Send Scooter to jail

The lawyer for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby said Tuesday he didn’t know why his client was sentenced to jail because “the government did not establish the existence of an offense.”

Attorney William Jeffress must have been napping through the trial for Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. The government quite clearly proved Libby guilty last March of one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury to the grand jury and one county of lying to the FBI during its investigation into who leaked the name of CIA employee Valerie Plame to the news media.

The fact that no one was charged or convicted in connection with the actual leak is irrelevant. Libby knew what the truth was and he deliberately chose not to tell it in an effort to mislead investigators. He would have been much better off following the examples of Presidential adviser Karl Rove or former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who did leak Plame’s name but were smart enough to tell the truth when put under oath about it.

Plame is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who publicly criticized the administration’s claims about intelligence reports used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Revealing Plame’s identity allegedly was done to blunt Wilson’s criticism under the theory that it would be assumed he was just expressing the views of disgruntled elements at the CIA.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton sentenced Libby to 2 ½ years in prison and fined him $250,000. “People who occupy these types of positions…have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem,” Walton said in passing sentence Tuesday.
Actually, Libby had the same obligation as any other citizen to tell the truth during a criminal investigation.

The judge said he saw no reason why Libby should remain free on appeal, although he postponed ruling on exactly when Libby should report to jail.

That brings up the dicey matter of a Presidential pardon. President Bush expressed sympathy for Libby’s family Tuesday. But presidents generally only make controversial pardons in the final days of their terms. Staying free on appeal could run the clock down to a pardonable moment. Walton shouldn’t let that happen.

Libby is guilty. He should go to jail.