Well what have we here. Dubya granted 29 pardons today, and poor Scooter was not among them:
The Justice Department’s list of pardons, issued in the tradition of granting clemency during the holiday season, covered a variety of crimes including cocaine distribution, marijuana manufacturing, mail fraud and bank embezzlement.
Bush has not ruled out a full pardon for Libby, whose case put the inner workings of the White House under a microscope and ignited a debate about whether the Bush administration misled the nation when making the case for war in Iraq.
High-powered allies like Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson raised millions of dollars to cover Libby’s legal bills.
I can see Mr. and Mrs. Scooter sitting at home tonight, ice cubes clinking as they wave their highball glasses with abandon in some scene out of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf and curse the ungrateful Bushies who don’t understand that Scooter is a great man, a true patriot and an American hero whose loyalty they have never repaid in kind.
Oh well it will be a more cheery scene than the Conrad Black house.
Related posts:
- New White House Counsel Bob Bauer and Scooter Libby Justice
- Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, and the “Unremarkable” Meat Grinder
- Late Night: Fred Thompson, Defeatist Underminer of US Troops, Says We’ve Lost the War in Afghanistan
- BREAKING: Chris Christie Declared Victor in New Jersey; NYC Mayor Bloomberg Re-Elected by Narrow Margin
- The Bush Fairy Tale on the Libby Pardon
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Fitzmas!
My understanding is that if Bush were to pardon Libby, then Libby could be called back before Fitzgerald. Perhaps I’m wrong on this.
I still say the Scooter pardon will come 12/24/2008.
Seems like I heard somewhere that Bush would not want to pardon Scooter, as it would allow prosecutors to compel him to testify against Bush and Cheney (Scooter could no longer plead the Fifth Amendment, because the pardon would preclude any legal jeopardy for him). Is that correct?
That shitbag Clusterfuck will pardon Libby on his way out the door.
God I hate this shit.
Well, Libby will have to wait till next Xmas… Pardoning him now, would obligate him to answer to Conyers, Waxman, and Leahy!
OT..but in the ballpark:
C&L
I still say the Scooter pardon will come 12/24/2008.
I’ll take 1-20-09, in the limo, on way to the new prez’s Inauguration.
Bottom line is Rove, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rice, Libby or Bush will ever go to jail.
Impeach.
Marijuana is manufactured?
I’m with you on that! It will definitely be closer to the end of the term. (Just in time for Scooter’s book release…)
I was posting to say, God, I hope so. But maybe you meant never. O, please. Rummy is surely going to be involved in the current “destruction” stuff.
OT: For some reason, I could not post earlier. But I wanted to add a comment about the Wilson case. I thought the case was turned down in the lower court, and is now on appeal. Just not gotten there yet.
As long as Bush hasn’t yet exercised that Pardon Pen, he still has some leverage over Libby. He can still call all the shots by dangling that pardon out like candy in front of a child. After the pardon comes the possibility of a tell-all book. I’m sure that those formerly involved with this administration know one thing for sure: never give away what you can receive compensation for on the open market with competition to set your price!
Hillary, Hillary, Obama, Obama, Hillary…I’m going to scream.
Edwards will win the whole shebang…unless
Marijuana is manufactured?
Only the Goddess can manufacture marijuana.
Impeach Bush and he can’t pardon Libby.
WTF?!!
I’m way off topic here, but can anyone tell me where Christy is??? I like the new format but kinda miss the reddhead.
Hope she is just on vacation.
Holy cow, Jane – you’ve been a busy little blogger today!
Scooter’s pardon is coming on January 19, 2009, methinks. But I am a well-known cynic.
Hi. Don’t know if the question of the day at CNN has been posted here yet: “Are there circumstances in which waterboarding of prisoners is acceptable?” Sadly, 54% currently say Yes.
This is what it’s come to…
Christy is indeed on a well-deserved vacation time with Mr Redd and The Peanut (with baking Christmas cookies at the end, or so we were told was the plan)
Damn, Romney wants to cut CO2 emissions with clean burning coal.
What a moron!
Irv Libby, he’s a nice young felon.
-G
We have met the enemy and co-opted their tactics.
-G
This has been my belief too for many, many moons. Junya can not afford to pardon Scoots because it would indeed remove Scoot’s 5th Amendment protections, and then both Junya and Deadeye would be in serious legal jeopardy risk.
That is why Junya per Deadeye’s (and Addington’s) recommendation did the “commutation” thingee. It keeps Scoots out of the slammer.
I’m still betting that Junya pardons Scoots, Deadeye and everybody else involved in the Betrayal of Valerie Plame Wilson at the very last moment in office.
As well as a whole raft of pardons for all the other Administration miscreants like Fredo et al, for all the other crimes these folks have committed.
Hot stock tip? Invest in crayon stocks. In his last day in office, Junya is gonna go through a whole lot of crayons.
I’d sure like to be a fly on the wall at “The Irve & Harriet Show” tonight. But then, I am a sucker for Albee.
In his last day in office, Junya is gonna go through a whole lot of crayons.
So which will be longer in 2008 – the WH Christmas Card List, or The WH Pardon List?
Scooter will get his pardon.
GWB will exit with his middle finger in the air to the American public.
She is, but, for the life of me, I can’t believe she hasn’t weighed in with her lawyerly views, considering all of the significant recent revelations…
Watching this will make you feel better. (utube)
Watch Punkinhead Russert completely ignore the GOP strategist when he twice sez: “The one I am most afraid of is John Edwards.” Twice. Russert ignores him and goes right on to ask about Hill, like the good GE soldier he is.
No, you’ve all been watching the bright shiny objects.
Scooter DID get his pardon, but it is classifed.
I had the impression she would be checking in the comments from time to time. Isn’t that what she usually does? I’m really surprised that she hasn’t stopped by just to say hi at least. What date is she due back, anyone?
The polls close in 20 minutes for Democratic congressional candidate Robin Weirauch(OH-5), may the force be with you! Yes, I know it is a long shot in an R+10 district.
Twill be one and the same.
Thanks…. now you got me worried!!!!!!!
Where can we find the list of the 29 people that were pardoned? I’m concerned about the report from Reuters that some of the people pardoned were involved in “mail fraud”. This is the same term the Bush Administration has used to refer to voter caging, a subject brought up by Monica Goodling when she testified that Tim Griffin had caged thousands of probable democratic voters in the 2004 election, therefore getting rid of their votes. I’d like to know who has been pardoned for this crime and if there might be a connection.
Plenty of time for an administration that could care less about public opinion and I’d put odds heavily that Scootsie gets his pardon. He has enough cushie jobs in 6 figures to last him 10 lifetimes–and if he had the law license I doubt he’d use it directly to practice any type of law. He can make more money with gift jobs shovling Republican shit.
The location to find out who was pardoned is typically the DOJ – Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Unfortunately, they only list Junya’s pardons from his 1st term. I would therefore not expect to see it updated wrt pardons this term until after Junya leaves town.
Jen–
The list wasn’t on the DOJ Pardon web site, but I gave up expecting efficiency and transparency from those clowns years ago. Here’s a partial list:
Partial List of Bush Pardons Issued 12/11/07
Jen– The full pardon list. It’s like everything else in both administrations when it comes to pardons. The majority of the pardon list are affluent after probation (the less aflluent served time as per the US Justice system–i.e Barry Bonds has 6 6 figure attorneys and a damn good defense case anyway:
Enjoy:
Full Bush Pardon List 12/11/07
I’m still in the minority, I guess. I just don’t see Bush pardoning Libby. I think he would see it as too Clintonian. Besides, it’s not like Libby can really hurt Bush anymore. He’s a convicted perjurer, after all.
I *”second that emotion”–I feel your pain.
I guess it’s not going to help to empathize that I will always remember Leahy and Specter and the rest of the mostly gutless dems on Senate Judiciary Committee in a portrait standing by a huge barn gate, while lots of horses can be seen galloping in the distance.
Mukasey, Alito, and Roberts. What the dummies don’t get is when people refuse to answer your questions you don’t confirm them or you do the country damage for many years as has been done.
*”I Second That Emotion” is a 1967 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label.
I think he will, but who knows. I respectfully disagree though Frank that Libby’s conviction in any way immunizes the potential liability for the Bush criminal conspiracy. Libby could hurt Bush, Cheney, Addington and a number of others significantly if he wanted.
Convicted individuals do damage to people hundreds of times a day in state and federal court rooms. They’re called snitches, and although their motivations and honesty can always be questioned, they and a very biased FRE and FRCrP and 750 judges mostly with an agenda and a DOJ pedigree prior to taking the bench are the grease that makes a very damaged criminal justice system roll.
It’s not just that he knows where the evidence is buried–he probably has some of it.
Fitz could have gone further also, and still conceivably could.
Kudos to the USSC who finally had the balls to cut 19,500 federal inmates some of whom are serving egregiously draconian sentences for crack posession some slack.
U.S. Panel Cuts Jail Time for Crimes Tied to Crack Cocaine
The argument by the DOJ twitess to the Commission that people would be unleashed into delicate neighborhoods was reprehensible. If the neighborhoods are delicate, the fault spreads far wider than the individual inmates.
Context for the Crack Retroactivity Sentencing Implementation
Is this a pool? If so, I’m grabbing 30 minutes after the last West Coast polling place closes on November 4, 2008.
My prediction is that Scooter will be pardoned by the NEXT president (as long as the next president is not a Republican AND by President Bush. Bush will only pardon Scooter for the crime for which Scooter was convicted. That allows Scooter to continue to claim Fifth Amendment if questioned by Congress, because Scooter’s answers might be used to convict him of other crimes for which he was never charged.
A non-Republican president will, promptly after being elected, give a blanket pardon to Libby, to allow Congress to force Libby to answer questions. Of course, that course of action will work only if Democrats in Congress find their spine after Libby refuses to answer questions in response to a subpoena.
A valiant soldier left on the battlefield