Celebrating the Successful Obstruction of Justice

by emptywheel

ThinkProgress reports that the Neocon faithful gave Scooter Libby a standing ovation last night.

Commentary magazine, “widely regarded as the leading outlet for neoconservative writing,” held its first annual dinner this week in honor of its former editor-in-chief Norman Podhoretz. The evening got started with rousing cheers for Scooter Libby. The crowd of 300 delivered “a standing ovation” for Libby, “who was in attendance while awaiting sentencing on his felony convictions.”

Lovely. Honoring your most recently convicted felon.

Can there be any more doubt that Scooter Libby's defense was regarded by the Neocons as the firewall protecting the entire corrupt endeavor? Is there any doubt that those contributing to the Scooter Libby Defense Fund did so out of self-interest, the hope that Libby would hide their own complicity and crimes? Libby did such a good job at protecting Cheney, not revealing the sordid details behind the Neocons' last failed war, hiding their corrupt tactics. And for that, they thanked him heartily.

I do hope Judge Walton hears about this at Libby's sentencing hearing on June 5. Because accepting a standing ovation for your success at obstructing justice sure doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who feels any remorse for his crimes. Rather, it's like a poke in the eye, a profound act of contempt for our entire system of justice.

Besides, I think it would drive Ted Wells nuts if he had to answer for this kind of behavior.

Comments

[Slothrop]

It's like the mafia except, you know, led by nerds and weaklings.

[ManagedChaos]

And you expected a bunch of Zionist, Israeli-firster, neo-con traitors to act any different?

[tekel]

I bet he won't get the same reception in prison. His mouth isn't pretty enough.

[ManagedChaos]

EW, you don't think a possible motive in the lying and obstruction from Scooter was to delay this case past the 2004 election by shifting the focus on journalists that Scooter knew would challenge the subpoenas and therefore delay the process? Wasn't that delay essential to Bush's winning of the election?

[emptywheel]

Managed Chaos

Yes. Absolutely.

[Frank Probst]

Was his wife there? Or was she home taking care of the same small children that she's going to have to raise alone if Scooter gets carted off to jail?

[*xyz]

I wandered over to the Commentary website and found a recent article entitled "Lessons of the Libby Affair".

I have included a link below in case Marcy or any commenters want to take a break and shoot some fish in a barrel.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/cm/main/viewArticle.aip?id=10870

I really hope Walton is made aware of Libby's rock-star status among the neocon crowd - a status that was crystallized by his decision to obstruct justice to protect Cheney and the neocon agenda.

[emptywheel]

*xyz

Thanks for the link, but that's just too easy. ;-p

[Mimikatz]

The most troubling aspect is the continued zeal of these morons for toppling more regimes, despite the obvious, inescapable and dangerous failure of Iraq. I'm beginning to think that the fluoride that was added to the water when these Boomers were young really did rot the brain like the right-wing crazies of the time told us it would, or something like that.

[Dismayed]

Amazingly shameless, ignorant people. 1900 years ago these folks would have had the breath of their own bile and season tickets to the colosseum.

[Jukesgrrl]

"Was his wife there? Or was she home taking care of the same small children that she's going to have to raise alone if Scooter gets carted off to jail?" --Frank Probst

Good point, but I'm sure these same 300 supporters will be happy to supply their hero with nanny services. Not to mention, I believe Mrs. Scooter has her own career, ironically something many of these uber-Republicans believe is wrong -- except, of course when they're doing it.

[bmaz]

EW - If you can find a video clip of this nonsense, I will personally find a way to make sure it gets in front of the Court's eyes before sentencing. Even if we are beyond a theoretical submission deadline.

[Neil]

In fairness to convicted felon Scooter, he may not have had any control over the standing ovation at the neocon ball.

Any man with such a fine education and legal career, who would oversee the manufacturing of fraudulent evidence for a war of choice, participate in the hit job on CIA Agent Plame and then in direct ethical and moral opposition to his fine education and professional traning, lie, perjur himself and obstruct justice, is a study in the flaws of human character.

I wrote Judge Walton and asked him to consider the significance of the crime in terms of a calculus: when powerful men at the highest levels of goverment are choosing whether to tell the truth or to lie and obstruct justice, let them understand there are great consequences for choosong to lie and obstruct justice, and that the consequences are at least equal to, as punitive as, the penalties for the felonies they have successfully concealed. (There is probably no basis in law for this argument but then again, I have no legal training. The argument makes a point, nonetheless.)

When powerful men in government lie and obstruct justice, they do so at great expense of the public trust.

Write Judge Walton and tell him what you think about Scooter Libby felonies and what factors you hope he takes into account in sentencing. Kkeep it brief and to the point. Give them a Re: "Libby" on the envelope.

Judge Reggie B. Walton
E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001

[Rayne]

Um, forgive me, but wasn't there a period for pre-sentencing public commentary? Has it ended?

And isn't the address for Judge Reggie B. Walton here:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse
333 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001

Oh nuts, the period may have ended on 01-MAY-07...wonder if they still read letters anyhow, pointing out blatant and egregious behavior after the feedback deadline??

[Rayne]

Neil, thanks, you were faster on the draw than me, had my comment in the pending queue too long.

[bmaz]

Neil - Very well phrased. And, lawyer or not, your point has legal credence as a sentencing consideration.

Rayne - either address will work just fine. Yours is the more technically correct, but either will work. "Judge Reggie B. Walton" should be on top though. As to deadlines, I do think we are past one. My guess is that deadline was for consideration by the pre-sentence report writer and inclusion in the PSI packet (pre-sentence report). You can certainly send letters directly to Walton up till the day of sentencing. Nothing at all wrong with that. He may, or may not, see them; but no harm in trying. But if you find that video clip, I will find some creative way to make sure it is seen, along wish a passionate statement like Neil's, from an officer of the court.

[*xyz]

Someone over at talking points memo made the following point:

[snip]

"I'm beginning to wonder if some Republicans are now coming out to make a statement against Gonzales because they have inside information that a new AG has been selected and Gonzales has already planned to step down, perhaps next Friday, just in time for a recess appointment. People like Coleman can then say to their constituents that they asked Gonzales to resign, even though they only came out with the statement after they knew that he was leaving anyway."

[snip]

I fear that this is a very real possibility that would help the administration to sidestep a number of the very serious problems that are currently facing them.

Do others here agree? If so, how can we get through to Harry Reid et al to convince them to keep enough Senators present so that a "recess" does not occur over the Memorial Day weekend?

[mainsailset]

In the category of 'is nothing sacred to these guys' since neither Rove nor this WH chose to recognize that he had no business in the DoJ, what was to stop Rove (certainly not a little thing like Security Clearances) from getting into the thick of the NSA programs. Since there are no boundaries I've yet to identify for Rove, it seems a reasonable question.

[Jodi]

There are really some small and mean attitudes here.

Mr Libby just got some support from friends and compasionate people.

And some here have to go with the prison sex humor and gloat about his poor wife raising her children alone.

[calugg]

Look the neo con crowd are nothing more than banana republic loving thugs. I thought one of the more effective Florida protests is when the legislature's steps (I believe) were pelted with bananas.

Can't the neo-cons be greeted with similary disdain? It's a great visual at gets to the heart of their disdain for the rule of law.

[Ishmael]

The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”. - (Henry VI, Part II, Act IV, Scene II).

“Small things make base men proud”. - (Act IV, Scene I).

The BushCo unravelling is becoming Shakespearean, with its roots in Bush's usurpment/selection in 2000. Even Tweety noted this yesterday in his comparison of Fredo and Card to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Interesting to note that R & G were the tools of another usurper, Hamlet’s uncle, as are Card and Fredo to Bush 43. Like Dick the Butcher advocating mass legicide to the pretender Jack Cade, the answer to Bushco’s problems are to keep away the lawyers, from DOJ, from Guantanamo, anywhere the rule of law will expose their crimes. The depressing thing to me (as a lawyer) is that he was able to get so many lawyers to go along with it, even Comey for a long while. Schumer and Lahey are going to have to play Fortinbras in this tragedy to bring order back.

[Elliott]

Ishmael, it's gone Borgian.

[P J Evans]

I love it when trolls comment on things that haven't come up in the thread. Makes me wonder about their mental processes.

[obsessed]

poor wife raising her children alone.

Hey Idjo: how many poor wives are raising their children alone as a result of Libby fabricating evidence to start a disastrous war in Iraq?

[freepatriot]

scooter libby didn't have any control over this ???

was he kidnapped or something ???

as I see it, scooter CHOOSE to walk into that room, he's responsible for what happened after

show the tape to the Judge, and let Patrick Fitzgerald explain how the crowd's reaction is related to the Jury's questions about kkkarl rove