Middle East's first large, functioning democratic republic, a more likely result, the Bush presidency will be one of the great building blocks of the new century's political order.

In his final press conference Monday, Mr. Bush described the disarray after the airliners slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field: "People were hauled in front of Congress and members of Congress were asking questions about, 'How come you didn't know this that or the other?'"

The Bush team righted itself and assembled a tough response to the attack: the assault on the terror strongholds of Afghanistan and the Patriot Act. Then, in astonishingly short order, the political unity of 9/11 dissolved. Mr. Bush and his team found themselves embattled by the opposition party, much of the Beltway press corps and a leaking national-security bureaucracy. The goal of the domestic opposition was to thwart the Bush antiterror policy, or take down the people shaping it.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Extended News
KEYWORDS: borisandnatasha; bush; colinpowell; joewilson; judithmiller; karlrove; lewisscooterlibby; loserjoewilson; mattcooper; niger; plame; presbush; richardarmitage; scooter; scooterlibby; timrussert; valeriethespy; vpcheney; yellowcake
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last
Let us be clear about the Bush legacy. After September 11, not a year into Mr. Bush's term, his became a war presidency. George Bush's place in history will turn on what becomes of Iraq and al Qaeda. If Iraq fails, history will mark down the Bush presidency. If by fits and starts Iraq grows into the Middle East's first large, functioning democratic republic, a more likely result, the Bush presidency will be one of the great building blocks of the new century's political order....

Mighty big "IFs"

1 posted on 01/15/2009 7:10:04 AM PST by meandog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: meandog

bookmark


2 posted on 01/15/2009 7:11:39 AM PST by Corin Stormhands (Will work for Bailout.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: meandog

“the one loose end dangling is the pardon of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby”

Bull. Ramos and Compean deserve it more.


3 posted on 01/15/2009 7:20:54 AM PST by dynachrome (Barack Hussein Obama yunikku khinaaziir)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

Exactly.

Yeah, Scoot should get a pardon, but Ramos and Compean DESERVE a Medal of Freedom, not jail time.


4 posted on 01/15/2009 7:49:15 AM PST by fishtank (RINOs: Stuck inside of the GOP like spackle or paste. (We need a cleansing.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, dynachrome.


5 posted on 01/15/2009 7:51:40 AM PST by Oldpuppymax (AGENDA OF THE LEFT EXPOSED)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: fishtank

“Medal of Freedom”

and we know who just got one of those!


6 posted on 01/15/2009 8:00:39 AM PST by dynachrome (Barack Hussein Obama yunikku khinaaziir)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

This commentary by Daniel Henninger in the WSJ is not about pardons, it is about crap that led to the attack and conviction of Libby. Libby should not have been convicted. Libby should be pardoned - and for the reasons cited by Henniger.

Sure, Ramos and Compean should be pardoned, but that is not what this commentary is discussing. We here on this forum should understand that.


7 posted on 01/15/2009 8:03:12 AM PST by GGpaX4DumpedTea
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Oldpuppymax; fishtank; All

I left a comment on the article at the site. The moderator there probably won’t approve it.


8 posted on 01/15/2009 8:06:16 AM PST by dynachrome (Barack Hussein Obama yunikku khinaaziir)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: GGpaX4DumpedTea
"the one loose end dangling is the pardon "

Implies there are no other loose ends. Sloppy writing or....

9 posted on 01/15/2009 8:07:56 AM PST by dynachrome (Barack Hussein Obama yunikku khinaaziir)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

Mega dittos.


10 posted on 01/15/2009 8:08:57 AM PST by edge10 (Obama lied, babies died!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Corin Stormhands

No one else could have done the job Bush did. No one.


11 posted on 01/15/2009 8:21:06 AM PST by Bad Jack Bauer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Bad Jack Bauer

Bush is plagued by the McCain pathology. I had a grandfather who reflected this same sickness. He was generous to a fault to strangers and miserly to his family. Bush rewards his political enemies but conflicts his allies. All in the name of compassionate conservatism.


12 posted on 01/15/2009 9:00:02 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (He is the son of soulless slavers, not the son of soulful slaves.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: fishtank

They messed up, bigtime:

Shooting at the felon was not out of order, but they are in jail for LYING about it.

Lying under oath, or in your statements is punishable, often with jail time.

It’s a pity they did wrong.

That said, there is NOTHING barring President Bush from pardoning them and recommending re-instating them to their original jobs. Scooter should be released as well. He was guilty only of being in the wrong place when a partisan committee went utterly rogue.


13 posted on 01/15/2009 9:14:01 AM PST by Don W (People who think are a threat to socialism)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

José Alonso Compeán is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, convicted of shooting an unarmed, illegal alien drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on February 17, 2005 and “obstructing justice by willfully defacing the crime scene”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Compean


14 posted on 01/15/2009 9:25:53 AM PST by anglian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Don W
bttt. Good post Don W.



If only Scooter had just stolen and destroyed Top Secret Classified documents from
the National Archives like Sandy Berger did, it wouldn't have been a problem. ;o)
15 posted on 01/15/2009 9:27:45 AM PST by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life ;o)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

Regulations
General regulations regarding the submission, consideration and award of pardons are set down in Title 28 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 1.1-1.10. The regulations suggest a five-year waiting period (after conviction or the end of incarceration) before a person becomes eligible to apply for a pardon,
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/pardons3.htm


16 posted on 01/15/2009 9:28:02 AM PST by anglian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

After a long investigation, Justice Department prosecutors determined that Berger only removed classified copies of data stored on hard drives stored in the National Archives, and that no original material was destroyed.[15] Berger eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material on April 1, 2005. Berger was fined $50,000 [16], sentenced to serve two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, and stripped of his security clearance for 3 years.[17] Berger also relinquished his license to practice law. [18]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Berger


17 posted on 01/15/2009 9:30:56 AM PST by anglian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: anglian
Great falsehoods!

What about the margin notes! You know, those handwritten little "over-the-transom" messages from Tricky Billy that set the unoffical but more important-to-follow-not-for-public-consumption-policy?

Honestly,the misinformation some people try to pass off...

BTW:
Speaking of which, concerning Ramos & Campean:
(1) they didn't break laws, but adminstrative procedures, and there is some question as to even that.
(2) Sutton moved to suppress vital information about the veracity of his star witness, in a friendly court. This incl. lying to the judge. Why did he feel the need to do that?
(3) unarmed? Prove it! The "victim" managed to cross the border after he was hit, and presented himself several days later. How many days to dump a gun?
There's alot more, if you're really interested in the truth. Go and find it yourself: people always value what they've found themselves more than what's just handed to them.

You really need to find a more accurate source than wikipedia. Try going to the source documents, and your accuracy will improve. Of course, that might impede your purpose...

18 posted on 01/15/2009 2:34:50 PM PST by mike.musculus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

“Implies there are no other loose ends. Sloppy writing or....”

The Bush administration is one big loose end...


19 posted on 01/15/2009 3:12:31 PM PST by GGpaX4DumpedTea
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

“Ramos and Compean deserve it more”

I second that!


20 posted on 01/15/2009 3:23:33 PM PST by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like what you say))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson