Imperial Presidency

When you're at 26%, what do you care?

President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case.

Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, according to a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Maybe the AP is getting played, but I don't think so. These guys protect their own.

No man in America is above the law. Keep telling yourself that one.

UPDATE: Wow, here's the statement from the President. He doesn't even really try to explain why he commuted the sentence. It's pretty much "He won't go to jail because I said so." This is the closest thing to a rationale:

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

This is going to get very bad for the President, though I guess it can't get too much worse that it already is. He won't be able to go out in public anymore without protests. He'll have to hole up in that White House even more. But ultimately, rich and connected people get away with a lot. Even treason.

UPDATE II: Emptywheel is of course right - the Fourthbranch Administration has been pushing for mandatory minimum sentences lately, and Libby's sentence was the minimum required. Of course, that's logical, which means nothing to these guys. And yes, this is obstruction of justice, a hedge against Libby flipping rather than going to jail.