Pat Fitzgerald

Report: Fitzgerald To Stay On

Zachary Roth | February 10, 2009, 6:30PM

When a new president comes in, he usually replaces all 93 US attorneys with his own nominees. But, in what could be bad news for Rod Blagojevich, at least one high-profile US Attorney won't be asked to step down, it looks like.

NBC News reports that Patrick Fitzgerald, the no-nonsense U.S. attorney for Chicago, will stay on under President Obama, despite being a Bush appointee.

Fitzgerald is preparing an indictment against the former Illinois governor. He also served as the special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame leak case, in which Scooter Libby was convicted of perjury.

The new administration has asked all the US the current Republican-appointed U.S. attorneys to stay on in the short term, while it decides which to retain. But it has already made a decision on Fitzgerald, it appears.

The suggestion to keep Fitz, who has been in the job since 2001, was made by Sen. Dick Durbin, who's close to Obama. Durbin's suggestion was "positively received," according to DOJ officials, as well as aides to Durbin.

The decision is not unexpected, since replacing Fitzgerald while he's in the midst of a high-profile and long-running probe of his state's former governor, would likely have generated an outcry.

Barbara Comstock

GOP Attack Dog Launches New Career -- Running For Office

Zachary Roth | February 3, 2009, 4:05PM

The conservative movement may be dead -- but one of its key Washington lieutenants is launching a career in electoral politics.

Barbara Comstock, who ran oppo research for the RNC and chaired Scooter Libby's defense fund, is running for the Virginia House of Delegates, from the Washington DC suburbs, according to a website set up by "Friends of Barbara Comstock".

A staffer at the Fairfax County GOP headquarters confirmed to TPMmuckraker that Comstock will challenge incumbent Democrat Margi Vanderhye.

Comstock's resume as a GOP knife-fighter is beyond impressive.

She served as a lead investigator for the notoriously partisan House Government Reform committee during the 90s, chaired by GOP congressman Dan Burton.

In his 2002 book, Blinded By The Right, David Brock painted a vivid picture of Comstock's obsessive zeal to bring down the Clintons:

Late night calls from Barbara Comstock were not unusual. She often telephoned with the latest tidbit she had dug up in the thousands and thousands of pages of administration records she pored through frantically as if she were looking for a winning lottery ticket she had somehow mislaid ... She once dropped by my house to watch the rerun of a dreadfully dull Whitewater hearing she had sat through all day. Comstock sat on the edge of her chair shaking, and screaming over and over again, "Liars!" As Constock's leads failed to pan out, and she was unable to catch anyone in a lie, the Republican aide confided that the Clinton scandals were driving her to distraction, to the unfortunate point that she was ignoring the needs of her own family. A very smart lawyer by training and the main breadwinner for her charismatic, happy-go-lucky husband and kids, Comstock remarked that maybe she couldn't get Hillary's sins off her brain because "Hillary reminds me of me. I am Hillary." In this admission, a vivid illustration of a much wider "Hillary" phenomenon can be seen. Comstock knew nothing about Hillary Clinton. Comstock's "Hillary" was imaginary, a construction composed entirely of the negative points in her own life.

Comstock may have mellowed a bit over the years, but her passion for trench warfare on behalf of the GOP never cooled.

During the 2000 election, she served as the head of the RNC's opposition research team, digging up dirt on Al Gore. "Al Gore kind of gave us the liar thing," she told The Atlantic in 2004. "He had a problem with the truth, and that could be tied to bigger things and bigger issues."

While at the RNC, she became a "close associate" of Monica Goodling, the Christian conservative lawyer and Muckraker favorite who later would help keep the Bush Justice Department stocked with good Republicans.

Comstock herself also moved to the Bush DOJ, in 2001, to run the department's public affairs operation -- doggedly stiffing reporters as they sought information on the administration's aggressive tactics in the War on Terror.

After leaving Justice, Comstock spent some time helping then-GOP Majority Leader Tom Delay play defense on a host of ethics problems.

Next, Comstock helped run Scooter Libby's legal defense fund, formed to help Libby fight charges that he illegally leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame for political purposes.

Later that year, she was off to run damage control for GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis, who was wrapped up in the Duke Cunningham scandal.

And months later, she teamed up with another GOP spin master, Mark Corallo, to form the crisis management firm Corallo Comstock Inc. The firm opened its doors just in time to help defend scandal-tarred Republicans facing scrutiny from the new Democratic administration. As Corallo put it to Roll Call: "Just in time for subpoena season."

Comstock didn't return a message left at her PR firm, seeking comment on her new career. But a reader reports seeing a volunteer passing out flyers promoting Comstock's statehouse run this morning at a special election site in Fairfax County, Virginia. So her campaign appears to be well underway.

Northern Virginia is turning blue at a rapid pace, so she should have her work cut out for her. But something tells us she'll be up for the challenge.

Scooter Libby

Plame Renews Suit against Rove, Cheney, and Libby

Paul Kiel | May 9, 2008, 12:10PM

From the AP:

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame is trying to resurrect a lawsuit against those in the Bush administration she says illegally disclosed her identity.

A federal judge dismissed Plame's lawsuit last year, saying there was no basis to bring a case. Plame's lawyers asked a federal appeals court Friday to send the case back before the judge and force him to consider its merits....

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case, saying the law requires Plame's complaints be raised under the Privacy Act. Plame's attorneys say that law is insufficient. They asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to send the case back to Bates for reconsideration.

Details about the suit here, which was originally filed way back in July of 2006.

Scooter Libby

Libby Disbarred

Paul Kiel | March 20, 2008, 11:38AM

Who says that Scooter Libby is going unpunished?

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday.

I Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted to lying to a grand jury and investigators last year.

The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson.

"When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion, which is posted on its Web site.

It's all part of the president's "measured" approach to Libby's commutation. Sure, Libby won't have to serve that 30 month jail sentence. But the remaining punishments (the bother of reporting to a probation officer, the inconvenience of disbarment, that $250,000 fine) are "harsh."

Scooter Libby

Libby Drops Appeal

Paul Kiel | December 10, 2007, 10:40AM

The president's commutation saved Scooter Libby from the terrible excess of a 30-month jail sentence. But it looks like Libby has resigned himself to accepting the injustice of the fine, probation, and felony conviction that will remain with him always. Breaking from the AP:

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is dropping his appeal in the CIA leak case, his attorney said Monday....

"We remain firmly convinced of Mr. Libby's innocence," attorney Theodore Wells said. "However, the realities were, that after five years of government service by Mr. Libby and several years of defending against this case, the burden on Mr. Libby and his young family of continuing to pursue his complete vindication are too great to ask them to bear."

Update: Back in July, after the president's commutation, then-spokesman Tony Snow refused to discuss the Valerie Plame leak at all because Libby's case was still on appeal. After Libby's appeals were exhausted, he said, "we'll deal with it." Well, no time like the present!

Excerpts from that press briefing are below.

Read more »

Scooter Libby

Breaking: Judge Dismisses Plame Suit

Paul Kiel | July 19, 2007, 3:00PM

Just off the wires is that the judge overseeing Valerie Plame's suit against the White House has dismissed the case:

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments. Bates dismissed the case against all defendants: Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove and former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Scooter Libby

Libby Judge Speaks on Commutation

Spencer Ackerman | July 13, 2007, 1:10PM

In his first public remarks since President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison term, Judge Reggie Walton said he was "perplexed" by the president's belief that Walton's sentence was "excessive."

Walton, a Bush appointee to the D.C. district court, wrote yesterday in a court filing that while he doesn't question Bush's constitutional authority to commute prison sentences, Libby's 30-month sentence was "consistent with the bottom end of the applicable sentencing range as properly calculated under the United States Sentencing Guidelines." Underscoring his displeasure with the commutation -- which calls his professionalism into question -- Walton referenced Alberto Gonzales's June 1 statement that sentencing guidelines should be considered "a minimum for judges, not merely a suggestion." By ordering the commutation, Walton wrote, Bush has "has effectively rewritten the statutory scheme" for sentencing "on an ad hoc basis." Perhaps appropriately for a Bush appointee, Walton is basically explaining that judicial restraint compelled him to follow the sentencing guidelines -- and that 30 months in jail is rather merciful, considering what the guidelines require.

Libby will have to report to the federal Probation Office with "all requisite haste." If he doesn't, he might actually spend a night in jail.

You can read Walton's statement here.

Scooter Libby

Davis: Pardon Scooter!

lkmcgann | July 11, 2007, 6:13PM

You don't hear many Democrats calling on Bush to grant Scooter Libby a full pardon. But today at the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the president's commutation power, Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) made an interesting case for it.

Davis' rationale? Since the commutation allows Libby continued appeals to contest his conviction, he would assert his Fifth Amendment rights in the event that Congress calls him to testify about the Plame leak.

"If a pardon had been granted this committee could have immunized him and brought him here," Davis said.

In this video, Davis runs his point by sentencing expert Prof. Douglas A. Berman of the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law.

Scooter Libby

Rita Case Similar To Libby's, But With Prison Time

lkmcgann | July 11, 2007, 4:21PM

On the same day President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence, Vietnam veteran Victor Rita reported for the start of his 33-month term.

The two cases are strikingly similar: both defendants were convicted of perjury and obstruction, both had a history of public service and both were sentenced to similar prison terms. Rita appealed his sentence to the Supreme Court, where he lost. Libby, of course, didn't spend a day behind bars.

Rita's attorney, Tom Cochran, a public defender from North Carolina, testified before a House Judiciary Committee hearing today on the president's commutation power. Here, he lays out the similarities between his client's case and Libby's:

Later in the hearing Cochran explained that his complaint is not that Bush commuted Libby's sentence.

"It's an issue of fairness," he said.

Scooter Libby

House Committee Releases Witness List for Libby Hearing

Paul Kiel | July 9, 2007, 4:42PM

Here are the witnesses who are scheduled to testify this Wednesday for the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence:

Ambassador Joseph Wilson

Roger Adams, US Department of Justice Pardon Attorney

Douglas A. Berman, William B. Saxbe Designated Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

Tom Cochran, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Middle District of North Carolina (Attorney for Vincent Rita, Rita v. US)

David Rifkin, partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP, former Justice Department official during the Reagan and Bush Sr. administrations

Says Conyers:

"Congress must now look into presidential authority to grant clemency, and how such power may be abused. Taken to its extreme, and possibly in the case of the Libby clemency, the use of such authority could completely circumvent the law enforcement process and prevent credible efforts to investigate wrongdoing in the executive branch."

Scooter Libby

Libby: Probation's All Right with Me

Paul Kiel | July 9, 2007, 4:32PM

All parties agreed today that Scooter Libby should, in fact, serve two years of probation, most likely paving the way for the judge to conclude the same.

Judge Reggie Walton had asked Libby's lawyer and Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to weigh in on the special predicament created by the president's commutation of Libby's sentence last week: Bush had eliminated the jail time, but left in place the two-year period of supervised release that was to follow incarceration.

In his motion today, Fitzgerald argued that Libby's probation should have started July 2nd, the date of the commutation. Fitzgerald also pointed out in passing that Libby's sentence, which Bush judged "excessive," had been on the "the low-end of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range." In addition to Libby's 30 months in prison and two years of probation, Libby was hit with a $250,000 fine, which he paid last week.

Libby's lawyers echoed the White House line, made official in a letter from counsel Fred Fielding earlier today, that the president's commutation should rule over any discrepancies with the sentencing statute.

You can read Fitzgerald's argument here. It's not clear when Judge Walton will make his final decision.

Scooter Libby

Conyers to WH: Waive Executive Privilege

Paul Kiel | July 9, 2007, 1:40PM

The White House hasn't been in much of a waiving mood lately, but it's worth a shot.

In a letter today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) asked President Bush to waive executive privilege for any aides who might testify before the committee this Wednesday about Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence. As Conyers notes, "When President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich stirred its own controversy back in 2001, former President Clinton took the forthright step of waiving Executive Privilege and permitting some of his closest aides to testify about the facts of the matter." Conyers wants the same deal for his hearing this Wednesday.

The full letter is below.

Read more »

Scooter Libby

White House: Probation for Libby

Paul Kiel | July 9, 2007, 1:32PM

Last week, the judge presiding over Scooter Libby's case said he was confused: the president's commutation of Libby's sentence had eliminated the jail time, but left in place the two-year period of supervised release that was to follow incarceration. By law, supervised release follows a prison sentence .It wasn't immediately clear how to deal with that, so the judge asked the two parties to weigh in on how they thought this should be resolved. There have been whispers that Libby might not even have to serve his two years of probation as a result of the discrepancy.

Today, White House counsel Fred Fielding wrote Patrick Fitzgerald in an effort to clear this up. When the president said "supervised release," he meant it, no matter if that clashes with the law. The president's commutation power would "unmistakably govern," Fielding wrote. You can read the letter here.

Scooter Libby

Libby Pays $250,000 Fine

Paul Kiel | July 5, 2007, 3:18PM

That wasn't so painful, was it?

For those curious readers who wonder whether Scooter Libby's friends kicked in to help here too, the chairman of the Libby Legal Defense Trust told The Washington Post it's not coming from them.

Scooter Libby

White House: "Equal Justice?"

Paul Kiel | July 5, 2007, 2:27PM

Sometimes it's just too easy. From this afternoon's White House press briefing:

Q Scott, is Scooter Libby getting more than equal justice under the law? Is he getting special treatment?

MR. STANZEL: Well, I guess I don't know what you mean by "equal justice under the law." But this is a unique case, there's no doubt about that. And we have said that there are a lot of people on all sides of this issue who've made good points. The President took a very measured approach to it. He believed that the jury verdict should be respected and -- but he did feel that the sentence was excessive, in terms of jail time. But this is a unique case, and there's no doubt about that.

More below....

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Scooter Libby

Snow: Clinton Criticism of Commutation is "Chutzpah"

Paul Kiel | July 5, 2007, 12:27PM

From this morning's press gaggle:

REPORTER: Tony, why do you ... in your op-ed today you brought up the Clinton pardons, as well. Do two wrongs make a right? Is that the idea, like if Clinton did wrong ...

SNOW: Well, this is ... no, this is not a wrong, but I think what is interesting is perhaps it was just because he was on his way out, but while there was a small flurry, there was not much investigation of it. Now you've got President Clinton and Senator Clinton out complaining about this, which, I got to tell you, I don't know what our Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it.

To refresh your memory on Hillary Clinton's remarks:

"I believe that presidential pardon authority is available to any president, and almost all presidents have exercised it.... This (the Libby decision) was clearly an effort to protect the White House. ... There isn't any doubt now, what we know is that Libby was carrying out the implicit or explicit wishes of the vice president, or maybe the president as well, in the further effort to stifle dissent."

The rest of the gaggle is posted below.

Read more »

Scooter Libby

Libby Fallout: House Committee Plans Hearing, Defense Lawyers Rejoice

Paul Kiel | July 5, 2007, 11:39AM

It turns out that a president can't make the unprecedented move of commuting a former aide's prison sentence without some consequences.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has already called for hearing next Wednesday at noon titled "The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials." According to a committee aide, the hearing will have an eye to the future as much as the past. President Bush thinks jail time is "excessive" for an administration official convicted of lying to protect higher administration officials. In his statement announcing the hearing, Conyers worried about such a precedent: "Taken to its extreme, the use of such authority could completely circumvent the law enforcement process and prevent credible efforts to investigate wrongdoing in the executive branch." The aide told me that potential witnesses for the hearing include legal scholars, pardon experts, and administration officials.

That's not all. The president's order has created some confusion for Judge Reggie B. Walton, the Bush appointee who was responsible for that "excessive" 30 month sentence. Walton's scratching his head over Bush's move to remove the incarceration portion of the sentence while retaining the two-year period of supervised release which was to follow Libby's jail time, something not technically possible. He's asked both sides to weigh in on what should be done.

But the biggest impact is likely to come on the broader legal front. As The Los Angeles Times showed yesterday, Libby's prison sentence was not "excessive" by legal standards, but such a statement by the president is sure to be embraced by defense lawyers all around the country (experts have already dubbed such an argument "The Libby Motion"). They're also sure to mention Bush's assertion that Libby's sentence as it stands after the commutation ($250,000 fine and two years probation) is "harsh." Meanwhile, the Times reports, "Federal prosecutors said Tuesday the action would make it harder for them to persuade judges to deliver appropriate sentences." This from an administration that's continually and inflexibly pushed for truly harsh penalties. The New York Sun reports that the first such invocation of Bush's order might come from an alleged Hamas operative convicted of obstruction charges.

Scooter Libby

Bush: 33 Months Reasonable For Rita, Not Libby

lkmcgann | July 3, 2007, 5:57PM

Yesterday Don Siegelman's lawyers weighed in on the parallels between their client's case and Scooter Libby's. Vietnam and Gulf War veteran, Victor Rita's case is another with interesting similarities.

Last month the Supreme Court heard Rita's appeal for a lighter sentence after being convicted of perjury and giving false statements. At the time, the Bush Administration wrote a friend of the court brief in support of upholding the sentence.

Rita's lawyers argued that the 33-month sentence he received was unreasonable, much like the conclusion President Bush drew in the case of Scooter Libby. Libby, like Rita, was also convicted of perjury and lying and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Both men were working for the government when the committed their crimes and both maintained their innocence even after conviction. One significant difference between the two cases is that Rita had previously been convicted of a similar crime.

In Rita's case, the Supreme Court upheld his sentence finding the sentence reasonable.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DL) flagged Bush's apparent change of heart on what constitutes a reasonable sentence:

The questions we should all be asking ourselves today are: Why is the President flip-flopping? Why does Scooter Libby get special treatment?"

Scooter Libby

"Excessive" Sentence Came from Bush Appointee

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 5:05PM

From the AP:

President Bush knew what he was getting in 2001 when he made Reggie B. Walton one of his first picks for a seat on the federal bench: a tough-on-crime judge with a reputation for handing down stiff sentences....

...attorneys noted some irony in Bush's decision to override Walton.

"The party who appointed him is now unhappy with what he appointed him to do," said Scott L. Fredericksen, a defense attorney who served as a prosecutor under every president since Ronald Reagan.

Also noteworthy, defense attorneys said, was seeing the White House urge leniency just weeks after the Bush administration announced a tough new crime bill that would bar judges from going easy on criminals. They would be free to impose longer sentences, but not shorter ones.

Scooter Libby

Snow Plays Lawyer

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 3:09PM

OK, here's the last you'll hear from this morning's press conference. As we noted earlier, Tony Snow cited a respect for the jury's decision as one of the driving considerations for the commutation, but he also strove to cast the president decision as in line with with the probation office, which makes sentencing recommendations to the judge. In Scooter Libby's case, the probation office recommended 15-21 months imprisonment and cited some possible grounds upon which the judge might reduce that sentence. The judge disagreed with the probation office and sided with the prosecutor's arguments that a 30-36 month sentence was more appropriate, ultimately deciding on 30. (Unfortunately, the probation office's actual recommendation is not public.)

But to hear Snow tell it, the probation office had recommended no jail time for Libby.

Snow: ...He does respect what the judge says, but he also respects what… if you took a look at the trial record at what the parole commission [he means the probation office] recommended, that what the parole commission recommended was highly consistent with what the president thought was an appropriate punishment here.

Q: Well, no they talk about 16, 16 plus months.

Snow: Now, that is there’s a range.. what what you’re taking a look….this gets very complicated….

You have obstruction of justice and then you have mitigating factors that bumps it down – and the bump down gets you, according again to the parole commission, to an area where it would be appropriate, would be within acceptable guidelines to have such things as home detention or probation.

Libby's lawyers, of course, argued for such a "bump down" (or "downward departure" in the legal lingo). So what Snow is really saying is that the president agreed with Libby's lawyers interpretation of the probation office's recommendations. Which is no surprise at all.

Update: Bush also cited the probation office's recommendation in his statement on the commutation: "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."

Update: Here's the AP's straightforward take on this:

"To hear Snow tell it, Walton ignored the recommendation of probation officials and sentenced Libby to prison. That isn't what happened. Probation officers recommended Libby serve 15-21 months. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recommended more than 30 months. Libby's attorneys asked for probation.

Walton accepted Fitzgerald's interpretation of the law, which said Libby should be sentenced more harshly because of the seriousness of the investigation he obstructed."

Scooter Libby

Snow: Bush Showed "Respect for Jury System"

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 1:06PM

Here's the meat of Tony Snow's presentation of Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence to one without jail time. Snow was eager to portray the decision as a "principled" one -- "the president does not look upon this as granting a favor to anyone."

"You need to respect the jury system," Snow said, and "it is important to make clear our faith in what really is a pillar of the American justice system, which is everybody’s right to be tried before a jury of our peers.” What about that other pillar of our justice system, the judiciary? Well, not so much.

More from his comments:

The key considerations were... let’s figure out what we think is appropriate, what he thinks is appropriate in terms of punishment and let’s also do it in a way that does not do violence, but in fact shows respect to a system of justice... not going in and overthrowing the hard work and the verdict of a duly constituted jury. That, to me, demonstrates just the opposite of political consideration....

Scooter Libby

Snow: No DoJ Consultation Because No "Fuzzy" Memories

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 12:15PM

Why consult the Justice Department when President Bush and his aides in the White House know all they need to know about Scooter Libby's case?

That's the position Tony Snow took in today's press conference, explaining the administration's decision not to consult the Justice Department's pardon attorney or the prosecutor on the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, which is the normal process for such cases. Usually that consultation happens in order to refresh memories about the case, Snow said -- but here, "it's not like people's memories are fuzzy about the details or the circumstances."

As we pointed out at TPM yesterday, the president's decision was a departure from the normal circumstances or process for a commutation in more ways than one.

Scooter Libby

Snow Won't "Close Door" on Possible Pardon for Libby

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 12:02PM

From this morning's press briefing:

In explaining why he wasn't "closing the door" on the idea that Scooter Libby might be pardoned in the future, Snow said that the president had done what he thought was "appropriate," but that he didn't want to "read the president's mind" about what might happen in the future.

More from the briefing soon.

Must Read

Today's Must Read

Paul Kiel | July 3, 2007, 9:26AM

Yesterday, the president played his part. The injustice of Scooter Libby serving one day of jail time for lying to investigators and a grand jury in order to shield the vice president has been averted.

But don't forget that for the past several months, other prominent elements of the Washington establishment have been playing their parts, too. The Scooter Libby Defense Trust has collected close to $5 million, and its many moneyed donors rejoiced at the news, reports The Washington Post:

Former ambassador to Italy and developer Mel Sembler was returning from a fundraiser, and his chartered flight had just touched down in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"I got off the airplane and picked up my telephone and turned it back on again and found about 12 phone messages," said Sembler, the chairman of the Libby Legal Defense Trust. "I was most pleased with my president."

Richard Carlson, former ambassador to the Seychelles, was standing near his wife when he heard the news from an Associated Press reporter.

"My wife burst into tears," Carlson said.

But, sadly, the hard work the trust's patrons have had to endure (all because of the unquenchable bloodlust of a certain prosecutor) is not over. $5 million is not enough, apparently. Their man is still burdened with a conviction, two years probation, a $250,000 fine (which will not be covered by the fund, Sembler tells the Post), and only Libby's lawyers can save him now. And his lawyers must be paid. So their quest continues.

Who are these champions of justice? A roll call:

The advisory committee of Libby's trust is made up of developers, investors, publishers, think-tankers. There's former senator Fred Thompson, the "Law & Order" star and Republican presidential aspirant -- who even held a fundraiser for Libby at his McLean home, according to Carlson....

There are former Cabinet-level officials, including Ed Meese, Jack Kemp and Spencer Abraham. There is conservative thinker Bill Bennett and political philosopher Francis Fukuyama. There's Ron Silver, of "West Wing" fame. There's Mary Matalin, a former Cheney adviser, and Nina Rosenwald, chairwoman of the Middle East Media Research Institute. There is Steve Forbes, who knows a thing or two about writing checks.

Scooter Libby

Cheney Statement on Libby Commutation

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 7:39PM

Posted just now on CNN, from Lea Anne McBride, spokeswoman from Vice President Cheney:

"Scooter has dedicated much of his life to public service at the State Department, the Department of Defense and the White House. In each of these assignments he has served the nation tirelessly and with great distinction. I have always considered him to be a man of the highest intellect, judgment and personal integrity -- a man fully committed to protecting the vital security interests of the United States and its citizens. Scooter is also a friend, and on a personal level Lynne and I remain deeply saddened by this tragedy and its effect on his wife, Harriet, and their young children. The defense has indicated it plans to appeal the conviction in the case. Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man."

Scooter Libby

Leahy on Bush Commutation

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 7:18PM

From Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT):

“The President’s muted words and deeds in the aftermath of this conviction pale in comparison to what he said before the investigation was launched.

"The President has the constitutional power to do this. But accountability has been in short supply in the Bush Administration, and this commutation fits that pattern. It is emblematic of a White House that sees itself as being above the law."

Scooter Libby

Wilson: Congress Should Investigate Bush's Participation in Obstruction of Justice

Spencer Ackerman | July 2, 2007, 7:00PM

Just got off the phone with Joe Wilson, whose exposure of the hollowness of the Niger-Iraq uranium claim set in motion the chain of events that led to Scooter Libby's perjury and, today, his sentence's commutation by President Bush. Wilson -- who is pursuing a civil suit against Libby, Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney -- called on Bush and Cheney to release the transcripts of their interviews with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald "to let the American people know what they knew and when they knew it." If not, Wilson says, "Congress should hold hearings on the president's role in the obstruction of justice."

Wilson:

"From my viewpoint, the president has stepped in to short circuit the rule of law and the system of justice in our country. In so doing, he has acknowledged Mr. Libby's guilt for, among other things, obstruction of justice, which by definition is covering up for somebody in a crime. By commuting his sentence, he has brought himself and his office into reasonable suspicion of participation in an obstruction of justice. The commutation of (Libby's) sentence in and of itself is participation in obstruction of justice."

Asked if he expected Bush to pardon or commute Libby's sentence, Wilson replied, "I have never known what to expect. The administration is now trying call this compromise. At end of day, it's allowing a neoconservative cult to engage in special pleading. … This from the president who refused to listen to the Pope's clemency appeals over the execution of first female prisoner in Texas since the Civil War," referring to the 1998 execution of Karla Faye Tucker while Bush was governor.

Wilson noted the commutation will have no impact on his lawsuit against Libby, Rove and Cheney. Today's presidential decision, he said, "should demonstrate to the American people beyond a reasonable doubt how unbelievably corrupt this administration is from top to bottom."

Scooter Libby

Pelosi: Bush Has "Abandoned All Sense of Fairness"

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 6:57PM

From Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people.

The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable.

Scooter Libby

Reid: History Will Judge Bush "Harshly"

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 6:45PM

From Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office (D-NV):

"The President's decision to commute Mr. Libby's sentence is disgraceful. Libby's conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War. Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone. Judge Walton correctly determined that Libby deserved to be imprisoned for lying about a matter of national security. The Constitution gives President Bush the power to commute sentences, but history will judge him harshly for using that power to benefit his own Vice President's Chief of Staff who was convicted of such a serious violation of law."

Scooter Libby

Schumer on Bush Commutation of Libby Sentence

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 6:32PM

From Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY):

“As Independence Day nears, we are reminded that one of the principles our forefathers fought for was equal justice under the law. This commutation completely tramples on that principle.”

Scooter Libby

Conyers: Bush Decision "Inconsistent with Rule of Law"

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 6:19PM

Just out from House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI):

"Until now, it appeared that the President merely turned a blind eye to a high ranking Administration official leaking classified information. The President's action today makes it clear that he condones such activity. This decision is inconsistent with the rule of law and sends a horrible signal to the American people and our intelligence operatives who place their lives at risk everyday. Now that the White House can no longer argue that there is a pending criminal investigation, I expect them to be fully forthcoming with the American people about the circumstances that led to this leak and the President's decision today."

Update: According to a senior aide at the House Judiciary Committee, the committee is planning a hearing on the commutation, "as early as next week."

Scooter Libby

Bush Commutes Libby Sentence

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 5:48PM

Breaking, from the AP: "President Bush commutes the prison sentence for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."

Update: The president has reduced Libby's original sentence of thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine by stripping the sentence of the 2 1/2 years of jail time.

Update: Here is the president's statement released by the White House:

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby’s request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.

I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby’s appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision.

From the very beginning of the investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name, I made it clear to the White House staff and anyone serving in my administration that I expected full cooperation with the Justice Department. Dozens of White House staff and administration officials dutifully cooperated.

After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged.

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.

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation.The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby’s case is an appropriate exercise of this power.

Scooter Libby

Court Denies Libby Appeal

Paul Kiel | July 2, 2007, 12:39PM

From Bloomberg:

Lewis "Scooter'' Libby, an ex-aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, must go to prison while appealing his conviction for obstructing a CIA leak probe, a U.S. appeals court said.

Libby may be behind bars within weeks under the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which denied his request for release during his appeal. The decision will increase pressure on President George W. Bush to decide soon whether to pardon Libby, 56, as the former White House official's supporters have urged.

It sounds like it wasn't even close. The decision by the court was unanimous, the AP reports, while Reuters says "the appeals court turned down Libby in a one-paragraph order, ruling he has not shown that his appeal 'raises a substantial question.'"

Scooter Libby

Scooter "28301-016" Libby

Paul Kiel | June 28, 2007, 12:49PM

Scooter Libby has a new name: inmate number 28301-016. That's according to the Bureau of Prisons, which is ready and waiting for Libby's arrival.

After losing a motion earlier this month to delay his first day in prison, Libby's currently trying a last ditch appeal before reporting to prison later this summer. If he wins, he'll remain free until an appeals court decides whether to uphold the verdict against him; if he loses, only a pardon could save him from beginning to serve his 2 1/2 year sentence.

Ed. Note: Thanks to TPM Reader HC.

Scooter Libby

Libby Files Last Ditch Appeal

Paul Kiel | June 20, 2007, 10:07AM

From the AP:

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who faces prison soon in the CIA leak case, asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to step in and delay the sentence.

Scooter Libby

Judge Denies Libby Request to Delay Jail Time

Paul Kiel | June 14, 2007, 1:42PM

From the AP:

A federal judge said Thursday he will not delay a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a ruling that could send the former White House aide to prison within weeks.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton's decision will send Libby's attorneys rushing to an appeals court to block the sentence and could force President Bush to consider calls from Libby's supporters to pardon the former aide.