Pinthouse Pizza
Bush's Commutation Wrong
RECEIVED Fri., July 6, 2007
Dear Editor,
President Bush’s commutation of Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s 30-month prison sentence adds insult to injury. The claim that the punishment was excessive because the crime committed was nonviolent is ludicrous. How about the thousands on both sides who have been senselessly killed in Iraq? Don’t those people bear some connection to all this? After all, in the background of this whole investigation loomed one of the many lies that led us into war: caked uranium in Niger.
The claim that Scooter Libby is being sufficiently punished because of the steep fine is disingenuous, too. Mr. Libby has a well-organized “defense fund” composed of important people with a vested interest in the matter. They’ll probably foot his bill. Lastly, the avoidance of a full pardon, contrary as a sign of Bush’s paltry respect for the jury’s verdict, may include an ulterior motive. Libby can’t plead the Fifth if he’s fully pardoned. Right now he can. And right now, we’re bereft of justice.
President Bush’s commutation of Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s 30-month prison sentence adds insult to injury. The claim that the punishment was excessive because the crime committed was nonviolent is ludicrous. How about the thousands on both sides who have been senselessly killed in Iraq? Don’t those people bear some connection to all this? After all, in the background of this whole investigation loomed one of the many lies that led us into war: caked uranium in Niger.
The claim that Scooter Libby is being sufficiently punished because of the steep fine is disingenuous, too. Mr. Libby has a well-organized “defense fund” composed of important people with a vested interest in the matter. They’ll probably foot his bill. Lastly, the avoidance of a full pardon, contrary as a sign of Bush’s paltry respect for the jury’s verdict, may include an ulterior motive. Libby can’t plead the Fifth if he’s fully pardoned. Right now he can. And right now, we’re bereft of justice.
Justin Finney