Scooter Libby

President Trump recently quietly (or you'd assume quietly based upon the lack of media coverage this story got) pardoned Scooter Libby. Many people who recognize the name Scooter Libby think he's the guy who leaked the name of CIA employee Valerie Plame. Except that wasn't Libby. That was first Richard Armitage and then Ari Fleisher.

Nothing happened to Armitage. Nothing. He was the reason there was a Special Counsel in the first place but even when the truth was proven nothing happened to Armitage. And Fleisher? That rat got immunity. But Libby faced charges because his recollection of events was different than Tim Russert's. And the other witness against Libby later recanted her testimony. He was railroaded pure and simple.

So was Trump sending a political message with this pardon? Yes absolutely. But he also was pointing how badly Libby was treated and this pardon helps rectify that wrong.

And let's not forget that Valerie Plame is a vile anti-Semite.
 

Scooter Libby

Newton's Third Law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the commuting of Scooter Libby's prison sentence - we have just seen the Third Law in action in the political realm.

Judge Judge Reggie B. Walton said that Libby had to spend the time awaiting his appeal in jail. President Bush said no - not so much. Judge Walton's ruling was an action and President Bush commuting the sentence was an equal and opposite reaction.

It is important to note that Libby was not pardoned. To have pardoned Libby would have been to have Libby admit guilt. Libby probably strongly believes he has done nothing wrong - that he is a victim of an over-reaching Special Prosecutor. By commuting his sentence and not pardoning him - President Bush has left open the door for Libby to appeal his conviction and clear his name.

Another Libby Thought

This column by Byron York basically suggests that Scooter Libby was pronounced guilty because the jury found Tim Russert more believable than Libby.

What convinced jurors to convict Libby, apparently, was the credibility of a single prosecution witness, NBC’s Tim Russert. “I thought he was very credible,” Collins said of Russert. “A lot of people thought he was very credible.” And Russert was the key in more ways than one. It was his phone conversation with FBI agent Jack Eckenrode in November 2003 that let prosecutors know there was a conflict between his story and Libby’s, thus turning the CIA-leak investigation into a perjury probe. And it was his testimony—that he did not tell Libby about Valerie Plame Wilson, as Libby told the grand jury—that was the fatal blow to Libby’s defense.

Libby had claimed that Russert told him about Mrs. Wilson and that, even though he, Libby, had learned about her earlier, he had forgotten about her in the crush of events in July 2003, and thus was surprised, as if hearing it for the first time, when Russert mentioned it to him. Russert denied that, and his testimony simply overwhelmed Libby’s version of events.

If true - this is sad. I'm sorry but any credibility Russert had with me went out the window when I found out that he had the syrupy memoir Big Russ and Me - a book about Russert's relationship with his father - ghostwritten by the same guy who did Iaccoca's "autobiography". The book is purposely misleading - making you think this was Russert's own tribute to his dad. We can't even trust Russert's reminiscence about his own father but the jury was made to believe his memory regarding Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame? Sorry - I'm not buying that and now a man might be going to jail because Russert is more accomplished at "appearing" believable.

Scooter Libby

So Scooter Libby was basically found guilty. Lots of people on the Left are celebrating but this is hardly the end. My guess is that Libby gets off either via a new trial or via appeal and that this never comes down to Libby going to jail or getting a Presidential pardon.

A big deal is being made of the verdict today but you can be sure that if and when Libby gets off - that the story will be buried by the media.