John Dean on Libby's Case

[H2O Man]

Scooter Libby's Appeal: The Focus Shifts To the Highly Political U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
By JOHN W. DEAN
June 15, 2007
FindLaw

On June 14, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton rejected the motion filed by Scooter Libby, asking to remain out of prison while he files his appeal, seeking to overturn his conviction for false statements, perjury and obstruction of justice relating to the investigation undertaken by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald of the exposure of the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. A week earlier, Judge Walton had stated that he did not believe there was any legal basis for Libby to remain free on bond under current law. This week, he did not change his mind. The headline, of course, is that it appears that Libby is headed for jail in just four to six weeks, unless either the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stays Judge Walton's order during the appeal process, or President Bush pardons Libby. ....

Robbins showed up on Libby's last brief and in Judge Walton's courtroom for a sparring match over Libby's bail. Needless to say, it is a nicely-done brief, but given the erudition of typical appellate specialists, I was surprised by its tone and style. This may be the result of Robbins's addition to the team, or simply a hint of growing desperation. Following the events leading up to Judge Walton's decision, I was delighted to see his no-nonsense responses. I also found it heartening that other observers - such as Marcy Wheeler -- found the efforts to bully Judge Walton as conspicuous as I did. ....

There are ten active judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia of whom seven are Republicans and three are Democrats. In addition, there are four senior status judges of whom three are Republicans and one is a Democrat. In short, this court is composed of ten Republicans and four Democrats. It does not require a statistician to appreciate that the probability of Libby drawing a three-judge panel composed of at least two Republicans (a majority) is therefore extremely high.

If this court stays Libby's sentence, that will be a grievous mistake. Judge Walton has taken care to scrupulously follow the law, and he has clearly set aside the fact he was appointed by a Republican president. If the panel deciding upon the stay should overrule Judge Walton, that result ought send shudders through the land -- because it will mean the rule of law has become secondary to party loyalty. So we'll see. I would be stunned if a GOP-majority panel or, indeed, any panel gave Scooter Libby a pass.

More at:


http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070615.html

[Jim Sagle]

1. A dumbfuck.

[H2O Man]

2. Mitt Romney weighs in ....

Romney: Libby Case Needs Careful Review

By DEANNA BELLANDI Friday, June 15, 2007

CHICAGO - Republican president candidate Mitt Romney, who denied every pardon or commutation during his term as Massachusetts governor, said Thursday a pardon for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby deserves a close examination.

"I took a careful review during my term as governor of the people that were brought forward. That doesn't mean I pardoned them, but I took a careful review. I think this deserves a very careful review," Romney told The Associated Press in a brief interview. ....

Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera contends Romney is dodging a fundamental question. "Defending Scooter Libby may be a good applause line for right wing Republicans, but the American people are looking for a strong and decisive leader who can say one way or another whether he would pardon a man who obstructed a national security investigation in a time of war," LaVera said.

On the campaign trail, Romney often cites his record as governor in denying pardons or commutations. During his four years in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied. Romney has said he refused pardons because he didn't want to overturn a jury.


More at:


http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/06/15/ap/politics/d8potlp80.txt

[PATRICK]

28. Misses a salient reality

Romeny is adopted by Jeb, hence the dynasty team. Expect many Cheney holdovers and Bush loyalists in his cabinet. This is NOT noted very often and has less to do with being on the conservative talking points.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. Libby isn't going to prison.

I will be stunned if the Republican appointees don't grant Libby's appeal. It is the way America works in the 21st century. It also is just another sign that we are the latest Roman Empire in decline.

[H2O Man]

4. Kristol's Ball

The Weekly Standard, William Kristol: Don't Feel Terrible, Mr. President
Monday, June 18, 2007
William Kristol
The Weekly Standard

Three months ago, after Scooter Libby was convicted of perjury and false statements, we argued in these pages that pardoning Libby was in President Bush's interest and in the country's interest. And we suggested that if the president did intend to pardon Libby, there was no reason to wait.

The president waited. He explained he was "pretty much going to stay out of it" until the case had run its course. Now we are near the end of the course, with a sentence of 30 months in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the judge's stated inclination not even to let Libby stay out of prison pending his appeal. The federal probation office had filed a statement that the applicable guidelines would suggest a sentence of 15 to 21 months--and that there were grounds for a "downward departure" from that range. The judge rejected his own probation office's recommendation. ...

In any case, it's not about Bush's feelings. The Constitution says nothing about the president's feelings. It does, however, in Article II, Section Two, give the president the power to pardon. To govern is to choose. Not to pardon is, now--given the verdict, and the likelihood of a prison term--itself a choice. Not to pardon would be a foolish and unjust choice for the president to make. But more important, not to pardon--or, at the very least, not to commute the sentence by eliminating the jail sentence--would be a dishonorable choice. For one could only interpret such a choice as driven by vanity and fastidiousness--the president's desire to separate himself from someone who has gotten into trouble, a desire not to tarnish his own legacy by pardoning the top staffer of his unpopular vice president. One might add that Libby's "crime" came about as he tried to defend the Bush administration from the charge that it knowingly--that the president knowingly--lied us into a difficult and unpopular war.

Injustices happen in politics. Sometimes presidents have to put the general good over individual cases of justice or humanity. But Bush can't believe any general good is served by Scooter Libby's going to prison. Quite the contrary. All that stands against a pardon--or at the very least commutation of the prison term--is a short-sighted, selfish, and petty desire to avoid some additional criticism. We would like to think better of George W. Bush. ....

more at:


http://www.scooterlibby.com/news/Read.aspx?ID=318

[annabanana]

13. kristol either thinks the cat is still in the bag about the

deliberate lies that got us into this mess, or he is even dumber than I thought.

On edit
from the article:
"what the Wall Street Journal correctly called "the cowardice and incompetence of his administration""

I guess he IS that dumb. Amazing. He insults the famously vindictive B*sh, and demands the favor of pardoning libby anyway.

[formercia]

16. The Kristol Ball

May it shatter into a Million pieces.

[H2O Man]

5. The Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal, Op-Ed, FOUAD AJAMI: Fallen Soldier
Friday, June 08, 2007
FOUAD AJAMI
Wall Street Journal

Mr. President, some weeks ago, I wrote a letter of appeal, a character reference, to Judge Reggie B. Walton, urging leniency for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Scooter, I said, has seen the undoing of his world, but he comes before a "just court in a just and decent country." I was joined by men and women of greater acclaim in our public life, but the petitions were in vain. Now the legal process has played out, Judge Walton has issued a harsh prison term of 30 months, and what will rescue this honorable man is the power of pardon that is exclusively yours.


This case has been, from the start, about the Iraq war and its legitimacy. Judge Walton came to it late; before him were laid bare the technical and narrowly legalistic matters of it. But you possess a greater knowledge of this case, a keen sense of the man caught up in this storm, and of the great contest and tensions that swirl around the Iraq war. To Scooter's detractors, and yours, it was the "sin" of that devoted public servant that he believed in the nobility of this war, that he did not trim his sails, and that he didn't duck when the war lost its luster.


In "The Soldier's Creed," there is a particularly compelling principle: "I will never leave a fallen comrade." This is a cherished belief, and it has been so since soldiers and chroniclers and philosophers thought about wars and great, common endeavors. Across time and space, cultures, each in its own way, have given voice to this most basic of beliefs. They have done it, we know, to give heart to those who embark on a common mission, to give them confidence that they will not be given up under duress. A process that yields up Scooter Libby to a zealous prosecutor is justice gone awry.


Mr. President, the one defining mark of your own moral outlook is the distinction between friend and foe, a refusal to be lulled into moral and political compromises. Your critics have made much of this and have seen it as self-righteousness and moral absolutism, but this has guided you through the great, divisive issues faced by our country over these last, searing years. Scooter Libby was a soldier in your -- our -- war in Iraq, he was chief of staff to a vice president who had become a lightning rod to the war's critics. He didn't sit around the councils of power only to make the rounds in Georgetown's salons insinuating that this was not his war all along. He didn't claim this war when it promised an easy victory only to desert it when it stalled in the alleyways of Fallujah and Baghdad and in the twilight world of Arab politics. You are not a lawyer, Mr. President, nor is the vast populace out there. 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.

more at:


http://www.scooterlibby.com/news/Read.aspx?ID=315

[H2O Man]

6. The Doors

Wait until the war is over
And were both a little older
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmets head
And its all over
For the unknown soldier
Its all over
For the unknown soldier
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Compnee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!
Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmets head
And, its all over
The war is over
Its all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah
All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over
All over, baby
Oh, woa-yeah
All over
All over
Heeeeyyyy

[Cass]

9. Fallen soldier?!?

Ajami has one heck of a nerve referring to Libby as a fallen soldier. My God.

[annabanana]

14. This appeal to B*sh's "moral compass" regarding loyalty,

friend & foe, steadfastness will probably resonate with the boyking...

[H2O Man]

15. It could.

But I don't think it will. I think it is less a factor than his not wanting to be like his father in any way in terms of his presidency.

[annabanana]

19. So, in his twisted view.. It will take "guts" to let his pal go to jail.

sweet

[Patsy Stone]

7. Dean gave some nice props to Marcy!

That was very cool. It seems he was as unimpressed with Robbins as Walton was.

Good luck, Scooter.

[antigop]

8. On another thread, I asked about the makeup of the appeals court

Dean's article lays it out.

Thanks, H2Oman!

[texpatriot2004]

10. If they pardon him then "that will mean the rule of law has become

secondary to party loyalty." That sentence sums it up.

[Toots]

11. I would be stunned

Why? This Party over country has been going on for over a decade now. Why would more of the same be stunning? Has not what they have already done not been stunning? Outed a Covert CIA Agent and Americans find it okay.... Stunning...

[Spazito]

12. Good read, thanks for posting

As Dean said, "Judge Walton has taken care to scrupulously follow the law,...", which is one of the reasons for the snarky tone in the Libby defense team's briefs. Judge Walton's decisions and opinions were meticulously reasoned based on the law making the defense's job of arguing for an appeal that much harder providing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia makes their decision based on the law as opposed to party loyalty.

This paragraph says it all, imo:

If this court stays Libby's sentence, that will be a grievous mistake. Judge Walton has taken care to scrupulously follow the law, and he has clearly set aside the fact he was appointed by a Republican president. If the panel deciding upon the stay should overrule Judge Walton, that result ought send shudders through the land -- because it will mean the rule of law has become secondary to party loyalty.

[WiseButAngrySara]

17. Excellent. He is such a clear writer. Let's hope he is not stunned! ....n/t

[H2O Man]

20. I think

that Scooter is stunned.

[WiseButAngrySara]

21. That about sums up his arrogance, does it not? Surely he knows

that he broke the law. He must really believe that he is above the very law he is supposed to be defending. I hope he continues to be stunned.

[WiseButAngrySara]

18. KNR. ....n/t

[Straight Shooter]

22. The precedents which the neocons are setting are absolutely staggering.

Having worked tangentially with the criminal justice system for over 25 years (not an attorney), it is nauseating to watch these criminals make up their own rules as they go along.

Banana Republicans.

[Me.]

23. Tone, Spin, Hype....Never Substance

If they had to deal with facts alone they would never get what they want, so they distort, distract, lie. And isn't that approach what got him in trouble in the first place. Question, could Fitzgerald appeal any decision made by the DC Circuit?

"Libby now has four firms that are among the highest priced in the nation representing him. A Washington attorney who travels in these circles estimated that Libby's legal team is costing no less than $2000 per hour, and those hours add up very quickly, between writing briefs and arguing in court. Proceedings relating to Libby's sentencing alone could have cost $50,000 to $75,000. It is little wonder that Mary Matalin has mass-mailed a new fundraising letter, seeking money for Libby's Defense Fund."

Ironic isn't it? So many high priced lawyers, so little results. I guess you don't always get what you pay for.

[Gregorian]

24. I appreciate Dean's comments.

They affirm my fear and confidence. It's obvious this administration is on a Kamikaze end run to adjust the balance of this government by any means possible. But at the end of the game, there is reality.

Judge Walton clearly and strongly upheld justice. And even though I fear appeals that do little more than drag against the wheel of justice, I have at least some confidence the conservative appeals judges will also uphold justice. There is very little gray area in this case.

The bottom line is, when this administration is long gone, we either are a land of laws or a land of lawlessness. The last six years have been more of the latter. But that bottom line is what defines a country. And it's obvious. Either America is America, or it isn't. I don't think there is a Bush appointee around who wants the ultimate fruits of injustice, no matter how greedy they are.

[Me.]

25. .

:kick:

[bleever]

26. Kristol unclear.

Not only does he insult * while asking for a pardon for Scootie, but he frames it in the worst possible way: that * must pardon him and take ownership of Scootie's crime.

Joe DiGenova was on Hodball saying that the failure to pardon will leave an indelible black mark on this presidency. Kristol is begging * to own the crime, and accept Libbert's black mark as his own.

A bit of a bind here, eh what?

[H2O Man]

27. I like that

the article is dated for 6-18.

[bleever]

31. What is the significance

of that date?

[Uncle Joe]

29. Kicked and recommended

Thanks for the thread H2O Man.

[suffragette]

30. Because I haven't said it recently or often enough

H2O Man :yourock:
I may not always respond to your posts, but I read them often and appreciate them always.

[Patsy Stone]

32. Link to Bill Moyers' Journal video:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06152007/watch.html?playertype=windowsmedia;speed=480;mediatype=video;media=%2Fwnet%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2F1110%2FBMJ1110_libby_320.mov%2C%2Fwnet%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2F1110%2FBMJ1110_libby_480.mov%2C%2Fwnet%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2F1110%2FBMJ1110_libby_320.wmv%2C%2Fwnet%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2F1110%2FBMJ1110_libby_480.wmv;helptemplate=%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2Fwatch%2Fhelp_template.html;playertemplate=%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2Fwatch%2Fvideo_template.html;basepath=%2Fmoyers%2Fjournal%2F06152007%2Fwatch.html;prefchange=1

(Even though the link looks long and garbled, it works.)