By:
Steve Benen on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 10:30 AM - PDT
Scott McClellan has the right message on Scooter Libby: No pardon. (via Satyam)
Last year, asked about a possible Libby pardon, Bush said, “I rule nothing in and nothing out.”
I doubt the president will take McClellan’s remarks to heart, but the former press secretary is right.
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No Pardon for Libby. but who’s kidding who here. We all know “Scooter” will scoot on with no repercussions.
Ahhh, Sanity! How I’ve missed you in the political discourse….
It’s taken a lot of guts for McClellan to do what he’s doing and even though I think he’s a dick (we all *knew* he was obfuscating when he stood at the podium), I give him credit for “coming out”. He’s very smooth and doesn’t get ruffled by the rightwing attacks. He handled Issa beautifully.
Let us never forget that Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich.
And, part of the way that happened involved Hillary.
Details are here:
http://counterpunch.com/stclair05292008.html
Bush’s Commutation of Libby’s Sentence Was Really an iPardon
1. Candidate Bush says “WMD in hands of terrorists is most dangerous threat”
2. Outing of NOC CIA operative and front co. working to prevent WMD falling into terrorists/regimes as revenge for exposing WHouse yellowcake WMD lie.
3. Pres. Bush says he’ll fire anyone involved.
4. Bush says he’ll fire anyone who committed a crime
5. Bush commutes Libby for perjury,obstruction of justice, lying to FBI
6. ?Bush pardons everyone Libby, Armitage, Cheney, Rove
and Kerry was a “flip flopper”?
I agree with McClellen. Any further action or even a full pardon by Bush could end up as a potential set up for a coup. Especially if the CIA knows things about the outing of Valerie Plame that have not been made public or remain classified. It sound far fetched but stranger things have happened.
No pardon for anyone. Impeachment is what is required, and what is mandated under the Constitution. If, according to Dan Coulter, Jimmy Carter is a traitor, what does that make the likes of Bush and Cheney?
George Bush is clearly the first dictator of America.This administration has proven that you can ignore the constitution and break any law you please and not have to suffer any consequences. Rules and laws don’t apply to a Republican dictator and his close associates.
So Scott gets a backbone….what about the Democratic leadership?
Oh please - no pardons will issue because Bush and Cheney aren’t going anywhere. Faked terrorist attack, then martial law and a canceled election. /tinfoil hat
Libby to Bush . ” I hate jail and if i go down ? All you other assholes are coming with me.”
Instant free pass.
Dana Perino has just sold the rights to her book, “What Happened?”
I’m not sure what to say about Scott McClellan. I’ve watched a fair number of interviews with him but one thing I keep coming up with is he always covers Bush’s ass. The rest of what he says are generalities about we can’t have this partisan behavior in the future.
I’m not so sure this isn’t all a shill for Bush.
g. gordon scooter will be juuuuuust fine
what’s that? did i hear that cnn is going to give him a show? (rumor: started)
Samson- @ 15:
well, duh…
should be: G. Gordon Libby
Billy @ 4:
Oh did Marc Rich lie to a the Grand jury about outing a CIA agent, too?
I have a hard time believing Dana Perino can read a book let alone let alone write* one
*(even get someone else to write it for her most likely).
As for “What happen(ed)”?
Well, someone sure set up us the bomb these last 8 years, didn’t they?
Ron @ 17,
He didn’t have to. Scooter Libby was his lawyer!
blogenfreude @ 11:
A million people knows about that possibility and I doubt they would have enough protection to avert a coup. That would be a suicide mission if they were that stupid. They are trying to get free from prosecution once their term ends.
Yeah it took a lot of guts for Scott to come out when 75% of the nation agrees with him to reveal that he was nothing but a mouthpiece for their propaganda and felt the job was more important than 100,000 Iraqi lives. And he believes it so much, that he has the courage to make money off of his now clear and intentional manipulation of the truth.
Scott gets none of my sympahy, my respect or courage.
Billy @ 4:
Except that Clinton hasn’t been the president in 8 years… and Marc Rich did not out a CIA agent. Which is motherfucking TREASON.
So [Deleted. Abusive. Site Monitor]… yeah, your boy committed treason. And you are shilling for a traitor [Deleted. Abusive. Site Monitor]…
Mike @ 22:
He testified under oath yesterday, if he lied he will get locked up. The pugs bitterness in the questioning of him appears that he is telling the truth.
me and myself @ 21:
A coup is too much work. They just want to leave for their retirements in peace. Plus they need some idiots to clean up the mess they left and get the country back up again, so their kids can take over and leach off so they can get their own grandiose standards of living.
They are like the perfect parasite: suck off as much as you can, but not enough to kill the host, let the host recover and then start sucking off again…
CannibalPlanet @ 10:
Parts of the democratic leadership are indistinguishable from the GOP. The DLC et al all have backbones, it is jut that their interests are no where near ours.
The more people live in this denial the longer Pelosi et al get to enable the boy king.
There lies the danger of putting party over country.
The White House allowed McClellan to testify because McClellan is a distraction sent to distract the country and Congress from the real crimes. Scooter Libby is a convenient scapegoat. Welcome to politics 101.
Bosco @ 27:
Exactly……..gave us alittle taste of what we knew…no more no less…what i did find interesting is scott’s comment about how the white house was on a constant political mission….they were always two to three steps ahead of critics/dems..ot unlike chess player…..there has never really been anything like it….on top of that they had the legislative majority..2000-2006…it was mission accomplish for the extreme right NEOCONS…they want to occupy iraq and afghanastan that was the deal for some time
I think, before he leaves office, Bush will pardon practically everyone in his administration, then resign, whereupon Cheney will pardon Bush.
Scott McClellan could testify because he WANTED to, the WH claims of Executive Privilege are irrelevant and over-reaching as all on here know. Bush’s staggering claims of Executive authority are just that: claims. he dares anyone to decide otherwise, and even so that’d have to be done in a court, as W well knows. so they assert something and just let it sit there, with nary a challenge. Harriet Miers is a law-breaker as she didn’t even care enough to respect the separate powers that the Legislative Branch holds with their subpoena authority. didn’t care enough to show up and even claim the 5th Amendment protection. she is that arrogant, just like her former master, W. of all people I’d enjoy tremendously seeing that man/woman frog-marched out of her home to a police car. she’s a failure of an American. McClellan is someone I don’t like but with this book and his tesitmony at least he’s attempted to redeem himself.
What a foolish act McClellen committed by speaking out about Bush.
Now he will never get that coveted working-while-retired 6 figure position at the Heritage Foundation.
This Scottie guy is confusing me. Yesterday he disagreed with two matters already known. First, Bush did NOT know of the outing of Valerie Plame, which McClellan has previously said Bush authorized. Second, Scott says No pardon for Scooter whereas Bush has already pardoned Bush. What am I missing?
Radically Moderate @ 31:
He won’t get a medal of freedom either.
gussmith @ 32:
He is trying his best to shield Bush and take down the others, also Bush has NOT granted Scooter a pardon, he only commuted his jail sentence.
Why ever on God’s green earth would John Conyers care what Scott McClellan thinks about a possible Scooter Libby pardon?
Very strange man.
theWalrus @ 3:
I totally agree. When McClellan was press secretary, I couldn’t watch him for more than 10 seconds at a time, but I’ve changed my mind. He’s reflected on his beliefs, his friendships, his past–and decided they were corrupt and needed to be exposed. This takes tremendous courage!
And don’t believe the hype about his motives–that he’s doing this to ‘make a buck.’ He could easily make a much bigger buck by getting some corporate spokesman job somewhere.
Actually, I think the Bush policy about not granting pardons only applies to the DEATH PENALTY. (Including the death penalty for WOMEN.) He never said anything about not pardoning Republican political hacks.
mudshark @ 1:
Scooter Libby being pardoned for a specific charge is the LEAST of the country’s problems! Gerald Ford set the worst precedent in history when he gave Nixon a RETROACTIVE PARDON for anything and everything that he MIGHT have done during his term of office! That means if the White House gardner dug up a bunch of bodies in the Rose Garden in 1975, and the cops figured out Nixon was a serial killer in 1971, he couldn’t be prosecuted for it because the was pardoned for EVERYTHING.
Retroactive, universal pardons: My bet is that, in addition for setting records for debt, waste, nepotism and corruption, Bush is going to set a record for handing those out, too. He’ll probably sign about 50 to 100 retroactive universal pardons on the way out the door, and then give the TV cameras the finger as he gets into the Marine 1 helicopter. (Something to go into the news archives with Nixon’s departing peace signs.)
While I may be mistaken, if Libby is given a pardon he can testify against others in the Bush administration responsible for the leak with impunity–something Bush and Cheney clearly don’t want. Perhaps that explains Scott’s comments.
Bush isnt going to pardon Scooter…why should he?
he didnt spend so much as 5 minutes in jail, he was hit by a fine that his friends paid for, and the worst thing that happens to him is that he has a criminal record…and that hasnt harmed Oliver North, it hasnt seriously harmed Gordon Liddy, and its not going to harm Tom DeLay.
the only reason bush would pardon scooter would be to give a big final ‘fuck you’ to america…not that he’s above that…
Wait, let me get this straight… Dems and libs allowed all of Bush’s crimes to go down for the last 8 years, and:
a) you still think the pardon of Scooter means something at this point? and,
b) you’re living in dread of it? (!!???!?!?!??!)
Scooter’s pardon is a foregone conclusion, dummies. All the blogging and worrying in the world won’t change that. To prevent it, you’d actually have to get your butt out of you chairs, show up… do soemthing!
When did liberalism becomethe triumph of laziness and fear over common-sense?
http://georgebushsthirdterm.blogspot.com/
CannibalPlanet @ 10:
Agreed. And Obama seems to be showing a spine over the Telecom immunity law. But, Scott had to bring up Texas. He and Bush sent god knows how many innocent people to the execution chamber without a pardon. Scott is still a jerk until he completely repents.
your mama @ 41:
you really don’t understand the word “liberalism” in a political-economic sense at all. Do some studying.
I would like to see Obama challenge McCain on this particular issue. Where does McCain stand? Would he pardon “Scooter”?
It is a no lose for Obama.
dennis @ 35:
Yes, Scooter is a very strange man.
He’ll be pardoned. It’ll be one last obscene gesture from Bush showing he is still in control.
If Libby is given a pardon he can testify against others in the Bush administration responsible for the leak with impunity–something Bush and Cheney clearly don’t want. Perhaps that explains Scott’s comments.
Not only as Scotty states. But I Lewis (Scooter) Libby inmate #28301-016 was commuted while further litigation by the Wilson/Plame law suit was continuing.
Bush in fact communted (intervined) during the litigation process.
So much for their arguement that they will not comment and will co operate fully while in progress.
Saw Scott speak today at a book signing in Austin Texas. Excellent!
Before we get all breathless over McClellan “testifying” let’s assume that at one time he must have possessed a moral compass. However, when in the WH he apparently left it at home when he prepared for the podium each day. He is now in the business of selling a book. Assume he found the moral compass when searching for a pen to autograph said book. And never ever equate “moral compass” with what passes for the People’s House in Washington. There is not a dime’s worth of difference in either sell-out camp.
It is just business as usual, move along, nothing to see here.
I apologize for the repetition, but those of you who think Libby will get pardoned are mistaken.
If Libby is given a pardon he can testify with impunity/immunity against others in the Bush administration responsible for the leak–something Bush and Cheney clearly don’t want.
If a legal expert knows otherwis