I cannot recall when I have seen a story make such a wave in the blogsphere.  Memeorandum has almost the entire page dedicated to tracking the various takes on this.

For those living on the moon, President Bush has granted Clemency to "Scooter" Libby, the staffer convicted of lying in the Plame leak investigation.  This means that his conviction stands, as does his fine and probation, but his prison sentence is commuted.

Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, President Bush wiped away the former White House aide's 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Bush's move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender.

I admit my feelings are mixed.  First of all, the trial of Scooter was a sham and a joke.  Period. As I said at the time:

Scooter Libby Thoughts

Overall, I think he got hosed.  The more I read of the trial the more concerned I get that he is just the scapegoat.

For all the gloating liberals, a reminder.  He did not get nailed for leaking Valarie Plame's identity, the not so covert CIA babe.  Armitage did that, and faces no charges because revealing her identity was not a crime.  Please give it a rest.

Note:  I recognize that the criminality of leaking Plame is again in question, this was written before that CIA report.  Of course it bears note that Armitage is still uncharged....

In fact Fitzgerald knew from day one who leaked the name, yet he fished for a sucker to take the rap for months.  He searched for months for a person who he knew didn't exist that committed a crime that wasn't a crime.  A waste.

Too many people had conflicting testimonies and such for me to be satisfied as well.  The trial was a sham and I hope the defense wins a new trial or an appeal.

But I also noted, on the subject of pardons and Presidential intervention:

I hate presidential interference with legal matters, preferring to trust the system, but I am almost tempted to jump on the pardon band wagon.

And I still feel that way.  Presidential pardons are a joke and always have been. 

The power is too great to resist and too easy to abuse.   Just look at the people Clinton pardon or commuted in his tenure and see the reality of  cronyism, as people are accusing Bush, and all he did was commute the prison time, much like Clinton did to a group convicted of sedition.  Of course when Congress investigated this, President Clinton cited executive privilege for his refusal to turn over some documents to Congress, something else the Bush haters accuse him of.

Clinton was even nice enough to write a self justification for his pardoning so many.  Ironically one of his reasons is:

In some cases, I granted pardons because I felt the individuals had been unfairly treated and punished pursuant to the Independent Counsel statute then in existence.

This is strangely similar to what Bush said to justify the Libby Clemency:

Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

I dunno.  As I said I am of mixed feelings.  I think Libby was railroaded.  Most of his "crime" is akin to having a bad memory and is based on inconsistent testimony.  I think the whole matter might have been tossed on appeal.

But that is irrelevant.

The left won't care, they will simply attack Bush for cronyism, and ignore the hypocrisy of Clinton Pardoning all the Savings and Loan people and his own brother.

It's a shame.  The pardon and clemency system is a powerful tool, but with our modern insistence on partisanship, it is mostly a political one.

One other matter of note.  There is a growing clamor that if Bush will do this, he should likewise pardon of commute the sentences of the border guards convicted last year.

Again I am of mixed feeling.  They were convicted of a more serious crime, that is true, but there also exists questionable aspects of their trial that makes me sympathetic.

Time will tell on that one.  For now, Ii have no opinion.

As for this case, I am glad Bush did it, but I also wish he hadn't.

 Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Exposing the Neo-Right, Perri Nelson's Website, Committees of Correspondence, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, Big Dog's Weblog, Stuck On Stupid, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Stageleft, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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