seattle indymedia center

Libby's Sentence Commutted to prevent him from telling all about Cheney.

author: Voter
Jul 03, 2007 04:30

The article is about how the latest cover-up of the Bush gang berings them closer to impeachment.

The air was not fresh, but poisoned

Libby's Sentence Commutted to prevent him from telling all about Cheney.



 http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=209799


To the Courts, Then, on Behalf of the Constitution!
Bush didn't get his immigration package and now he's commuted Libby's sentence, because Libby would go to jail and probably tell more than what Bush and Cheney would like.

He should have pardoned the two Border agents serving 10 and 11 years, Ramos and Compean for shooting at a fleeing drug dealer, but he and Cheney are so set on creating the New World Order, North American Union, that he couldn't do Justice.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/opinion/03tues1.web.html?_r=1&hp&oref= slogin

Published: July 3, 2007 When he was running for president, George W. Bush loved to contrast his law-abiding morality with that of President Clinton, who was charged with perjury and acquitted. For Mr. Bush, the candidate, "politics, after a time of tarnished ideals, can be higher and better."

Not so for Mr. Bush, the president. Judging from his decision yesterday to commute the 30-month sentence of I. Lewis Libby Jr. -- who was charged with perjury and convicted -- untarnished ideals are less of a priority than protecting the secrets of his inner circle and mollifying the tiny slice of right-wing Americans left in his political base.

Mr. Libby was convicted of lying to federal agents investigating the leak of the name of a covert C.I.A. operative, Valerie Wilson. Mrs. Wilson's husband, Joseph Wilson, was asked to investigate a central claim in Mr. Bush's drive to war with Iraq -- whether Iraq tried to purchase uranium from Africa. Mr. Wilson concluded that Iraq had not done that and had the temerity to share those conclusions with the American public.

It seems clear from the record that Vice President Dick Cheney organized a campaign to discredit Mr. Wilson. And Mr. Libby, who was Mr. Cheney's chief of staff, was willing to lie to protect his boss.

That made Mr. Libby the darling of the right, which demanded that Mr. Bush pardon him. Those same Republicans have been rebelling against Mr. Bush, most recently on immigration reform, while Democrats in Congress have pursued an investigation into whether Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney lied about Iraq's weapons programs.

All of this put immense pressure on the president to do something before Mr. Libby went to jail. But none of it was justification for the baldly political act of commuting his sentence.

Mr. Bush's assertion that he respected the verdict but considered the sentence excessive only underscored the way this president is tough on crime when it's committed by common folk. As governor of Texas, he was infamous for joking about the impending execution of Karla Faye Tucker, a killer who became a born-again Christian on death row. As president, he has repeatedly put himself and those on his team, especially Mr. Cheney, above the law.

Within minutes of the Libby announcement, the same Republican commentators who fulminated when Paris Hilton got a few days knocked off her time in a county lockup were parroting Mr. Bush's contention that a fine, probation and reputation damage were "harsh punishment" enough for Mr. Libby.

Presidents have the power to grant clemency and pardons. But in this case, Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell.

Next Article in Opinion (1 of 15) »





 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/the-libby-affair-dems-sh_b_547 23.html

The Libby Affair: Dems Should Stick to the Coverup, and Cheney's Role in Providing Aid and Comfort to Enemies of the U.S. Posted July 2, 2007 | 08:43 PM (EST)

------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------

Read More: Breaking Politics News, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, U.S. Democratic Party, Valerie Plame, Nancy Pelosi, Central Intelligence Agency, Senate Judiciary Committee

George Bush has commuted Libby's sentence so he does not serve jail time.

Democrats will waste their breath on attacking the commutation for all the wrong reasons, even if they are all true: questioning why he did not commute it to a shorter time if he thought the sentence was excessive; indicating the importance of perjury; complaining about unequal justice for those in high places; and the hypocrisy of the right-wing's "law-and-order" mantra.

In addition, despite all of Bush's protestations that he was not considering anything in the Libby case until its course had run, he seemed to have a completely vetted, lawyered, decision and statement ready on the day that course had run. He also said that he "had considered this decision carefully". Really? I thought he was fishing with Putin.

All true. But, all distracting the argument from the key point.

The right-wing will argue that Libby committed no underlying crime, that the trial should not have occurred, and the sentence was excessive. IGNORE THEM, too.

Bush commuted the sentence to prevent Libby from singing. That is the only part of this that is really important. The $250,000 fine remained in place because Libby will keep the lid on for that sum (and probably collect it from his friends).

We all know what he was going to sing about, the Cheney plan to discredit and exact revenge on the Wilsons, because he was unable to refute the truth of the claim that he had hyped the nuclear threat. It would not be surprising if the 16 words in the President's State of the Union were put back by Cheney after having been removed by the CIA.

There is a remedy: now that Libby has a commuted sentence, and Libby cannot be subjected to double jeopardy, haul him before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and investigate what happened, determining whether new laws are required to protect people like Valerie Plame. Libby cannot rely in Executive Privilege because he has already testified about the matter.

So, Dems, the word, and the only word of relevance: COVER-UP, COVER-UP, COVER-UP, COVER-UP.

Finally, the pardon should liberate Nancy Pelosi, and she should let Conyers get on with the job of impeaching Dick Cheney. As I have repeatedly written in these pages, Dick Cheney's outing of Valerie Plame gave aid and comfort to enemies of the United States by exposing a critical undercover operation. Whether it is, or is not, a technical violation of law, it is a violation of his oath of office.

C'mon Nancy. Give Mr. Conyers a green light. Let him investigate Cheney for impeachable offenses.

But, don't get lathered about the commutation itself. Don't even get up in arms about the perjury. The issue is Cheney's providing aid and comfort to enemies of the United States, and Libby's role was to help the COVER-UP. Don't ever forget: Cheney is the guy who heaps scorn on those whom he falsely accuses of being uninterested in the security of the United States.

Keep your eyes on the ball.





Cover up after coverup has been practiced by this administration.

Cheney and Bush Both refused to testify under oath at the 9/11 Commission hearings

Because they knew the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were planned way before 9/11 and they helped it happen to get the public to go along.

 http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/06/260252.shtml

Where's the CIA's Missing Jewel? author: voter Jun 28, 2007 08:53

Cheney shoots at sitting ducks, US. Bush is a lame duck.

They both need to be impeached and imprisoned.

 http://miami.indymedia.org/news/2007/06/8600.php

Who Controls our disastrous Middle East Policy? by Voter Sunday, Jun. 17, 2007 at 8:26 AM

The Middle Eastern situation grows worse every day. Iraq is in shambles, Hamas has taken over Gaza, and the news report conflicting stories about Iran's influence in the region. Who controls our foreign policies and how do they need to be changed to end disaster?

 http://publish.seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/06/259871.shtml

Last throes of the American Republic author: Voter Jun 13, 2007 08:35

Because the Democratic Party has overzealous love of Zionist Israel, they are letting the Bush regime get away with Crimes against Humanity, Treason and allowing them to institute a dictatorship.

 http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/05/259616.shtml

Bill O'Reilly is a modern day Gobbels! author: voter May 27, 2007 00:05

The blogs have wisdom but TV has public opinion. Help change this and save our Constitutional Republic from dictators.

felicity et al - this is not about "apologizing for the war vote". to a great extent the vast bulk of the democratic party's officeholders tripped over each other in their eager rush to start the war, and to this day have only passed legislation that endlessly sustains it. they as a party are just as culpable today for this disaster as they were in 2003.

the reality is that the war's architects - many of them - were lifelong congressional lobbyists working in the Israel lobby. the reality is that AIPAC is using its congressional assets to use the US military to do the bidding of the Israeli government. while AIPAC is hardly the sole responsible agent - all these corporate war profiteers certainly wanted this war and want to keep it going forever if possible - the influence of AIPAC and Israel on our government has simply got to be held up to the light of day and understood. the Democratic Party leadership - in particular, Steny Hoyer and Rahm Emmanuel, who run the House of Representatives, and direct Nanci Pelosi's activities - as well as Hillary, Inc, Obamamania, and all the rest - act as if they are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Israel lobby and war profiteering corporations.

they must be made to answer for the results of what they do in office - hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of refugees created in the middle east, an entire nation has been needlessly destroyed and has become an anarchy and bloodbath, a howling wilderness, a no-man's land, the entire middle east has been destabilized, resulting in a security crisis in this most crucial region, and nearly 5000 American lives have been lost, ten thousand more maimed and hurt, mostly because the Israel lobby represents a country (Israel) that operates as a racist apartheid society with expansionist, colonialist, militaristic "relationships" with its neighbors, and refuses to change.

Posted by ZERO 05/25/2007 @ 5:52pm | ignore this person

You can say this again.!

 http://publish.seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/05/259462.shtml

Congress needs to Act on Impeachment of Cheney Now. author: Voter May 13, 2007 04:45

Forgery is a crime, and knowingly using forged documents for preemptive war is impeachable.

 http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2007/03/57185.php

U.S. History not told in Schools

 http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2006/05/253152.shtml

Detailed, Four Traitors: The Devil is in the Details! Impeach author: rese May 20, 2006 02:20

This is about Four traitors who refuse to uphold the Constitution!

 http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/186237/index.php The Wars for OIL and Drugs Go on...





 http://www.worldnetdaily.com/commentary.html

A Declaration of Independence From Israel

Posted on Jul 2, 2007

snips:

Middle Eastern policy is shaped in the United States by those with very close ties to the Israel lobby. Those who attempt to counter the virulent Israeli position, such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are ruthlessly slapped down. This alliance was true also during the Clinton administration, with its array of Israel-first Middle East experts, including special Middle East coordinator Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, one of the most powerful Israel lobbying groups in Washington. But at least people like Indyk and Ross are sane, willing to consider a Palestinian state, however unviable, as long as it is palatable to Israel. The Bush administration turned to the far-right wing of the Israel lobby, those who have not a shred of compassion for the Palestinians or a word of criticism for Israel. These new Middle East experts include Elliott Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, the disgraced I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and David Wurmser.

Israel is currently lobbying the United States to launch aerial strikes on Iran, despite the debacle in Lebanon. Israel's iron determination to forcibly prevent a nuclear Iran makes it probable that before the end of the Bush administration an attack on Iran will take place. The efforts to halt nuclear development through diplomatic means have failed. It does not matter that Iran poses no threat to the United States. It does not matter that it does not even pose a threat to Israel, which has several hundred nuclear weapons in its arsenal. It matters only that Israel demands total military domination of the Middle East.

The alliance between Israel and the United States has culminated after 50 years in direct U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. This involvement, which is not furthering American interests, is unleashing a geopolitical nightmare. American soldiers and Marines are dying in droves in a useless war. The impotence of the United States in the face of Israeli pressure is complete. The White House and the Congress have become, for perhaps the first time, a direct extension of Israeli interests. There is no longer any debate within the United States. This is evidenced by the obsequious nods to Israel by all the current presidential candidates with the exception of Dennis Kucinich. The political cost for those who challenge Israel is too high.

This means there will be no peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It means the incidents of Islamic terrorism against the U.S. and Israel will grow. It means that American power and prestige are on a steep, irreversible decline. And I fear it also means the ultimate end of the Jewish experiment in the Middle East.

The weakening of the United States, economically and militarily, is giving rise to new centers of power. The U.S. economy, mismanaged and drained by the Iraq war, is increasingly dependent on Chinese trade imports and on Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. China holds dollar reserves worth $825 billion. If Beijing decides to abandon the U.S. bond market, even in part, it would cause a free fall by the dollar. It would lead to the collapse of the $7-trillion U.S. real estate market. There would be a wave of U.S. bank failures and huge unemployment. The growing dependence on China has been accompanied by aggressive work by the Chinese to build alliances with many of the world's major exporters of oil, such as Iran, Nigeria, Sudan and Venezuela. The Chinese are preparing for the looming worldwide clash over dwindling resources.

The future is ominous. Not only do Israel's foreign policy objectives not coincide with American interests, they actively hurt them. The growing belligerence in the Middle East, the calls for an attack against Iran, the collapse of the imperial project in Iraq have all given an opening, where there was none before, to America's rivals. It is not in Israel's interests to ignite a regional conflict. It is not in ours. But those who have their hands on the wheel seem determined, in the name of freedom and democracy, to keep the American ship of state headed at breakneck speed into the cliffs before us

add a comment on this article