Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney's former Chief of Staff was convicted yesterday of lying to a federal grand jury and four counts of making false statements to the FBI. Libby is facing between 1 1/2 and three years in a federal camp for white-collar criminals, if he's not pardoned by the Bush Administration after his appeals are exhausted. The charges come from an investigation of who leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent to the press.
The CIA officer was Valerie Plame, who is married to one-time ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. Wilson had accused the White House of using flawed intelligence to justify the war in Iraq, which makes him a hero in my book. He referred to a CIA mission he took to Niger in 2002, which found no merit to claims that Iraq was trying to buy weapons-grade uranium. Plame was outed eight days later.
Here's the clincher. Wilson told reporters after the verdict was announced that the conviction shows even a top White House official is subject to the American justice system. "We see this as a reaffirmation that we are a nation of laws, we live in a democracy. The verdict shows no man is above the law."
There you have it, folks. The husband of the victim doesn't seem to have a problem with the fact that Libby is the only person being held accountable. It is almost painfully obvious that Libby is the Bush Administration's Oliver North. I honestly believe a helluva lot more than one top White House official was involved with this massive breech of security.
According to an article in the Washington Post, Wilson, who with his wife has filed a civil lawsuit against Libby and several top administration officials alleging that they disclosed her identity. Why aren't more officials being charged?
Finally, what's the deal with the 1 1/2 to three year sentence if the guy isn't pardoned by his partners in crime? If you or I were convicted of four felonies involving national security, do you really think we'd get off that easy? There are people being held longer than that at GITMO who have never even been charged with a crime, let alone convicted. And I assure you, GITMO is not a summer camp for white collar criminals.
So Mr. Wilson, good luck with the law suits. I'm glad you think justice has been done and that this proves no man is above the law. If it were my wife whose life had been put in danger, I wouldn't have been satisfied quite as easily. Perhaps that's a flaw in my character.
1 comment:
Libby was a pawn..rumor has it that Cheney was behind that leak. I agree wholeheartedly that this is a travesty of justice. Spineless Libby should have gotten the standard 10 years, and Cheney should be under investigation right now. I know that politicos close ranks, as the military and some police organizations do, to avoid undermining their authority with the public. In this case, however, the damage has been done. The Washington Post and New York Times have been covering the implications of Cheney's involvement for months.
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