Nation's Editorials: No Pardon for Libby
While editorials from all around the country are emphatically agreeing that President Bush must not pardon I. Lewis Scooter Libby, and while even a former senior Administration official admitted a pardon would be a show of "deep disregard for the rule of law," the President is under fire from his conservative base to do exactly that. As the New York Times noted today, that same former senior Administration official agrees that Libby has "failed to meet the general standard for a pardon by not showing contrition or serving any time." [NY Times, 6/7/07]
Editorials around the country agree. An LA Times editorial noted that advocates "of a pardon can't deny that a jury found Libby guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" and President Bush "has no legitimate reason to disturb that sentence." Moreover, a pardon would be "as arrogant and improper as the original scheme," as noted by the Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board, referring to the push to discredit critics of the intelligence used to justify the Iraq war.
The question for the President is whether he will put party ahead of country, or if he’ll do what's right for America and uphold the rule of law. Sitting at only 29% in the polls, the President faces a tough choice between unfavorable editorials and even former Administration officials opposing a potential pardon, and not wanting to further alienate what little support he has left among his base. The President's dilemma comes at the same time that his conservative base is also expressing anger "about his proposed immigration policy, his administration's spending and his approach to Iran." [NY Times, 6/7/07] And since Libby was Cheney’s Chief of Staff, it raises the question of what role the Vice President will play, and if he will he try to lobby the President on behalf of his convicted former aide.
"Scooter Libby's actions, taken at the highest levels of our nation's government, represent a blatant and inexcusable attack on our democracy and the rule of law," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. “Once again President Bush has the choice to put what's good for America ahead of what's good for his partisan political interests. This time, he should put America first and make it clear that he will not pardon Scooter Libby. Vice President Cheney should also make it clear that he will not ask the president to grant his former aide any type of amnesty.”
Below is an editorial round up from newspapers across the country agreeing that the President must not pardon "Scooter" Libby:
USA Today
June 7th, 2007
Ex-White House aide’s lies violated the law, impeded federal inquiry.
“While the lead-up to the trial is complicated, what Libby did is not. Simply put, the jury found ample evidence that Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff lied to federal agents and a grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Libby, a veteran lawyer and high-placed Washington official, certainly knew he was supposed to tell the truth...
“A pardon would also say that people who work for the White House are above the law if they think they're doing the president's bidding, because the president could always let them off the hook.”
Fort Worth Star- Telegram
June 7th, 2007
Subverting the truth
“But a 12-person federal jury in March, after a monthlong trial, believed that Libby lied to FBI investigators and a grand jury during an investigation to determine who in the Bush administration leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson to reporters. And Walton appropriately held him to account, imposing a sentence of 30 months in prison and a $250,000 fine...
“That's exactly why a presidential pardon of Libby would flout justice. His actions frustrated truth and accountability, two essential elements of government.”
The Day (Connecticut)
June 7th, 2007
Do Not Pardon Libby
“Mr. Libby tried to deceive investigators and in doing so, let down ordinary citizens. If President Bush were to pardon him now, it would send a chilling message to Americans that powerful people are above the law. They're not. They must follow the rules just like other people are expected to.
“It would also send a message to others in this and future administrations that if they lie to protect higher ups, they can bank on the redemption of a presidential pardon.”
Albany Times Union
June 7th, 2007
Justice for Mr. Libby
“The reality, though, is that the crimes for which Mr. Libby was convicted -- false statements, perjury and, yes, obstruction of justice -- impeded special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of the leak that exposed Ms. Plame...
“Mr. Libby lied, let's remember, not only to FBI agents but also to a grand jury. He lied, it can't be ignored, in his capacity as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. He lied, don't forget, about what he knew about an especially vicious campaign to ruin anyone who dared speak out against what was supposed to be the very premise of the Iraq war...
“The leniency Mr. Libby's loyalists seek for him would undermine confidence in the judicial system. Respect for the law must come before empathy for the man and his painful fall from grace. Mr. Libby has to serve his time.”
Seattle Times
June 7th, 2007
No pardon for Libby
“A presidential pardon for I. Lewis Libby would grievously compound the abuse of power that led to obstruction of justice and perjury convictions for Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.
“Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison because he lied to a grand jury and made false statements to the FBI in the course of a special prosecutor's investigation of the 2003 outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Her husband incurred the wrath of the White House because he poked holes in a story used to justify the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Plame's career was ended, and Libby is going to jail. Two lives ran aground on the same epic reefs of official lies and deceit...
“A presidential pardon sends one cynical message: Powerful, well-connected people can lie with impunity. The administration behaved as if it were above challenge and rebuke. A pardon further mocks the idea of checks and balances and the rule of law.”
Honolulu Star- Bulletin
June 7th, 2007
“However, granting Libby a pardon is tricky. Bush would have to overrule the federal prosecutors who brought the charges, a jury's decision and a judge he appointed to the bench; in essence, repudiating the legal structure of government he is sworn to uphold as president...
“In the investigation of who leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent, Bush and Cheney underwent questioning by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Both men were witnesses -- possibly even participants, in Cheney's case, according to Libby's FBI statements -- in the effort to retaliate against the agent's husband after he publicly questioned the administration's truthfulness in starting the Iraq war. The situation does not allow Bush an impartial role to decide on a pardon.”
Cincinnati Post
June 7th, 2007
Scooter Libby Sentence: Tough But Justified
“It was, indeed, a tough sentence. But Walton got it right when he said there must be tough sanctions for those in high government positions who intentionally lie to the FBI and, even worse, to a grand jury...
“A pardon issued on the eve of Libby's scheduled arrival at federal prison would be seen for what it is, hypocrisy and favoritism. Granted, Bush's standing is so low that a pardon for Libby couldn't do him much more damage.”
Chicago Tribune
June 7, 2007 Thursday
“Libby neither acknowledged his crime nor expressed remorse. Instead, he asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to ‘consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole life.’...
“But by his actions, Libby undermined the very system to which he dedicated his life...
“Bush shouldn't add to the taint -- now or in the final days of his term.”
Los Angeles Times
June 7, 2007
No pardon for Libby
“That's wrong. A pardon would be bad politics, deep injustice and an insult to the nation. Libby was convicted of a serious crime and sentenced in accordance with federal guidelines. President Bush has no legitimate reason to disturb that sentence.
“Advocates of a pardon can't deny that a jury found Libby guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. As a high government official, he lied to agents of that government; he did so to foil a prosecution. As he well knew, that was a crime, and one for which he deserves to go to prison.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 7, 2007 Thursday
Libby's Fate Prison Is A Fair Sentence For Lying Under Oath
“U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton's sentence of Mr. Libby was not unreasonably harsh, given the conviction on four felony charges and the role that his lies played in making the Plame investigation more difficult, longer and more expensive to the public than it needed to be.
“Mr. Bush should not pardon Mr. Libby. He should begin serving his sentence soon, making clear that lying to the FBI in an important investigation is a crime that deserves significant punishment.
The San Francisco Chronicle
June 7, 2007
No Libby pardon
“What we said: ‘Bush is in no position to be granting a pardon for a simple reason: The White House has a big conflict of interest in this case... A pardon will assure Libby's eternal loyalty on behalf of those who let him twist in the legal wind. A pardon would close a chapter on unseemly official behavior that remains woefully incomplete. It must not happen.’ -- Editorial, March 9, 2007...
“The president has declined to speak his mind, saying the legal process and possible appeal aren't over. But he hasn't ruled out a pardon, an act that would erase punishment for a White House-directed campaign to destroy critics of the early-days rationale for the Iraq war. Clearing Libby also suggests a final payoff in a political bargain: He takes the fall without naming others and in the end receives a pardon that keeps him out of prison.”
Philadelphia Enquirer
June 6th, 2007
The Libby Sentence
See ya later, 'Scooter'
“Libby's lying to the FBI and to a grand jury was serious, both for the deception itself and for what he was trying to hide. By giving false testimony, Libby attempted to cover up the Bush administration's reckless scheme to discredit a critic of the Iraq invasion, former ambassador Joseph Wilson...
“There are persistent calls for Bush to pardon Libby. That would be as arrogant and improper as the original scheme. While Libby was undoubtedly following orders, his culpability remains. He lied to federal agents investigating one of the most reckless and potentially dangerous political hit jobs in years.”
Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
June 6, 2007
Justice for all...
“The prison sentence of 2 1/2 years and the $250,000 fine assessed against Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby by a federal judge Tuesday is a welcome, though sad, reminder that in this country the law is supposed to apply evenly to everybody, whether a small-time street crook or a big-time Washington lawyer.
“No one has been charged with a crime for the leak itself, so Libby's defenders have argued that it was fundamentally unfair to prosecute him for lying to investigators about it. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, they say, went too far. And since Libby's conviction, they have argued he should get little or no time in prison. What a terrible argument to make on behalf of a highly successful lawyer serving in the White House - that it is excusable to break the law by lying to federal investigators. Who could have less of an excuse?
“What Libby did to himself is tragic. But allowing someone in his position to get away with breaking the law would do serious damage to this nation's adherent promise of justice for all.”
The Beaumont Enterprise (Texas)
June 6, 2007
EDITORIAL: Libby sentence had to be firm to show justice
“Yet the criminal justice system has to find out what happened in a given case to determine if any laws were broken. People who lie to investigators or commit perjury at trials cannot receive slaps on the wrists. They must be punished, even if they are high-ranking government officials.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer
June 6, 2007
Judge should send Libby to prison now
“Actually, Libby had the same obligation as any other citizen to tell the truth during a criminal investigation.
“That brings up the dicey matter of a presidential pardon. President Bush expressed sympathy for Libby's family Tuesday. But presidents generally make controversial pardons only in the final days of their terms. Staying free on appeal could run the clock down to a pardonable moment. Walton shouldn't let that happen.
“Libby is guilty. He should go to prison.”
The Denver Post
June 6, 2007
EDITORIAL Libby sentencing appropriate
“Walton, a Bush appointee, said public officials have a duty to testify honestly. The judge made the right call.
“We hope President Bush also resists the pleading of Libby's friends...
“Americans are increasingly concerned about the real toll of death and destruction in Iraq, so the Libby case may seem a sideshow to many. But Judge Walton did the right thing, and we hope the president does as well.”
Lancaster New Era (Pennsylvania)
June 6, 2007
No presidential pardon for Libby
“The sentencing of former White House aide I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby on Tuesday to two-and-a-half years in prison was sound judicial policy.
“Perhaps harsh. Perhaps not entirely fair. Yet, ultimately, necessary and correct. Every day, in every courtroom in America, suspects in crimes large and small go to prison or go free based on the truthful testimony of those who take the stand. Our system of justice stands on the truth. If there are no consequences for lying, there will be no justice...
“If Libby maintains his innocence, it's appropriate that he continue with his appeal. A pardon is out of the question.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
June 6, 2007
Libby sentence demonstrates that administration officials are not above the law
“‘Truth matters.’ That's what prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said, arguing Tuesday for a stiff sentence for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's former chief of staff...
“Yes, the truth matters. For that and other reasons, the president should resist any temptation to pardon Libby.”
The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)
June 6, 2007
EDITORIAL - An actual penalty for lying
“Thirty months behind bars seems about right under the circumstances. The judge should order the prison time to begin now, so that Libby can serve at least some of his sentence before President Bush is most likely to pardon him.
“The White House said Tuesday that the president has no plans to intervene in Libby's case during appeals. Bush's supporters will see this as appropriate presidential restraint. His critics will see it as more proof of Bush's tolerance of collateral damage. Either way, it's a relief to see someone in the White House finally held accountable, during these long years of war, for sidestepping the truth.”
