“Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators looking into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.
He also was fined $250,000. Libby was convicted March 6 of four counts in a five-count indictment alleging perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators.
Federal Judge Reggie Walton said he would make a decision next Tuesday on whether to allow Libby to remain free while his lawyers file an appeal.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that under federal sentencing guidelines, Libby — if imprisoned — must serve at least 80 percent of his sentence, or two years.
I think the only question is when will Bush give him a pardon.
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
When…? About 45 minutes before he leaves office?
Well, he got time for perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to FBI investigators. He deserved everything he got. Odd though, he didn’t get any time for what he was accused of doing, which is reveal the identity of a top secret CIA agent that wasn’t really top secret. Lying, not leaking. I bet if he had not lied, he wouldn’t have gotten any time at all. Classic witch hunt.
He should be sharing a cell with Bush and Cheney. Menage a trois – with bars.
#3 – That’s because there was no original crime. If you’ll notice he was not even charged with outing an undercover agent. The reason? She was not undercover, therefore there was no crime! This whole thing was a bait and switch trap and Libby’s real crime was being foolish enough to fall into it.
People who steal chickens get harsher sentences…
I can’t wait until the blind right-wing neocon buffoons come in here whining about this.
This guy will never see a day behind bars. He has the money to spend on countless appeals, and the political power to stay out of jail. However, it is an indictment on the widespread corruption that has so personified this administration.
It’s just a shame that the REAL perps in this treasonous episode won’t be doing any time in the Big House. They needed a sacrificial lamb, and they got one. Just too bad they couldn’t have indicted Rove and Heart Attack.
Score one for accountability. Of course, score 10 for Bush when he lays down the pardon.
Two years of appeals planned, followed by a pardon.
#5: Wrong again. Valerie Plame was indeed a covert agent at the time of her outing. But you right-wingers don’t really like facts much, huh?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18924679/
I bet he doesn’t do one day in jail.
Damn, I could’ve sworn I heard someone say, “YES!“
And William Jefferson with $90,000 in his freezer is still in congress. You Liberals should be proud of your ability to keep criminals in office.
I thought the punishment for treason was death. I guess that’s why they charged him with the cover up of the crime, instead of the crime itself.
Now that makes no freakin’ sense at all! The Daily Show will have (more) fun with this one.
They obviously can’t prove Libby was the one who leaked her name while supposedly covert or they would charge. This was still a bait and switch. That being said, it would probably surprise you that I agree he should serve out the penalty for lying. Had he told the truth from the beginning he wouldn’t have been charged with a damn thing.
Liberals fail at making hay out of this issue. 30 months is nothing for the country club he’s sure to go to.
#11 – Wrong, as usual. She was an agent… but had told people herself she was “undercover”. Hence, she wasn’t undercover.
This logic should be easy enough for you to understand.
Thirty years wouldn’t be enough.
#14 – And William Jefferson with $90,000 in his freezer is still in congress. You Liberals should be proud of your ability to keep criminals in office.
Comment by Bob — 6/5/2007 @ 12:55 pm
I don’t know if there are any Liberals in office but there are Democrats. I’m the rare individuals who is both, and the even rarer person who knows what a Liberal is… and I am not proud that William Jefferson is in office rather than jail.
But it isn’t like Republicans, a rare few of which might also be Conservatives, don’t try to keep re-electing their scumbags either.
This is all about the Clinton pardon of Marc Rich. Libby was Rich’s lawyer, and Fitzgerald is getting payback. Judith Miller in jail was payback for her tipping off the Holy Land Foundation the day before the FBI raided the place.
Fitzgerald got a huge sentence, but I don’t know how it stands up under appeal when Fitzgerald tried to argue the sentence based on the idea that Libby was guilty of crimes for which he was not charged. If this had been a GITMO terrorist, you guys would be screaming miscarriage of justice.
#17 James Hill, what people did Valerie Plame disclose her undercover status to, prior to the publication of Novak’s column? If you have proof that she “outted” herself to people outside the CIA without authorization, you might be able to send her to prison.
I’m only asking because a lot of lies have been put out by this administration and its minions in an effort to trivialize what happened, and the allegation that Plame wasn’t “really” undercover is one of them. She testified under oath in a Senate hearing that she was working undercover and that her status was classified information at the time of publication.
If you have information that she outted herself to friends or neighbors, I’m curious to see your source.
#19 – Our system has degenerated to the point where it’s most only scumbags who can get into office in the first place.
Hey, the headline could read “Bush admits to being liar and thief” – and the neocon dweebs would respond, “FDR packed the Supreme Court”.
Staying on topic when the discussion is about “when” a crook gets put away – doesn’t work with cowards who don’t believe that crooks and corruption, invasion for greed and profit should be challenged in the first place.
He probably would have been OK if he looked straight at the camera, wagged his finger and said “I never told anyone about that women…..”
It worked for “William Jefferson” (how funny is that) Clinton.
#22 – The people voted for them…
The people watched American Idol instead of the debates.
The people bought the tabloids to support all the sex scandals.
The people bitch about “all” those crooks in Washington, then re-elect the incumbents over and over.
The people get the government they deserve.
I just wish that once, I’d get the government that I deserve…
#24 – It worked for “William Jefferson” (how funny is that) Clinton.
Don’t quit your day job.
#25
I couldn’t agree with you more.
In the ’90s, I could not understand how Bill Clinton was able to smooth talk his way out of all of his “situations” and generate such support. But then I realized that “Roseanne”, one of the crudest and nastiest characters on television, was a number one hit. As you say, the people get the government they deserve.
Most of you here seem to forget former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage “outed” Plame. Libbey takes a fall for misleading investigators. http://tinyurl.com/qgdlv
Does Libbey deserve a pardon? I think if you examine the list of Clinton’s pardons before he left office that Libbey’s crimes are less serious when compared to those people that Bill pardoned. http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pardonchartlst.htm
#24 Building on your point: How many Republicans went to such great lengths to punish Bill for lying about Monica?. A lie under oath is important, but it wasn’t during our “War on Terror” and didn’t threaten anyone really other than Hillary.
How many of these same Republicans want a pardon for Libby for lying in the Plaume incident. A lie which involved our CIA in a time of war.
#5, people in high office are required to have good judgment. Whether you are technically correct or not, no one in the Administration should have been talking about our CIA agents to the press. It’s a shame you apparently stand behind such bad judgment.
#20 GITMO terrorist, I think we would have all been very happy if Libby had suspension of habeas corpus, been kept in jail for 5 years without trail (or being declared a POW), had some brand new way to try him, with a presumption of guilt. I think we should start the new GITMO system with Cheney. I’m sure America would have been a better place if he’d been in the Can for the last 8 years.
#28 ZeOverMind, good point about Armitage, but that then raises the question of why Libbey obstructed the investigation at all. His lie about Russert in particular seemed intended to remove Libbey from any further scrutiny, something which we’re now told he had no reason to fear. Well, if he risked prison by lying to the grand jury in order to get out of the spotlight, one can’t help but wonder what else he might have been hiding.
I don’t believe that telling the truth from the start would have saved him. Rather, I think it would have raised a whole different set of concerns, either for him or perhaps someone above him with a weak heart.
I’m pretty sure that Libbey will be pardoned because I seriously doubt that Bush will lead by ethical example. Instead, he’ll be content to say “Clinton did it, and so will I.” In any case, Bush has never shied away from exercising his duly recognized constitutional powers, plus a few we didn’t know he had.