President Bush managed to piss off even more Americans yesterday, when he commuted the thirty-month prison sentence brought upon Scooter Libby by a federal court. In case you don't remember or haven't followed the story, Scooter Libby was chief of staff to VP Cheney and was charged and convicted over the leak of the identity of a CIA agent whose husband (American ambassador Joe Wilson) had publicly criticized US involvement in Iraq. It was a political attack against Wilson likely intended as a message to other would-be objectors in Washington, and it constituted a crime.
Libby was charged, convicted and sentenced for attempting to cover up responsibility for the leak in the Vice President's office, many say to divert attention from higher-ups among Cheney's staff. However, the President has canceled his sentence - it's not a pardon, as Libby is still considered a convicted felon, but he won't serve prison time. What do you think of this move? Bush didn't overstep the law, as the US Constitution gives him both the power to commute prison sentences and to pardon crimes, but a lot of Americans, myself included, feel that he's once again betrayed our trust. This was one of the only instances in which the executive branch has been held accountable for its actions since the current President took office, and now it's been taken back.
