United States V. Libby - Presidential Commutation of Libby's Prison Sentence

Presidential Commutation of Libby's Prison Sentence

After denial of Libby's bond by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, President Bush commuted the prison term portion of Libby's sentence on July 2, 2007, leaving in place the felony conviction, the $250,000 fine, and the terms of probation (supervised release).

The President's commutation statement states (in part):

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. My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby.

When Keith Olbermann interviewed former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, the husband of Valerie Plame, on the MSNBC television program Countdown with Keith Olbermann on the night of July 2, 2007, Joe Wilson expressed his and others' outrage:

There is nothing this administration does that shocks me anymore - it is corrupt from top to bottom.

... American citizens were outraged that the president of the United States would short circuit the rule of law and the system of justice.

... We know in America the difference between right and wrong, even if this administration doesn't.

Wilson also complained (as he has done before) that the President's action and others' actions leading to Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence could seriously damage United States national security by harming its intelligence capability - "for the CIA, its covert officers, and for the agents that are recruited by officers, those who would put their lives at risk in order to obtain the intelligence we need will think long and hard about it when they see that the administration with impunity will betray its covert officers, will engage in treason."

On the following evening, in his "Special Comment," Olbermann called for both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney to resign.

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald objected to President Bush's characterizing Libby's sentence as "excessive," stating:

We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative. We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as "excessive." The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

The day after the commuting of Libby's sentence, James Rowley (Bloomberg News) reported that President Bush has not ruled out pardoning Libby in the future and that Bush's press spokesman, Tony Snow, denied any political motivation in the commutation. Quoting Snow, Rowley added: "'The president is getting pounded on the right because he didn't do a full pardon.' If Bush were 'doing the weather-vane thing' he 'would have done something differently.'"

Nevertheless, that evening CNN reported that, pursuant to widespread criticism by Democratic leaders and other Democratic politicians, Representative John Conyers, Jr. announced that there would be a formal Congressional investigation of Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence and other presidential reprieves. "The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials", held by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and chaired by Congressman Conyers, occurred on July 11, 2007.