Today Pres. Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s prison sentence, and will probably give Libby a full pardon when he leaves office. Libby was convicted earlier of obstructing an investigation into who named a CIA covert operative, Valerie Plame. Someone gave her name to the press in order to dishonor diplomat, Joseph Wilson, who knew that the President had lied when Bush said that there was enriched uranium in Niger and that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy it. An independent investigation was launched into the matter, and Libby, the after whom are only the Pres. and Veep, stone-walled, halted and obstructed the investigation. Valerie Plame is Wilson’s wife, and so the whole sordid mess was nothing more than petty political payback.
In case this is not clear, or that you don’t believe me: Someone, who is part of the White House and close to Dick Cheney gave away the identity of an undercover spy. And this did it during the “War on Terror.” That’s weird. What’s weirder is that the White House won’t let us know who is responsible for the leak. Wouldn’t that be something an Al-Qaida agent try to do?
The title comes from a speech that George H. Bush made in 1999. He said, “I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.” Libby covered for someone who gave away the name of a source, and President Bush has said in effect “That’s okay; it’s not that big of a deal. It’s like smoking pot in college.” Libby will pay a fine and be on probation but will not serve any jail time. This is wrong. It’s a travesty of justice. People get worse punishment for smoking pot in college.
I said earlier that the president had lied. Well, he also told another lie. When Plame’s identity was leaked in 2003 he said, “If there’s a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is . . . If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.” There was a leak in the administration, the law was violated… and the culprit is walking away without giving us the truth. Free. As. A. Bird.
Futhermore, if you’re in the CIA you have to feel like your life isn’t worth the ground the president walks on.
IMPEACH!
(All of the information thanks to Crooks and Liars) Watch the video on that site.
UPDATE: This is a response to Eucharisto’s comment. Scooter Libby is guilty of obstructing justice. A judge appointed by George W. gave him the sentence, and three judges, all of whom were appointed by either his father or Ronald Reagan, upheld the sentence, and the case was still in the appeals process. Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald said that Libby was throwing sand in the umpire’s eyes. He was most certainly guilty. A jury of his peers believed him to be guilty, and over 70 percent of Americans believe that he is guilty. Let me get back to something I mentioned earlier: the case was still in the appeals process. Libby was on his way to jail when the pardon was given, but there was still a chance that a higher court would find the sentence to be harsh or Libby was to be innocent. By commuting his sentence Bush subverted the legal system because he does not trust the legal system and he did not want Libby to get a lighter sentence if Libby were to give the name of the leaker(s) instead.
If you don’t get it, we have a crime here of greater than Watergate proportions. Let me back this up. Nixon had his “plumbers” break into the Democratic offices in order spy on the Democratic candidates and ensure his re-election. This is fact.
Here, we have a diplomat that went to Africa on a National Intelligence mission to find if there was any “yellowcake” in Niger. He reported to the the CIA that there was no such substance. Meanwhile, in a State of the Union address, Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein tried to buy “yellowcake” in Africa. This statement was false, and the documents used to support this idea were forged. Joe Wilson (the Ambassador) said it was false, and the CIA said it was false (so Wilson was not the only one who knew about the uranium scandal. Also later in the linker article find this sentence “The White House concedes that information wasn’t true.”), but President Bush used this false claim as a reason to invade Iraq. When Joe Wilson published a series of editorials that said the reason was false. The White House tried to find a way to discredit Wilson. It was leaked to the press that Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, was an agent at the CIA, and was responsible for high getting the job. They did not say that Plame knew that her husband was knowledgeable in foreign affairs, being married to him and all, and that he was the right guy for the mission, instead they said that Wilson was some schmuck who had to depend on his woman to get a job. Hehe look at him; he doesn’t know anything, he had to get a woman to help him out. And it worked; everyone ignored until some time last year. Now the American people are upset about this.
Nixon obstructed justice so that he could be re-elected.
Bush by way of his vice president’s chief of staff obstructed justice so that he could unnecessarily invade Iraq. Later Nixon resigned. What will Bush do?
You mention that there is not any cold hard evidence? Why is this so? The legal process has been subverted. Fitzgerald was stonewalled. If you can’t find any other evidence, the evidence that led to this case, or about any of the other alleged lies about the Iraq war, just bloody google the words.
The whole yellow cake affair is also related to the Downing Street Memos. Wikisource has the memo, and check here on the journalist who published the memos and here’s some commentary on the importance of those memos.
