ShareThisRather late in the game we find out that President George W. Bush really could say no to his powerful vice president, Dick Cheney. And the president did it on a cause dear to the vice president's heart -- a full pardon for his former top aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Libby was convicted of four counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators in connection with the federal probe into who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence just before he was to begin serving it, but he let the convictions stand, which means that as a felon Libby cannot practice law or vote. It was widely assumed that Bush might pardon him just before leaving the White House, but as the departure date approached there was no pardon forthcoming.
Cheney began fiercely lobbying the president, repeatedly bringing up the matter. Finally, according to Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News, who broke the story, "After repeatedly telling Cheney his mind was made up, Bush became so exasperated with Cheney's persistence he told aides he didn't want to discuss the matter any further."
Associates say the vice president was left outraged and disappointed, and after leaving office he offered what for him was rare and harsh criticism of Bush, telling The Weekly Standard that Libby was "a victim of a serious miscarriage of justice, and I strongly believe that he deserved a presidential pardon. Obviously, I disagree with President Bush's decision."
Granting the pardon would have been hypocritical of Bush. Going back to his years as Texas governor, he had always been stingy with his powers of clemency, In his eight years as president, Bush issued only 189 pardons, less than half the 396 granted by President Bill Clinton and the 393 by President Ronald Reagan in their two terms each.
And Bush was surely cognizant that a last-minute pardon for Libby would invite comparisons with Clinton's notorious midnight pardons at the end of his presidency. Bush did very quietly on the last full days in office commute the sentences of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler.
If Libby is to be pardoned, it will have to be by President Obama. It's worth a try, although Cheney might be the wrong person to ask him.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
McFeatters lies about Border Agents - how does he keep a job?
COPY OF POSTING ON BOULDER DAILY CAMERA WEBSITE
re: "Cheney's influence waned with presidency" (2/19/09 - op-ed by Scripps' Dale McFeatters)
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Sheesh...
And newspaper people wonder why their jobs are in trouble.
The following from the op-ed above, written by Dale McFeatters of the Scripps Howard News Service (whom I hope is sued for libel):
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"Bush did very quietly on the last full days in office commute the sentences of two Border Patrol agents convicted of killing a Mexican drug smuggler."
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Seeing as how Ramos and Campion were convicted of WOUNDING (not "killing") a drug dealer, this writing is offensive and false, and a Camera editor should have caught it. It's not like this case wasn't national (and local) news. Peter Boyles' 630 KHOW AM morning show, for example, had regular interviews with the officers' wives.
This is just unbelievably sloppy writing, and shows a complete lack of editorial oversight here locally, and I feel the Camera (and Scripps nationally) should issue not just a correction, but an apology.
Not only just wounded
but the drug dealer's testimony led to the convictions, after he was actively tracked down in Mexico.
A retraction of the story should be made.