Bush's amnesty proclamation

There's been a hullabaloo in the last day or so even since President Bush commuted the sentence of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff Scooter Libby, who had been found guilty of perjury (lying under oath) and obstruction of justice. The commutation spares Libby any prison time. Bush has not ruled out a full pardon for the convicted felon. Personally, I'd be shocked if Bush DOESN'T pardon Libby at some point, most likely sometime between Election Day 2008 and Inauguration Day 2009.

Presidential pardons and commutations for their cronies aren't exactly new. It seems every president issues a rash of these orders in the waning days of his presidency. But Bush's clemency is odd behavior from someone whose party claims to represent law and order. Then again, those who scream loudest about law and order are usually those with the least respect for either. Just ask anyone who ever wore a 'Nixon-Agnew' button.

In a way, Libby is lucky. Not just because of who he knew but because of his job. Does anyone think he would've been granted amnesty for his multiple crimes if he'd been, say, an illegal immigrant who threatened America by picking strawberries?

The ironic part, assuming irony is not dead with the current administration, is this.

Scooter Libby spent less time in jail than Paris Hilton. I have no idea what Hilton did but I doubt it was more grave than lying under oath and obstructing justice?

A few weeks ago, one far right commentator opined: Hilton is an example of what happens when you don't obey the law and don't obey a judge's orders. Hilton apparently thinks the rules don't apply to her, she has another thing coming and she'll find that out in the slam very quickly. A lot of folks think that celebrities get special treatment when they run afoul of the law and while that may on some level be true it isn't always the case. It's important for the public to know that the law applies to everyone.

Yet the very same commentator said of Libby: This case was such nonsense in the first place... Bush should have pardoned Libby from the beginning.

The law 'applies to everyone' but not to the vice-president's chief of staff. Does that mean Libby is no one? Does that mean the vice-presidency is some sort of legal vacuum? Ok, maybe it is.

The same far right commentator added that: Even if Libby lied, he didn't lie under oath in a formal proceeding.

The person who said this is also a lawyer and thus should know that perjury is indeed the crime of lying under oath.

Then again, he's not the only right-winger who's changed his tune.

While many conservatives now pooh-pooh the severity of the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice, they seemed to think they were a pretty big deal nine years ago!


Update: Joan Walsh over at Salon.com also takes to task Rudy Giuliani. 'America's Prosecutor' has apparently jettisoned (temporarily I presume) the populist law and order demagoguery that has been the pillar of his presidential campaign and decided to give the thumbs up to Bush's amnesty for a convicted felon. Walsh sneers: Way to stand with a beleaguered U.S. attorney, Rudy! What a wuss.