Merry Fitzmas: Libby convicted on 4 of 5 counts
By Mark Kilmer Posted in Miscellanea | Scooter Libby — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
I'll break out my old Band Aid record:
At Fitzmas time, relevance and meaning fades.
But in the courtroom, there's plenty
Of cackling, lefty joy.
Wrap you arms around your head, it's Fitzmas time!
Seriously, Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to the Veep, was found guilty four of five counts, but not before the jury had the opportunity to ask one last stupid question:
The jury late on Monday asked whether prosecutors were trying to prove that Libby lied to an FBI agent about his conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper, as the indictment says.
Well, it's what the indictment says. I'm not an attorney, but it seems that prosecutors try to prove what is charged in the indictment.
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The answer give to the jury was: YES. This was probably not accompanied by epithets and insults, but who knows what the attorneys for the prosecution and for the defense were thinking. (Here's a report which indicates that the "resolved it themselves before the judge could answer.")
When the jurors finally decided that they wanted to go home, after ten days of deliberations, they found Libby guilty of two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements, and one count of obstruction of justice. They found him to be not guilty of lying to the FBI about the conversation with Matt Cooper.
At his October, 2005 press conference announcing the indictment, the Fitz in Fitzmas intoned:
I think what we see here today, when a vice president's chief of staff is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, it does show the world that this is a country that takes its law seriously; that all citizens are bound by the law.
But what we need to also show the world is that we can also apply the same safeguards to all our citizens, including high officials. Much as they must be bound by the law, they must follow the same rules.
What law? The one against fibbing to cover up something which did not need to be hidden, something which was legal? The leaker was Dick Armitage, and it still has not been legally established that Val Plame was covert.
After all the money and the lefty excitement, Fitzgerald had to indict someone. He might have concluded that he had the best shot at nailing Libby for perjury and obstruction, so he went with that. The crusade against the President and his peeps manages to secure a conviction of one man on charges only peripherally related Joe Wilson, Niger, the sixteen words, or Val Plame as James Bond.
Now what? At max, Libby would get 10 years for obstruction and 5 each for the three perjury counts, plus a $250,000. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he'll probably get from 1.5 to 3 years in the pokey.
Libby can appeal, and the President can pardon him, making him the most controversial pardon since Clinton (Bill) pardoned international fugitive and Democratic fundraiser Marc Rich as he left office in January of 2001. But, of course, Mr. Rich had a good attorney: Lewis "Scooter" Libby. No kidding, and what goes around…
Merry Fitzmas to all, and to Fitz: G'bye.
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Merry Fitzmas: Libby convicted on 4 of 5 counts 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
>>Clinton lies to a grand jury about something you don’t have memory recollection problems over and no jail time. Jefferson is stashing bribery cash by the tens of thousands in his freezer and no jail time. Sandy Burger stashes highly classified material from the National Archives in his paints to place under a trailer later and no jail time because he didn’t realize what he was doing.
The sentencing phase for Libby hasn't even begun yet. For all we know, Libby could get no jail time. Time will tell.
I can see the Democrats now, saying to the President, "Don't you dare pardon Libby, or we'll stop cooperating with your Administration...er...well...we'll stop giving you any respect at all...oh...well...we'll leak your classified intelligence programs to the press...er...well...there must be something else left we can do that's bad. Don't worry. We'll think of something we haven't done already."
Libby needs to remember Omertà and he will be remember as being a stand up guy come 20 January, 2009.
It's rope a dope until then.
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Dennis Miller for President...no more wimps!
Against people that would be happy to see you barbecued. The administration should have been in your face about the whole wilson affair. A whispering campaign was unneeded, and this is the result.
Well maybe we can get the special prosecutor law taken off the books at last. Or next time when its the democrats turn we can always appoint Nifong.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
I said in early 2001 after Tenant was left on board, much to my chagrin and that of many conservatives, he would be the one that would destroy Bush’s presidency if anyone did.
Let’s see, Mr. “WMD are a slam dunk” and the guy that bankrolled our gadflies Plame and Wilson.
Third lesson learned, never, never, never keep a Democrat in the Cabinet, never.
But hey, it’s the new tone. Let’s just give out another Congressional Medal of Freedom. Isn’t that ironic, Tenant’s CIA is going to cost Libby his freedom.
A Congressional Medal of Freedom for George and no pardon for Scooter, now that’s loyalty.
“They chose dishonor. They will have war.” - Winston Churchill
The "New Tone" implodes. This is what you get for kowtowing to the media and the Democrats by going along with an investigation into a non-crime rather than standing up and calling it for what it is. In fact, it goes back to the unwillingness to defend the 16 words in the SOTU which were in fact true all along. Accepting the truth as defined by the MSM again and again has lead to this travesty of justice. None of this would have happened if the POTUS had stood up to these liars to begin with.
This is why Republicans should not communicate nor associate with the MSM. There is nothing in it for them other than misrepresentations, setups, lies and now jail time. Really, what is gained by showing up for Tim Russert every Sunday morning? How many votes are swung on his show or Democrat operative Stephanopoulos’s show anyhow? All our appearances do is give credibility to the lie of their evenhandedness and distortions of the truth. Expose them for who they are and let them sit there and talk to fellow Democrats all day. I stopped watching them years ago but Republican politicians keep showing up to help swing the independents over to the Dems.
Clinton lies to a grand jury about something you don’t have memory recollection problems over and no jail time. Jefferson is stashing bribery cash by the tens of thousands in his freezer and no jail time. Sandy Burger stashes highly classified material from the National Archives in his paints to place under a trailer later and no jail time because he didn’t realize what he was doing. But Libby’s memory is different than others on an immaterial matter and it’s off to the pokey.
Will Republicans finally learn that politics is war by other means and stop trying to get along with people who are going to slit their political throats every chance they get? If Bush had never gone along to get along to begin with none of this would be happening.
“They chose dishonor. They will have war.” - Winston Churchill