Scooter Libby: Felon
Four time convicted felon Irving Lewis 'Scooter' Libby is headed for the Big House. Lying, Perjury, and Obstruction of Justice; a perfect trifecta to avoid indictment on the primary crime. Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Assistant to the President; Protege of Paul Wolfowitz; founding member of the Project for a New American Century. Scooter gets around.
The question of the day seems to be if and when to pardon Scooter. Will he be pardoned? Of course. In the end there were three people who could have leaked: Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, and Mr. Libby. Four if you count Rove; I don't. They've protected Rove more than they have the President. So Scooter takes the fall on a perjury charge, and no one gets hit with treason. And the 'when' is largely irrelevent: the President has a 29% approval rating. What's he got to lose? Let's look back.
Ford pardoned Nixon before charges were even filed, which is said to have cost him the next election. Fact is, he would never have won, but it was a black eye for the whole party. They traded missiles to Iran four years later to get back in the White House.
Carter granted amnesty to Vietnam era draft evaders, which was kinda like a pardon. He was not reelected.
Reagan pardoned Mark Felt and Edward Miller soon after being elected, but probably didn't know that Felt was Deep Throat. In the pardon he cited the Carter amnesty as justification, with great disdain.
George H. W. Bush couldn't wait to pardon Casper Weinberger and the whole crew from the Iran Contra affair. Had to, or his name might have come up: he was involved in Iran in both 1980 and the ensuing Contra affair.
Bill Clinton pardoned expat financier Marc Rich, accused of illegal trading with Iran. What the fuck is it with Iran? Here's what's interesting: who do you supposed Rich's lawyer was? You guessed it: Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. And Scooter wasn't alone: several former Reagan White House Staffers appealed on Rich's behalf at the eleventh hour.
Bush Jr. hasn't pardoned Bush Sr., as it might appear unseemly. One of his first acts as President, however, was to bury the records of his father's years in the White House, so we may never know his involvement in -- yes -- Iran.
And now Scooter. Should we assume that President Ahmadinejad himself will come out for Scooter?
The question of the day seems to be if and when to pardon Scooter. Will he be pardoned? Of course. In the end there were three people who could have leaked: Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, and Mr. Libby. Four if you count Rove; I don't. They've protected Rove more than they have the President. So Scooter takes the fall on a perjury charge, and no one gets hit with treason. And the 'when' is largely irrelevent: the President has a 29% approval rating. What's he got to lose? Let's look back.
Ford pardoned Nixon before charges were even filed, which is said to have cost him the next election. Fact is, he would never have won, but it was a black eye for the whole party. They traded missiles to Iran four years later to get back in the White House.
Carter granted amnesty to Vietnam era draft evaders, which was kinda like a pardon. He was not reelected.
Reagan pardoned Mark Felt and Edward Miller soon after being elected, but probably didn't know that Felt was Deep Throat. In the pardon he cited the Carter amnesty as justification, with great disdain.
George H. W. Bush couldn't wait to pardon Casper Weinberger and the whole crew from the Iran Contra affair. Had to, or his name might have come up: he was involved in Iran in both 1980 and the ensuing Contra affair.
Bill Clinton pardoned expat financier Marc Rich, accused of illegal trading with Iran. What the fuck is it with Iran? Here's what's interesting: who do you supposed Rich's lawyer was? You guessed it: Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. And Scooter wasn't alone: several former Reagan White House Staffers appealed on Rich's behalf at the eleventh hour.
Bush Jr. hasn't pardoned Bush Sr., as it might appear unseemly. One of his first acts as President, however, was to bury the records of his father's years in the White House, so we may never know his involvement in -- yes -- Iran.
And now Scooter. Should we assume that President Ahmadinejad himself will come out for Scooter?
posted by Sparky at 1:00 AM
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