Slammer for Scooter

Judge Walton handed a Flag Day present to the left (no matter what they claim) by disallowing Lewis Libby's request to remain free on bond pending appeal. The judge ruled it was not likely his decision would be overturned, at least not likely enough to let Libby escape the big house while he's proven correct. No official word on whether a possible pardon entered into his thought process.

Most of the judge's reasonings seemed rational to this non-lawyer, such as the ruling on the Special Counsel's "inferior" status (ie, DoJ could have fired him at any time) and on Fitzgerald's mishandling of a national security-related matter. There needs to be some form of Special Counsel process to investigate high levels of government and Fitzgerald certainly remained within his initial charge, which was to investigate the leak of Plame's identity. The same cannot be said for Starr under the old IC statute.

But, from reading the transcripts available at FDL there wasn't much discussion on Andrea Mitchell--the judge simply said bringing her forward required "inference upon inference upon inference", in other words any admission she knew about Plame before Novak's column would amount to a mere trifle, since Russert's testimony was so compelling.

Ludicrous. Sure it would have called for an inference but if her testimony impeached Russert's, so what? His was the glue that held the case together. In the least her quibbling while trying to explain that comment on the stand might have provided reasonable doubt. The sad thing is we may never get to the bottom of what really happened in this whole sordid affair, which is undoubtedly connected to what certain members of the press knew about Wilson's gambit before Novak broke it open.

Que sera. The real games begin now. Bush will be faced with several options, none of them particularly pleasing to anyone (including inaction). Something I've not heard mentioned is that Libby is a virtual treasure trove of national security secrets (code word level no doubt) and insider knowledge of the administration, yet he faces confinement with ordinary crooks. Placing such a rich white guy with such knowledge in the general population seems rather imprudent, if he goes.

And that's part of my prediction--which is that he won't. Bush will commute the jail time pending appeal, perhaps invoking the list of luminaries at the bottom of Libby's bond appeal as precedent. That way they can't get him for completely overturning justice and after all, if Lynn Stewart can remain free on bond after being convicted of helping the Blind Sheikh, why shouldn't Scooter?

And don't even go to why Berger got community service or why a convicted husband killer here in Tennessee was sentenced to less time than Libby. Your head might explode.