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I'm not shocked by this
Jul. 3rd, 2007 07:35 amBush has commuted Libby's sentence. Yep, instead of 30 months in prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine, it's just the two years probation and the $250,000 fine.
Oh, and the ongoing civil suit by the Wilsons.
But let's look at this. Bush did not pardon Libby. He commuted the sentence. That means it's as if Libby has served the time, but the conviction is still on his record. He's still disbarred in D.C. He's still disbarred in Pennsylvania. And under the ABA's "Model Rules of Professional Conduct" this means that even if he were admitted to the bar in other states, they could use the fact that he's been disbarred in D.C. and Pennsylvania to disbar him in those other states. (Please note, New York State, California, and Maine do not use those rules, and in theory, Libby could be admitted to the bar there, but it's not likely to happen.)
Now, what does this felony conviction mean for Libby? Well, he's pretty much fucked. Regardless of the fact that he doesn't have to go to jail now (unless he violates the terms of his probation), there are a lot of things he can no longer do. He pretty much can no longer hold any sort of federal office, or vote, or sit on a jury (actually, having had jury duty myself, that's not really a punishment...). The felony conviction is taken into account in any future adoption or foster parenting applications, although I don't think those are likely for Libby and family at this point...
Now, in theory, he could have this felony conviction expunged. In reality, that's not going to happen, because Congress has refused to fund the agency that would handle such applications. But that's been an ongoing thing, not a recent one.
I can't see most legal firms or lobbying groups hiring him at this point. I mean, above and beyond the fact that he can't practice law, he's a convicted felon, and the P.R. backlash from having him on your team would outweigh any possible P.R. boost from people who believe he got railroaded.
The question then begs itself... Why didn't Bush pardon Libby instead of commuting the sentence? I mean, let's face it... Libby was the fall guy here. No one else in the Bush administration even looks like they're going to be touched by the whole Valerie Plame scandal, and it's not like Bush's popularity could really get that much lower? So why not pardon him?
Well, we're getting the election hype and hoopla started up already, and it's pretty obvious that whoever does have their hand up Bush's ass and is running him like the puppet that he is wants to have a Republican in office after 2008. And you know what? Commuting the sentence is going to make far fewer waves for far less of a time then pardoning him would. If Bush pardoned Libby, that could (and maybe would) become a major talking point for weeks, possibly months. Of course, it's not like President's haven't pardoned whole stacks of people. Clinton signed 140 pardons on his last day in office (which is pretty much on par with other previous presidents), and Bush the Elder pardoned six Reagan administration officials who were involved (probably) with the whole Iran-Contra affair.
But that was on their last days in office. Plus, Clinton had a popularity easily twice that of Shrubya, so that didn't hurt either. So, yeah, we're probably going to see a mass of pardons in the last days of Bush II (Electric Boogaloo), but Libby still might not be one of them. Either way, he's swinging in the wind.
Oh, and the ongoing civil suit by the Wilsons.
But let's look at this. Bush did not pardon Libby. He commuted the sentence. That means it's as if Libby has served the time, but the conviction is still on his record. He's still disbarred in D.C. He's still disbarred in Pennsylvania. And under the ABA's "Model Rules of Professional Conduct" this means that even if he were admitted to the bar in other states, they could use the fact that he's been disbarred in D.C. and Pennsylvania to disbar him in those other states. (Please note, New York State, California, and Maine do not use those rules, and in theory, Libby could be admitted to the bar there, but it's not likely to happen.)
Now, what does this felony conviction mean for Libby? Well, he's pretty much fucked. Regardless of the fact that he doesn't have to go to jail now (unless he violates the terms of his probation), there are a lot of things he can no longer do. He pretty much can no longer hold any sort of federal office, or vote, or sit on a jury (actually, having had jury duty myself, that's not really a punishment...). The felony conviction is taken into account in any future adoption or foster parenting applications, although I don't think those are likely for Libby and family at this point...
Now, in theory, he could have this felony conviction expunged. In reality, that's not going to happen, because Congress has refused to fund the agency that would handle such applications. But that's been an ongoing thing, not a recent one.
I can't see most legal firms or lobbying groups hiring him at this point. I mean, above and beyond the fact that he can't practice law, he's a convicted felon, and the P.R. backlash from having him on your team would outweigh any possible P.R. boost from people who believe he got railroaded.
The question then begs itself... Why didn't Bush pardon Libby instead of commuting the sentence? I mean, let's face it... Libby was the fall guy here. No one else in the Bush administration even looks like they're going to be touched by the whole Valerie Plame scandal, and it's not like Bush's popularity could really get that much lower? So why not pardon him?
Well, we're getting the election hype and hoopla started up already, and it's pretty obvious that whoever does have their hand up Bush's ass and is running him like the puppet that he is wants to have a Republican in office after 2008. And you know what? Commuting the sentence is going to make far fewer waves for far less of a time then pardoning him would. If Bush pardoned Libby, that could (and maybe would) become a major talking point for weeks, possibly months. Of course, it's not like President's haven't pardoned whole stacks of people. Clinton signed 140 pardons on his last day in office (which is pretty much on par with other previous presidents), and Bush the Elder pardoned six Reagan administration officials who were involved (probably) with the whole Iran-Contra affair.
But that was on their last days in office. Plus, Clinton had a popularity easily twice that of Shrubya, so that didn't hurt either. So, yeah, we're probably going to see a mass of pardons in the last days of Bush II (Electric Boogaloo), but Libby still might not be one of them. Either way, he's swinging in the wind.