Weakened president's defiant 'compromise'

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published July 4, 2007

President Bush's abrupt decision to commute the 30-month prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby reinforces the reality that there is not equal justice for all. It also is a predictable reflection of this administration's warped values, where loyalty is prized more than principle and the courts are viewed with disdain rather than respect.

Reasonable people can disagree over whether the sentence Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff faced for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case was too harsh. But the punishment imposed by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton sent a clear message that even the most powerful Washington insiders are not above the law. The argument that Libby should not be held accountable for lying under oath because a special prosecutor failed to charge anyone for the actual leaking of the name of a Central Intelligence Agency official is not on point. Lying under oath cannot be tolerated, particularly by someone as high-ranking as Libby.

There are countless other cases more deserving of pardons or commuted sentences than this one, but the president hasn't been as interested in addressing those injustices. He has pardoned more than 100 people and commuted just three other sentences while denying thousands of requests. Yet Bush acted swiftly to spare Libby after an appellate court ruled that the disgraced former aide could not remain free on bail while appealing his conviction. The president did not consult the Justice Department as he did in other cases, or special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, which would have followed usual protocol. This was the president's call, and he alone is responsible.

While Libby will avoid prison, Bush correctly noted that he has not avoided all punishment. His reputation is ruined, he faces a $250, 000 fine and he remains a convicted felon. But the president undermined his own attempt to portray his decision as a compromise by failing on Tuesday to rule out a full pardon down the road.

Other presidents, including Bill Clinton, have handed out pardons to undeserving allies like parting gifts as they left office. Yet commuting Libby's sentence now is a particularly defiant act by a weak, wounded president who has little influence left with foreign leaders, Congress or the American public. It will not lift his rock-bottom approval ratings nor fully appease the Republican conservative base. But with 18 months left in office, keeping a loyal aide out of prison is about all Bush can make happen as a restless electorate waits for the next election and more competent leadership.

[Last modified July 3, 2007, 21:26:59]