Libby Pardon
I don't know, I don't see why Libby should be pardoned just because this was a witch hunt. I do think it was a witch hunt, but so what? He was convicted of perjury and obstruction. If he did that, even if it was a witch hunt, he should be held accountable for it.
Now, I have serious concerns that Fitzgerald's case was actually proven beyond reasonable doubt, and that the jurors based their conviction decision on the evidence for perjury and obstruction rather than their view of the leak. Based on the evidence itself, based on statements made by jurors after the case, and so on, I think it is quite reasonable to question whether Libby was properly convicted. And if Bush were to pardon based on that notion, that would be reasonable.
But I just can't buy the claim that Libby's perjury and obstruction was either justified or irrelevant, which is essentially the case being made by many. And the left is right, it is hypocritical, given that it's the same basic claim they ridiculed when offered in defense of Clinton (though no more hypocritical than the left is being by taking the opposite view, of course).
I don't think Bush will pardon Libby, not before he leaves office. He'd have to say that what Libby was convicted of was acceptable, which would be a terrible thing to say, or he'd have to say Libby didn't actually do what he was convicted of (or that the conviction was not just), which, while reasonable, would be a politically suicidal claim. Then again, he can't get much lower in the polls ...
Now, I have serious concerns that Fitzgerald's case was actually proven beyond reasonable doubt, and that the jurors based their conviction decision on the evidence for perjury and obstruction rather than their view of the leak. Based on the evidence itself, based on statements made by jurors after the case, and so on, I think it is quite reasonable to question whether Libby was properly convicted. And if Bush were to pardon based on that notion, that would be reasonable.
But I just can't buy the claim that Libby's perjury and obstruction was either justified or irrelevant, which is essentially the case being made by many. And the left is right, it is hypocritical, given that it's the same basic claim they ridiculed when offered in defense of Clinton (though no more hypocritical than the left is being by taking the opposite view, of course).
I don't think Bush will pardon Libby, not before he leaves office. He'd have to say that what Libby was convicted of was acceptable, which would be a terrible thing to say, or he'd have to say Libby didn't actually do what he was convicted of (or that the conviction was not just), which, while reasonable, would be a politically suicidal claim. Then again, he can't get much lower in the polls ...
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
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