No Prison Time For Libby

George W. Bush has commutted Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence. This is not a pardon. Libby will not serve his jail term. He still has a criminal record and will have to pay a $250,000 fine. Personally, I was starting to think that Bush would let Libby rot.

President Bush explains why he commutted Libby's sentence.

This case has generated significant commentary and debate. Critics of the investigation have argued that a special counsel should not have been appointed, nor should the investigation have been pursued after the Justice Department learned who leaked Ms. Plame’s name to columnist Robert Novak. Furthermore, the critics point out that neither Mr. Libby nor anyone else has been charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act, which were the original subjects of the investigation. Finally, critics say the punishment does not fit the crime: Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.

Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place.

Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.
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.

Short answer: Cheney bugged Bush to help Libby.

Power Line's John Hindraker calls Bush's decision "excellent." This is the same man who wrote this hysterical post in praise of Bush.

It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

Yes, Bush's plan to go to the Moon was something no previous POTUS ever thought of. Very visionary stuff.

Back on the planet Earth, Josh Marshall is amazed by Bush's rationale.

This is being treated in the press as splitting the difference, an elegant compromise. But it is the least justifiable approach. The President has decided that the sentencing guidelines and the opinion of the judge don't cut it.

The only basis for this decision is that Libby is the vice president's friend, the vice president rules the president and this was the minimum necessary to keep the man silent.

Andrew Sullivan comes down harder.

Perjury in defense of wartime deception is now okay, as far as the president is concerned. I'm surprised by Bush's chutzpah. I retained some minimal respect. No longer. We now know full well what his beliefs are: the law is for other people, not himself, his friends or his apparatchiks.

Isn't this the 874 time that Sullivan has finally lost all respect for Bush?

The saddest thing is we are bound to hear, in the next few weeks, Bush say he will punish anyone who broke the law in the attorney purge scandal. The President has poor approval ratings because he never does what he promises he will do. Be it Iraq or how he would maintain the surplus. He is like a ball player that talks a good game in the locker room, but plays like shit come game time.

Update: Bshort made a fantastic comment at Metafilter.

So Bush is aiming for a 1% approval rating, right?

A 1 percent approval rating is impossible. No matter what inexcusable deed Bush does; there will always be people who will support him because he keeps them safe from gay-loving Mexican terrorists.