Fight Global Warming - Ride a Scooter
Jul. 3rd, 2007 11:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
howeirdLots of folks are ranting about the shrub's commuting Scooter Libby's sentence, and as I always try to let my LJ friends have the last word on their own pages, it's time to move the conversation here.
My opinion, in a nutshell, is Bush did nothing wrong. The Constitution gives the President the right to pardon or commute the sentence of anyone, any time, for any reason. If you don't like it, fight to amend the Constitution.
And for those who are crying about how immoral it is for the shrub to give his buddy of 20 years a "get out of jail free" card, I disagree. All he was prosecuted for was telling a lie to a grand jury. The only effect of that lie was to momentarily lead the grand jury to a dead end in one of many possible routes to discovering if a crime had been committed.
He was not convicted of outing a CIA agent.
He was not convicted of the injury or death of anyone.
It was a first offense of a minor white collar crime, and had it been you or me, we would have been given some community service and it might not even have made the papers.
The real criminal in this case is Robert Novak, who published information he knew he was not supposed to have access to, and which could threaten the life of a patriotic American. What he did was treason in a time of war, and if you're going to rant about injustice and morality, then rant about the fact that by not prosecuting Novak, the shrub has committed the impeachable offense of not protecting and defending the United States "against all enemies, both foreign and domestic."
As for the leak itself, how would anyone in the White House know who the CIA's secret agents are? The CIA ultimately reports to the President, so I suppose any leak of classified CIA personnel information would be his responsibility. Another impeachable offense.
Underlying my take on this are two beliefs:
1. Bush and Cheney should have been impeached long ago for actual crimes they have committed
2. Crying for impeachment based on perfectly legals actions these guys take does nothing to help your case
My opinion, in a nutshell, is Bush did nothing wrong. The Constitution gives the President the right to pardon or commute the sentence of anyone, any time, for any reason. If you don't like it, fight to amend the Constitution.
And for those who are crying about how immoral it is for the shrub to give his buddy of 20 years a "get out of jail free" card, I disagree. All he was prosecuted for was telling a lie to a grand jury. The only effect of that lie was to momentarily lead the grand jury to a dead end in one of many possible routes to discovering if a crime had been committed.
He was not convicted of outing a CIA agent.
He was not convicted of the injury or death of anyone.
It was a first offense of a minor white collar crime, and had it been you or me, we would have been given some community service and it might not even have made the papers.
The real criminal in this case is Robert Novak, who published information he knew he was not supposed to have access to, and which could threaten the life of a patriotic American. What he did was treason in a time of war, and if you're going to rant about injustice and morality, then rant about the fact that by not prosecuting Novak, the shrub has committed the impeachable offense of not protecting and defending the United States "against all enemies, both foreign and domestic."
As for the leak itself, how would anyone in the White House know who the CIA's secret agents are? The CIA ultimately reports to the President, so I suppose any leak of classified CIA personnel information would be his responsibility. Another impeachable offense.
Underlying my take on this are two beliefs:
1. Bush and Cheney should have been impeached long ago for actual crimes they have committed
2. Crying for impeachment based on perfectly legals actions these guys take does nothing to help your case
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-03 07:22 pm (UTC)I don't agree on the Scooter Libby thing - If what you say where practiced by everyone than the whole country would be like HP.
I agree with you on Novak. His actions were treason and (you must never repeat this) I think he should be executed.
Finally, anything said on LJ neither helps nor hinders an impeacement process. I can argue that the president should be impeached because he has beady little eyes like a dead puppy and that does sqwuat to change anything for good or bad.
And a second finally, the president will not be impeached. The American people have no will for it.
Oh and before I forget, ah shit I forgot.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-03 07:53 pm (UTC)HP as in Hewlett-Packard? The whole country is already like Hewlett-Packard.
anything said on LJ neither helps nor hinders an impeacement process
Did I say it did? Nope.
The American people have no will for it
Sure they do. Pelosi just doesn't have the balls to do what she was elected to do. So to speak.