Did Scooter Libby posed a bigger threat than those 150 pardoned by Clinton?

Question

Also, what make the case of Scooter Libby different from the Clinton ones? Clinton obstructed justice and was committed perjury. Why not Pardon Scoooter?

Answer 1

The difference is HUGE! Libby had connections with the highest levels of White House power, and he abused this. All of those pardoned/commuted by Clinton were FAR lower in magnitude, in terms of potential harm done to the country by their actions. Libby should ROT in jail.

Answer 2

First of all, let's review. Special Prosecutor Starr was brought on board to investigate Clinton on illegal trading and the death of Vince Foster. How did he get from that to the affair with Lewinski? Some might say he was politically motivated since this matter had nothing to do with the reason he was given to investigate. Furthermore, Clinton was acquitted, so case closed.

Clinton (and every other president has) pardoned convicted criminals. They do so on their way out of office so they aren't ridiculed like Bush is being ridiculed right now. The difference between their pardons and Libby's (eventual) pardon is that those let off the hook by Clinton, GHWB, Reagan, etc. were not people inside the White House.

In other words, this could be seen (and is being seen) as a payment to Libby to prevent him from spilling the beans on other illegal activity that occurred in the White House and VP office. What it amounts to is that anyone working for Bush or Cheney are above the law. It means Bush has no regard for the criminal justice system. It means his buddies can do whatever they want with impunity.

For the record I don't think Libby's crimes warranted a jail sentence. However, if the jury hands it down you have to accept it. That's the rule of law.

Furthermore, why didn't Bush wait (as he said he would) until the appeals process was exhausted? The only reason I can think of is that Libby threatened to tell the truth the next time around. If he told the truth then things would almost certainly point upwards to G.W. or his uncle Dick.

Answer 3

There are several good answers here, particularly Peter's, so I have nothing really to add. However, I did want to respond to Ritefielder's answer.

Clinton received much more than a slap on the wrist for committing perjury. He was impeached by the House, making him one of only two presidents in American history to suffer that punishment. That the Senate then failed to convict him and remove him from office is attributable to the fact that by that time they had become aware that the majority of the American people were opposed to it.

As for Libby not leaking Valerie Plame's name, that is simply not true. As revealed during the trial, Libby leaked Plame's name to Judith Miller, of the New York Times. She, however, chose not to write about it. It wasn't until Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage leaked Plame's name to Robert Novak, who did write about it, that her cover was blown. The fact that the person to whom Libby talked did not reveal what she had been told does not exonerate him, particularly since it was Libby's obvious intent that Miller should reveal the information.

I also wanted to address part of Peter's answer, although I generally agree with the rest of what he said. The jury did not hand down the verdict. The Bush-appointed judge did. Also, the verdict was well within the sentencing guidelines for the type of crime that Libby committed. Remember, when rendering a verdict in an obstruction of justice case, the judge considers the seriousness of the crime of which the investigation is being obstructed. Revealing the identity of a covert CIA agent is a serious crime, so Libby's sentence in obstructing the investigation of that crime is well-deserved.

Answer 4

Scooter Libby outed an undercover agent involved in a hunt for nuclear materials and the real WMD's. So yes this was potentially a HUGE deal. Also the people pardoned by Clinton were not directly involved with the president, that is their crimes were not linked to the administration.

Answer 5

Oooohhh, Scooter's scary ain't he? Such a bad man!

Who gives a rat's a$$ what he did??? I mean really. Do we expect more than that from the people that run our government anyway? I wish we could say yes, but we just can't.

At least I don't feel personally violated by Scooter. I felt to a certain degree that Clinton lied to each of us personally when he said he didn't "have sexual relations" with Monica. I'd call cigars and white stains pretty sexually related. He knew the whole world was watching and he lied to us - me and you - anyway.

Answer 6

We don't pardon him because we don't want to stoop to the level of the democrats.

Clinton lied under oath to the whole country and didn't even get a slap on the wrist.

Libby wasn't even the one to leak the agents name...it has been blown way out of proportion by the media

The media is so biased in this country...

Answer 7

There are two systems of justice in America -- one for the powerful and one for the rest of us.