What decision on Libby means for White House
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Bush commutes sentence, but lets fine stand
By Carla Marinucci
San Francisco Chronicle Political Writer
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
When President Gerald Ford pardoned the disgraced former President Richard Nixon in 1976, the shock waves created a political tsunami that swamped the Republican's hopes of remaining in the White House.
But Lewis "Scooter" Libby is no Richard Nixon, and President Bush's move to commute the 2 1/2-year prison sentence of the former White House aide famed for his role in the CIA leak case could turn out to be a mere ripple by comparison.
With the war in Iraq, immigration and health care reform topping the list of Americans' most pressing concerns, Bush's decision Monday -- more than seven months before the first 2008 presidential primaries -- is unlikely to have the same kind of staying power in voters' minds, most analysts said.
Still, the president's surprise move set off an immediate debate about his respect for the judicial system and the potential effects on both voters and candidates in the presidential elections.
"Americans are sick of this ratatouille of rascality -- and it's time to change the menu,'' said veteran Democratic strategist Roger Salazar, arguing that the president had just delivered the voters irrefutable evidence that a culture of corruption among the GOP "boy's club" was alive in the Republican Party and the White House.
And California Democratic party chair Art Torres went further, complaining that "Paris Hilton will have served more time behind bars than Scooter Libby.''
But Republicans delivered a big yawn at the outrage.
"This is so inside Washington -- I welcome anyone to take a poll and tell me who Scooter is, what his first name really is and what he was convicted of doing,'' said Hoover Institution research fellow Bill Whalen.
Libby was found guilty in March of obstructing the investigation and lying to authorities regarding the 2003 leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Wilson, who maintained that the White House was trying to damage and discredit her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, a vociferous critic of Bush's Iraq policy. The trial focused on the extraordinary lengths that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were willing to go to discredit a critic of the Iraq war.
Bush didn't pardon Libby, which would have erased his criminal record. Instead, the president's commutation left intact the former Cheney aide's $250,000 fine and two years of probation in the case -- which the president said was still harsh punishment.
"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said. "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 30 months in prison."
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald issued a statement arguing that Libby was sentenced under the same laws as other criminals. "It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals," Fitzgerald said.
Bush insisted on Monday that Libby had not gotten a free pass.
"The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."
Republicans said the president -- facing dismal polls, a lame-duck profile and the recent defeat of his attempt to overhaul immigration -- had made a savvy move that could repair at least some of the recent damage with the GOP grassroots, though some party activists wanted a pardon for the Cheney aide.
Moreover, the timing so far in advance of the next election is likely to ensure that the Libby matter will be in the rearview mirror by the time 2008 voters go to the polls, Republicans said.
About the only lasting effect of the commutation, Whalen predicted, is that "it will further drive the left crazy because the left wants Dick Cheney to suffer. And Scooter is the closest they've come to that. So now, in effect, Dick Cheney walks.''
Whalen predicted that GOP presidential candidates "to a man will support the president.''
But Democrats said ideas that will resonate with voters in the Libby case include the persistent suspicion that the White House and the GOP have consistently run a "boy's club" that takes care of its own -- and that equal justice under their tenure has been questionable at best.
"Once again, President Bush and the GOP have undermined a core American value: equal justice under the law for every American,'' said Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean. He charged that Bush was "sending a clear message that the rules don't apply to the Bush White House or loyal Republican cronies.''
Other Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed out that the president seemed to be violating his own promise regarding accountability in the case.
"The president's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct and is a betrayal of trust of the American people,'' she said a statement. "The president said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie (Wilson) leak case. By his action today, the president shows his word is not to be believed.''
As the rhetoric continued to heat up Monday, questions remained about whether Democrats in the presidential race will continue to pound the issue of the Libby commutation.
"My guess is that commuting of Scooter Libby's sentence will have approximately the same political fallout as (President Bill Clinton's) pardoning Mark Rich,'' GOP strategist Dan Schnur said in a reference to the Democratic president's controversial last-minute pardon of a major Clinton contributor and fugitive who had been indicted on a variety of charges, including income tax evasion and mail fraud.
"Anybody who thinks that this is a horrible decision obviously thought Clinton's pardoning of Rich was bad or worse,'' Schnur said. "Otherwise, they might be guilty of political hypocrisy.''
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