Scooter Libby Cries Uncle
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has made the "tactical" decision to drop his appeal. After all, why spend millions of dollars in legal fees when you still have friends in high places? President Bush earlier commuted Libby's sentence, keeping the former Cheney aide out of prison but leaving him with a criminal record and a fine. The White House won't comment on whether Bush intends to pardon Libby.
I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby has made the “tactical” decision to drop his appeal. After all, why spend millions of dollars in legal fees when you still have friends in high places? President Bush earlier commuted Libby’s sentence, keeping the former Cheney aide out of prison but leaving him with a criminal record and a fine. The White House won’t comment on whether Bush intends to pardon Libby.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Los Angeles Times:
[Libby’s attorney Theodore] Wells explained that the decision not to continue the appeal was tactical. “The appeal would lead only to a retrial,” he said, “a process that would last even beyond the two years of supervised release, cost millions of dollars more than the fine he has already paid, and entail many more hundreds of hours preparing for an all-consuming appeal and retrial.”
The decision also reflects the political reality that if the appellate court granted a new trial, it would probably occur during the administration of the next president, who might not share Bush’s interest in helping his former official.
The White House declined to comment … on prospects for a pardon. “We never comment on whether or not the president will be granting pardons to anybody,” said Press Secretary Dana Perino.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Since April, at least 69 people have been appointed or transferred to political jobs within the administration with little or no fanfare. A ProPublica investigation reveals who some of them are.
The Obama administration has seen another key player out the door. This time, it's national security adviser James Jones, whom Obama thanked for his "sacrifices" in his announcement in the White House's Rose Garden on Friday. Who's next?
In alleged retaliation for Republican stonewalling, President Barack Obama will bypass the Senate and make recess appointments to 15 high-level administration jobs. For context, George W. Bush made more than 170 such appointments; Bill Clinton made nearly 140.
Could the current climate in Washington, D.C., be discouraging lobbyists from practicing their persuasive trade in and around the White House? Or does the downsizing of their ranks have more to do with the economy than the political zeitgeist on Capitol Hill?
The bad rap that "faith-based initiatives" got during the last administration hasn't kept the new management at the White House from treating its Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships seriously. It has fleshed out the lineup of advisers to a total of 25 with two new recruits.
Here are the five most-read stories of the last seven days, including Chris Hedges on America's moral meltdown and Robert Scheer on the economic incompetents who find easy employment in the Obama administration. Full list after the jump.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.