Libby Trial Roundup
First, the Washington Post:On Scooter Libby: "The fall of this skilled and long-respected public servant is particularly sobering because it arose from a Washington scandal remarkable for its lack of substance."
On Joe Wilson: "Mr. Wilson's case has besmirched nearly everyone it touched. The former ambassador will be remembered as a blowhard."
Next, Charles Krauthammer on the case for an immediate presidential pardon.
"This is a case that never should have been brought, originating in the scandal that never was, in search of a crime -- violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act -- that even the prosecutor never alleged. That's the basis for a presidential pardon. It should have been granted long before this egregious case came to trial. It should be granted now without any further delay."
Here is Rich Lowry on the criminalization of policy differences (aka "it's illegal to be a Republican"):
"Fitzgerald let himself become an instrument of political blood lust. Bush critics wanted Libby destroyed because he stood for “the case for war.” But Libby is an individual, not an abstraction. The way to score points against “the case for war” is through advocacy, not through jailing one person. Time magazine says that Libby’s conviction is “a rebuke to (the) hermitic powersharing arrangement at the top of the White House.” Again, the way to object to Dick Cheney’s power is through political agitation, not through imprisoning his former chief of staff.This is the very definition of the criminalization of politics. If the other party occupies the White House, each side in our politics is willing to embrace this criminalization, even if it means doing violence to its own interests and principles."
Finally, Jonah Goldberg on the trials and tribulations of the adorable Wilson family:
"A man of less mettle might grow frustrated with the effrontery of the Washington Post calling him a liar, a blowhard, and the real destroyer of his wife's career. Simply because it's true hardly justifies stepping on his story line. Don't they know he's the author of a book, The Politics of Truth, and a winner of awards for his self-proclaimed courage for "speaking truth to power"? Why should a bipartisan Senate intelligence report cataloging his dishonesty and distortions stand against a man with such important hair?"
This case is a travesty. Libby will get his pardon, but not until January 2009.
posted by JM @ 2:59 PM
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