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Politics

Libby judge just what Bush ordered: tough on crime

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush knew what he was getting in 2001 when he made Reggie Walton one of his first picks for a seat on the federal bench: a tough-on-crime judge with a reputation for handing down stiff sentences.

A former deputy drug adviser, federal prosecutor and Superior Court judge, Walton seemed a perfect fit for the new president. And Walton didn't disappoint, proving to be exactly the kind of no-nonsense judge Bush was looking for.

Until now.

When erasing the 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case that was handed to former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Bush said Walton was being too harsh.

"The point here is to do what is consistent with the dictates of justice, " said Tony Snow, White House press secretary.

Walton, the son of a steel worker who turned a hardscrabble upbringing into a legal career, declined Tuesday to discuss the case or his views on sentencing.

"To now say anything about sentencing on the heels of yesterday's events will inevitably be construed as comments on the president's commutation decision, which would be inappropriate, " the judge said in an e-mail.

But attorneys noted some inconsistency in Bush's decision to override Walton.

"The party who appointed him is now unhappy with what he appointed him to do, " said Scott Fredericksen, a defense attorney who was a prosecutor under every president since Ronald Reagan.

Also noteworthy, defense attorneys said, was seeing the White House urge leniency just weeks after the Bush administration announced a tough crime bill that would bar judges from going easy on criminals. They would be free to impose longer sentences, but not shorter ones.

To hear Snow tell it, Walton ignored the recommendation of probation officials and sentenced Libby to prison. That isn't what happened. Probation officers recommended that Libby serve 15 to 21 months. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recommended more than 30 months. Libby's attorneys asked for probation.

Walton accepted Fitzgerald's interpretation of the law, which said Libby should be sentenced more harshly because of the seriousness of the investigation he obstructed.

The 2 1/2 years handed to Libby was much like the sentences given others convicted in obstruction cases. Federal court records indicate that 382 people were convicted for obstruction of justice over the past two years. Three of four were sent to prison. The average prison term was 64 months, more than five years. The largest group of defendants drew prison terms ranging from 13 months to 31 months.

"This is sort of a standard sentence in that situation, " said defense attorney Mark Tuohey. "Call it what you want, but that's what it is. This was not some out-of-the-blue-sentence."

Fast Facts:

A legal twist

President Bush forced the CIA leak case into uncharted legal territory when he commuted the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Tuesday.

-Bush eliminated Libby's 2 1/2-year prison term and left in place his two years of supervised release. But supervised release - a form of probation - is only available to people who have served prison time.

-Does this mean Libby won't actually be required to serve supervised release? Should he just have to report to probation officials as if he spent time in prison? Walton posed those questions to Libby's attorneys and to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

-The law, Walton said in court documents, "does not appear to contemplate a situation in which a defendant may be placed under supervised release without first completing a term of incarceration."

For now, it appears Libby is in legal limbo. Walton gave both sides until Monday to respond.

[Last modified July 4, 2007, 01:15:47]