Fitz Speaks

by emptywheel

Via email from his spokesperson:

We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a  matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative. 

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as “excessive.”   The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country.  In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws.  It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals.  That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Although the President’s decision eliminates Mr. Libby’s sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process.

For the record, when I said almost the same thing on Hardball, I hadn't gotten this yet in the email. Glad to see that my feeble mind is thinking along the lines of a great mind.

Update: Oh wait, I think I said the bit about the fact that this was not an excessive sentence for a different interview, that will no doubt be cut. You'll have to take my word for it then.

 

Comments

[desertwind]

Damn, I hope Crooks & Liars has you up, Marcy! I just knew that your "where is she?" gap meant you were on TV somewhere. And, with Schuster. Very good, my dear girl. Very good.

[CityGirl]

Don't worry, EW. We know there are two great minds at work there...

[desertwind]

More than one interview?

[Urban Pirate]

two minutes after you posted this, KO read it on air. :)

[vieravisonary]

Here is my email to the Speaker of the House:

Speaker Pelosi,

The commutation of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby for obstruction of justice reflects a total disregard of our justice system. The President's actions are simply deflect the actions of the current administration who used their positions of power for political gain. The recent action by the President expands the cloud of doubt regarding the Valerie Plame outage and no one living outside the Washington "inner circle" would even have gain audience, much less, the attention if they were charged with similar crimes.

A jury of his peers found former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby guilty. That can not ever be removed form the records. It is time for the Congress to stand up and stop this miscarriage of justice. It is time for you, as Speaker of the House, to firmly and strongly stand and confront the President in clear and unclouded terms. It is your responsibility and we expect you to uphold your responsibility not run away from it.

As a Scoutmaster, I recite the Scout Law with my Scouts each week and the first portion of the Scout is "trustworthy." It is clear that trustworthy only applies to ordinary citizens, not whose who are in the President's administration. I strongly encourage you to bring impeachment back onto the table to allow the American citizens to finally see what has been going on during the Bush presidency.

Please feel free to contact me for further discussion and clarification that you and your office would need to establish the information needed to move forward on this situation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my comments.

Very Respectfully,
vieravisionary

[TeddySanFran]

Marcy, heard you on Hardball, you really shocked the talking heads! Their looks were priceless -- esp Isikoff. You did great cutting it right to its core, which none of them had been able to do. Clearly they didn't want to hear it either. PS Your hair was fabulous!

[clareon]

Great job on Hardball, Marcy. You were on so briefly at the end, but you were sharp and clear, as usual. On the segment before yours, Jonathan Turley talked about how underwhelmed he was with Fitzgerald's prosecution--"the lights went out every time he got close to Cheney." I'm wondering if you had a chance to speak with him about that.

[tomj]

EW,

I remember that comment about eliminating the whole sentence. Can't remember if it was you, but I did watch Hardball. Great you got nearly the last word on that program!

[sponson]

This better not be a signal that this is all that Fitzgerald has planned. It's now time for him to turn over all of his evidence obtained through discovery to Congress. He has the power to immunize the convicted Libby, who cannot plead the 5th, back on the witness stand. If nothing else, he'd better step up and meet this challenge to the rule of law or he'll never be Attorney General.

[kim]

Great to hear you on Hardball Marcy.

[desertwind]

So, Scooter spends less time in jail than Judy Miller.

My god, if that woman would just spill the beans...

[J. Thomason]

Fitz has suggested that the commutation is not consistant with the rule of law and the the sentence rendered is fair under the test of legislated sentencing guidelines. In other words Fitz challenges the characterization that the commutation relates to the administration of justice. And remember Bush implicates "justice" in his statement. Though he may be empowered to commute, Bush is not empowered to legislate sentencing by virtue of his office and now his stated intention has been challenged by the prosecutor. Clearly a Constitutional issue has been framed in this regard. And there is Constitutional precedent that obstruction of justice as an improper motive for the exercise of executive power. Whether Congress will pick up the gauntlet that Bush has joined down in publically joining this issue is yet to be seen.

Ironically, we can only assume by virtue of the importance he places on signing statements that Bush expects that his state of mind demonstrated in his public statements be relavent to the scope of the exercise of his authority. And yet we know his public record in the context of the outting of Valerie Plame is anything but internally consistant. So to repeat what has been stated tonite abundantly, but probably can't be repeated too much, Bush's statement amounts to prima facie evidence which is fundamentally an admission against his interest as an executive acting under the authority of law of an intention to obstruct justice. He would have done better to exercise his power without comment.

[desertwind]

Any bets on who wrote Bush's statement?

[J. Thomason]

thrown down even

[darclay]

I missed hardball I hate missing you...I have contacted every elected offical that I can think of and ask for article of impeachment be brought against shrub and dark lord.
Keep hammering away!!

[jjk]

You were great on Hardball, Marcy! Just a long-time lurker wanting to let ya know. I did get some hope from the John Dean interview on KO tonight. I think now is really when we will discover the endgame of Patrick Fitzgerald. Specifically, if he re-convenes the grand jury and calls Scooter to testify to his obstruction, finally "rolling-up" the prosecution to Cheney. IANAL, and I am unsure as to if his 5th amendment right applies with a commutation, not a pardon (it is my understanding that with a pardon he does not legally need and cannot take the 5th). Scooter is not in the executive, so how can he challenge via executive privilege? As someone who has watched Fitzgerald's office here in Chicago, I actually think he has not given up yet. And, his statement tonight does speak to something; but how does "working thru the appeals process" align with re-convening the grand jury? I wish I actually could provide some answers, but all I have tonight are questions. Thanks again, Marcy, for all your hard work.

[Neil]

EPU

Fitz statement took issue with Bush's statement. Bush claimed Libby's sentence was excessive. Fitz said the sentence was not excessive, it was appropriate according to the law, and that would be the same sentence under the same laws applied to anyone standing before the court.

I don't think Fitz has any mechanism to contest Bush's commutation of Libby's incarceration. Fitz's statement is for the record and it challenged Bush's assertion that the sentence was excessive. Fitz reommended 30-37 and justified it under the law.

Fitz's statement is also clever in recognizing that any person standing in front of the court with the same fact pattern would receive the 30-37 month sentence. IN other words, when it comes to the law, White House folks shouldn't get speacial treatment... unless the President is exercising his clemency authority, under the law.

[Eureka Springs]

Marcy, Schuster gave you one shot and you absolutely nailed it! Great job as always.

[Frank Probst]

Hmmm. I seem to be one of the few people who doesn't see this as a total loss for Team Fitz. My viewpoint is that Fitz has won the round. Libby is still a proven felon. Bush may have commuted his prison time, but Fitz has already called bullshit on the President of the United States. And he did it in a manner that's bulletproof.

[dan robinson]

I wish someone would compile a list of all of the people who were convicted of the crimes that Scooter was convicted of between the time of his indictment and sentence commutation. It would be good to see how many people actually went to prison for the same offenses of which Scooter was convicted.

[...]

i like what richardson had to say >>``The arrogance of this administration's disdain for the law and its belief it operates with impunity are breathtaking. Will the president also commute the sentences of others who obstructed justice and lied to grand juries, or only those who act to protect President Bush and Vice President Cheney?'' - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. <<

[AlanDownunder]

"You do the crime, you do the time"
"Truth in sentencing"

Now where did I hear that stuff?

[Sally]

Fitz is the man. He hit Bush on what Bush's lawyerly ghostwriter thought would be the strongest "reason" for the commutation. Here's Fitz:

"In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals."

And Joe Wilson on KO said twice that Bush is corrupt to the core. Does my heart good.

[z z z z]

What does Fitz mean by "we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process."
Would Scooter still be trying to overturn the conviction?
Will such appeals give an opportunity to further reveal
the corruption of this administration? Hope so.
Oh yes, great job with Shusterman!

[z z z z]

What does Fitz mean by "we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process."
Would Scooter still be trying to overturn the conviction?
Will such appeals give an opportunity to further reveal
the corruption of this administration? Hope so.
Oh yes, great job with Shusterman!