Liberate Libby

Editorial - June 5th, 2007 - Investor's Business Daily

By now, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff no doubt regrets not taking extensive notes on every conversation he had over the past six years. If he had, he might not be facing the undeserved ruin of his public career.

Sadly, that is why Libby is looking at nearly three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he's been forced to spend for his defense). He committed no crime — at least not one the government could get close to proving.

Though prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald initially said he would show it was Libby who revealed the identity of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, he failed to do so. Not wanting to fail completely, Fitzgerald did the next best thing — he found inconsistencies in Libby's testimony, the kind commonly found when asking people to recall events more than three years old, and pursued a conviction on charges of obstruction and lying .

A technical case was made to the jury — though the jurors later said they felt Libby was a fall guy and shouldn't have to do time. As Libby's lawyers accurately noted, "There is no evidence in the record here to support a finding that an underlying offense was actually committed by Mr. Libby or anyone else."

This article accurately sums up the Judges corrupt sentencing decision. The Judge sentenced Libby punitively saying, "People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation not to do anything that might create a problem."

Yes. That is right. The judge ackowledges that Libby did not commit a crime but sentences him for doing something that created a problem.

Welcome to "the rule of judges".