Stephen Schlesinger: A Pardon For Libby?

[Sinistrous]

Stephen Schlesinger Sat Oct 29, 1:21 PM ET

Could it be? Is it possible that as Lewis Libby was exiting the White House, he received an assurance, either in the form of a wink and a nod, or in a special "inner circle" handshake, or some Rovian backroom deal, that, should he be convicted...

...it would be one of those "in your face" acts so cherished by this president against all of his perceived enemies -- the media, the liberals, the anti-war critics, the Scowcrofts in his own party, and all those voters who opposed him in 2004. Just wondering...

Read this short, disturbing article here.

[postulater]

1. Link didn't work for me

[Sinistrous]

3. Try it now.

Repair made.

[postulater]

7. Got it, thanks

That scenario sounds quite probable.

Libby knows he only has a few months in jail no matter what. And when Bush leaves office he gets a pardon and a great job with Halliburton.

That way there is no more discussion about Cheney or Rove or Bush.

Even though he would be asked to testify at his trial, he can surely protect those jerks and take the heat himself.

The only downside for Libby is the short time in jail. There is no real benefit to telling the truth as long as he was promised a pardon by Bush.

[eleny]

2. I believe it

So I hope that Fitz understands this and goes for multiple jugulars.

[unblock]

4. the promise/threat of a pardon always lingers ....

shrub would of course prefer to pardon all his cronies on 1/19/2009.

but he can always do it earlier if he thinks he can get away with it. that's why we have to be extremely vigilent about ANY p.r. campaign that attempts to make any pardon sound reasonable.

any hint of "this is getting in the way of our fighting the war on terror" crap, e.g., must be shot down immediately as pure idiocy or cynical deflection.

[kaneko]

6. I thought

Congressman Conyers preemptingly wrote a letter to Bush asking
him not to pardon anybody who might be indicted.

[unblock]

9. yes, and shrub always does what conyers asks....

:sarcasm:

i think we all know that if push comes to shove, shrub will find a way to land on his feet. hopefully, that means a rich but early retirement. i'd prefer prison, but that just ain't in the cards, methinks.

[Demeter]

12. Bush Can't Pardon Himself

So Fitzgerald's got his work cut out for him---prune off all the sucker branches, top the truck (that would be Cheney) and then hope that Democrats recapture the legislature and impeach and convict and remove Bush from office.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. If he does pardon Libby, it would be prior to a trial. Otherwise

the entire White House staff, Cheney and Powell and numerous others will be testifying under oath.

[postulater]

10. Haven't they already worked out a coordinated story yet?

Or do you think they just won't be able to keep it all together under the questioning by Fitzgerald?

Your point about the pardon prior to the trial is interesting. I don't know if bush would get away with it though. There is too much scrutiny now. I think it would have to wait until he leaves office, as long as the trial didn't expose much more than what is known now.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. If they had a good coordinated story, Libby wouldn't be indicted,

and Cheney and Rove wouldn't look guilty as hell.

I believe GHW bush pardoned some of the Iran Contra defendants prior to trial.

Duhbya would take a further political hit, but he doesn't have to run again so why not?

[postulater]

13. That sounds like a crazy law, being able to pardon before conviction

I hope they have to go through the trial.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. What they do is a blanket pardon. Pardon on the issue as well as

any other crimes they may have committed during a period of time.

Yeah, it's pretty easy to abuse IMHO.

[Gloria]

8. Sure. If you read the blog Suburban Ecstasies... I came away with

the feeling that Libby was quite willing to "obstruct" because he figures he'll be pardoned at some point. Which makes me nervous about Rove and the rest. There are some "speculations" that Fitz already has enough on Rove to indict...but if not, will Rove give up anyone so that this can go forward? Esp. if Rove figures he could be pardoned, too??


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