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How to Defend a Liar
// Will George Bush Go to Bat for Dick Cheney's Top Aide?
US President George Bush has expressed his regret at the guilty verdict delivered Tuesday by the grand jury in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. The reaction from the president, who has the right to pardon Mr. Libby, means that a line has not yet been drawn under the Libby affair. Also unclear is the future of Vice President Cheney, who is at the center of a battle brewing between the White House and the administration's opponents. In the wake of Mr. Libby's conviction, Democrats in the Congress have hinted that securing Mr. Cheney's departure may be their next priority.
Don't Forget that the Investigation is Over
The verdict delivered on Tuesday by the 11-member jury in the trial of senior White House official Scooter Libby took no one in Washington by surprise. Both the prosecution and the defense anticipated that the jury would be unlikely to find any grounds to acquit Mr. Libby, who faced five charges that included perjury and obstructing justice, and both sides were prepared to continue the struggle after the verdict was announced.
At the end of the month-long trial, which featured the testimony of numerous witnesses that included current and former White House officials and well-known journalists, the grand jury found Mr. Libby guilty on one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, and one count of making false statements to the FBI. He was acquitted on one charge of false statement of facts. Mr. Libby's sentencing is scheduled for June 5. He faces up to 25 years in prison, but observers in Washington widely expect him to get much less under federal sentencing guidelines. However, the question of the duration of Mr. Libby's sentence pales beside the primary importance of the conviction, which is seen by many as a moral victory over Mr. Libby and the Bush administration.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, commenting on the verdict, maintained that the verdict was essential in uncovering systematic problems pervading the current White House team. "It’s sad that we had a situation where a high-level official, a person who worked in the Office of Vice President, obstructed justice and lied under oath," said Mr. Fitzgerald, for whom the verdict wraps up more than three years spent investigating the case of the exposure in the media of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. He has declared his investigation finished and has no plans to bring any further charges in the case.
Meanwhile, however, Mr. Libby's lawyers have already announced that they will seek a retrial, based on their opinion that Mr. Fitzgerald violated legal procedure during the trial by showing the jury newspaper articles containing what the defense considers biased reports concerning Mr. Libby. The lawyers for the defense are also complaining that they were not allowed to question NBC reporters Tim Russert and Andrea Mitchell about statements that they made about Mr. Libby outside of court, which the defense claims could have been used to give the jury a more complete picture of the circumstances surrounding the leak of Ms. Plame's name and the role played personally by Mr. Libby.
Thus, the jury's verdict will be little more than an interim decision in what promises to be a lengthy process.
To Pardon or to Punish
The reaction to the verdict from US President George Bush has served only to fan the flames surrounding the Libby case. Echoing Mr. Fitzgerald, President Bush said that it was "sad" to hear that guilty verdict had been returned in Mr. Libby's trial. Judging by the comments that Mr. Bush made on Wednesday in an interview on CNN En Espanol, however, his sentiments had little else in common with those of the prosecution. “On a personal note, I was sad,” Mr. Bush said. “I was sad for a man who had worked in my administration, and particularly sad for his family.” Mr. Libby worked in the White House from 2001 until his indictment in October 2005.
Mr. Bush's expression of sympathy for Mr. Libby has ignited debate over whether the president will exercise his right to grant Mr. Libby a presidential pardon, and, if so, when that might happen. According to White House spokesman Tony Snow's response to a question at yesterday's press briefing, "there is a [re-trial and appeal] process, you know, and it's available to anybody who has been convicted in the United States." Mr. Snow's statement indicates that the White House intends to be cautious in considering a possible pardon, despite the president's personal feelings on the matter.
In his tenure as president, George Bush has so far pardoned 113 people. Given the serious political implications of the Libby case, however, Mr. Bush will have to be careful not to hand his political opponents more ammunition in their battle against his administration by granting Mr. Libby a quick pardon. Soon after the guilty verdict was announced, the Democrats stepped up pressure on the president, asking that he pledge not to use his presidential power to help Mr. Libby escape responsibility for his crimes.
Mr. Bush is thus stuck between a rock and a hard place, seemingly unable to pardon Mr. Libby without losing already scarce political currency. Many observers believe that the president will be able to grant Mr. Libby official forgiveness only towards the very end of his term in office, meaning no sooner than in 2008. Experts say that the most promising option for Mr. Bush is to drag the process out until the end of 2008, when the next presidential elections will be over and Mr. Bush can quietly pardon Mr. Libby as he leaves office.
Hands off Cheney!
Having achieved an important step towards securing punishment for Scooter Libby, the Democrats are now clamoring for the main prize in this political game: the vice president's head. During the trial of his former chief of staff, Vice President Dick Cheney cooperated fully with investigators and even expressed his readiness to testify in court if necessary (he was never called as a witness). Though he has so far avoided any serious threats, however, the guilty verdict in Mr. Libby's trial will undoubtedly encourage the Democrats in their efforts to send Mr. Cheney, who is immensely unpopular in Democratic circles, packing from the White House.
The White House, fully aware that its second-in-command is increasingly coming under fire from both sides, has made it clear that it will defend Mr. Cheney to the end and will not allow him to become easy prey for the Democrats. In a statement yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow warned that the role of the vice president will be undiminished by the case and that the vice president will remain a trusted associate whom the president will continue to count on.
In an attempt to gain an early advantage, the Bush administration recently launched a unprecedentedly active campaign to defend the vice president. The thrust of the campaign seems to be, "hands off Cheney!" The reading of the verdict in the Libby trial coincided with the end of Mr. Cheney's official tour through the countries of East Asia and the Pacific Rim, where he mainly discussed the Iranian nuclear crisis and the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House is said to consider Mr. Cheney's trip to be an extraordinary success, and after he returned, he was invited to give a report at a Republican Party conference, where he was given a hero's welcome and a standing ovation.
By all appearances, it is still too early to call any shots in the affairs convulsing Washington, including the case of Scooter Libby. The fates of the former White House official and his powerful boss will depend on many factors, not least of which is the evolving situation in Iraq and Iran. In the end, it will undoubtedly be the Bush administration's war in the Middle East that will decide how capable Mr. Bush will be of fending off his opponents and protecting his own.
Sergey Strokan
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 09, 2007
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