• Politics

    Scooter Libby, Politics, and the Rule of Law

    I’ve written too much about Scooter Libby over the last two years to let today’s big news go by without comment (see previous posts). Today, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s two and half year prison sentence. Bush didn’t pardon Libby, he merely said that Libby would not have to go to jail. Libby will still have to serve probation, pay a $250,000 fine, and identify himself as a convicted felon. I have always held that if someone commits a crime, then they should pay their debt to society. But the sound and fury that you are hearing from the left side of the talking head class is disingenuous outrage.

  • Politics

    Will Libby Be Pardoned?

    There’s already talk today about a potential pardon for the convicted felon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. The Wall Street Journal and the National Review are calling for Bush to pardon Libby immediately, while Senate majority leader Harry Reid is demanding that Bush pledge never to pardon him. As the Los Angeles Times reports, this will be a controversy that is likely to follow President Bush through the rest of his term.

  • Politics

    Free Scooter Libby!

    The call from the Wall Street Journal is for the president to pardon Scooter Libby and to bring an end to the pseudo-scandal known as “Plamegate.” I have been writing about this scandal for over a year (see previous posts) and have become increasingly aware that this entire dust-up was more about partisan politics than it was about truth–at least insofar as it has been covered in the media.Here is what we know today. Richard Armitage leaked Valerie Plame’s identity to Robert Novak. Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush did not. I know this will be a shocker to Joe Wilson who was hoping to see…

  • Politics

    Libby Leak: Much Ado about Nothing

    As I was leaving my house to go to work today, I saw the reporters on CNN breathlessly reporting the breaking news about Scooter Libby. I didn’t have time to do anything but listen to a couple of minutes of the report and to read the banners at the bottom of the screen. The gist of the report was this. Scooter Libby, who is under indictment and who is thought to have leaked the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame, testified that President Bush authorized Libby to leak classified material to the press. This authorization came through Vice President Cheney. The report was clearly slanted to link Bush and…

  • Politics

    Scooter Libby To Be Indicted; Karl Rove off the Hook (for now)

    The New York Times is reporting that the Vice-President’s chief of staff, Scooter Libby, is to be indicted tomorrow for making false statements under oath. Karl Rove will not be indicted but will remain under investigation. Yes, you heard it right. According to the Times’ reporting, there won’t be any indictments for leaking the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame (the original reason for the investigation). But don’t you worry. The opponents of this administration will spin this as if Libby and Rove are being charged with leaking her identity. Mark my words. Tomorrow morning, the hacks will be indicting the whole administration for something that the grand jury…

  • News,  Politics

    Interview with George W. Bush

    Matt Lauer has an exclusive interview with President George W. Bush that will air tonight at 8pm ET / 7pm CT. The interview is timed to coincide with the release of President Bush’s memoir Decision Points, which hits the shelves tomorrow (3am tomorrow morning if you’re downloading to Kindle). In the excerpt above, President Bush talks about Vice-president Cheney’s angry reaction to Bush’s decision not to pardon Scooter Libby. He also talks about his decision to quit drinking.

  • Politics

    Is this the end of the Plame Game?

    I’ve written too much on this story over the last two years not to mention this new (final?) development. From the Washington Post: “A federal judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband against Vice President Cheney and other top officials over the Bush administration’s disclosure of Plame’s name and covert status to the media.” But perhaps the most important line from the story: “No one was charged with the crime of intentionally disclosing Plame’s covert identity.” Whether or not this will be the end of the so-called “Plame Game” remains to be seen. But it needs to be.

  • Politics

    Fred Thompson for President?

    Don’t laugh. The last time an actor ran for President, he won and became one of the most beloved politicians in recent history. His name was Ronald Reagan. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Senator Fred Thompson (who currently stars on “Law and Order”) to be elected President in 2008. Where is he on the issues? The summary from the Associated Press says that Thompson . . .

  • Politics

    “Turd Blossom” Will Not Be Indicted

    There are new developments in a story that I began covering on this blog last year (see two previous posts).The news that Karl Rove (a.k.a. “Turd Blossom,” a nickname given to him by President Bush) will not be indicted in connection with the CIA leak case is probably the biggest political news of 2006. It’s big news because it puts a damper on Democrat efforts to use the 2006 mid-term elections as an occasion to accuse the Republicans of being the party of corruption. That effort did not work in the recent special congressional election in California, and the success of such a strategy in November looks even more unlikely…