[R-G] A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

[Suzanne de Kuyper]

Yesterday a judge either part of the case against
Libby or a concerned experience judge stated that,
under present law said that such a pardon may have to
be declared invalid.  New York 
Times, 7/6/07
--- friends2b <friends2b at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>
http://www.signs-of-the-times.org/articles/show/135780-All+in+the+Crime+Family:+Bush+commutes+sentence+for+Libby;+Did+we+expect+otherwise?
> 
> QUOTE OF THE DAY
> 
> Of all the forms of murder, none is more monstrous
> than that committed by a
> state against its own citizens... The homicidal
> state shares one trait with
> the solitary killer--like all murderers, it trips on
> its own egoism and
> drops a trail of clues which, when properly
> collected, preserved and
> analyzed are as damning as a signed confession left
> in the grave.
> 
> Forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow, speaking before
> the May, 1984 meeting of
> the American Association for the Advancement of
> Science.
> 
> 
> President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide
> I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
> Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in
> the CIA leak case.
> 
> Grant of Executive Clemency
> 
> 
> A Proclamation by the President of the United States
> of America
> 
> WHEREAS Lewis Libby was convicted in the United
> States District Court for
> the District of Columbia in the case United States
> v. Libby, Crim. No.
> 05-394 (RBW), for which a sentence of 30 months'
> imprisonment, 2 years'
> supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and a
> special assessment of $400 was
> imposed on June 22, 2007;
> 
> NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the
> United States of
> America, pursuant to my powers under Article II,
> Section 2, of the
> Constitution, do hereby commute the prison terms
> imposed by the sentence
> upon the said Lewis Libby to expire immediately,
> leaving intact and in
> effect the two-year term of supervised release, with
> all its conditions, and
> all other components of the sentence.
> 
> IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
> second day of July, in
> the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, and of
> the Independence of the
> United States of America the two hundred and
> thirty-first.
> 
> GEORGE W. BUSH
> 
> 
> Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years
> probation for Libby,
> according to a senior White House official, who
> spoke on condition of
> anonymity because the decision had not been
> announced.
> 
> Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel
> ruled Libby could not
> delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That
> decision put the pressure
> on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by
> Libby's allies to
> pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President
> Dick Cheney.
> 
> Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities
> and obstructing the
> investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative's
> identity. He was the
> highest-ranking White House official ordered to
> prison since the Iran-Contra
> affair.
> 
> Bush Commutes Libby Prison Sentence
> 
> By MATT APUZZO
> 
> WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush commuted the
> sentence of former White House
> aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Monday, sparing him
> from a 2 1/2-year
> prison term that Bush said was excessive. Bush's
> move came hours after a
> federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay
> his prison term in the CIA
> leak case.
> 
> That meant Libby was likely to have to report to
> prison soon and put new
> pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping
> calls by Libby's allies
> to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice
> President Dick Cheney.
> 
> "I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a
> statement. "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."
> 
> Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years
> probation for Libby, and Bush
> said his action still "leaves in place a harsh
> punishment for Mr. Libby."
> 
> Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities
> and obstructing the
> investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative's
> identity. He was the
> highest-ranking White House official ordered to
> prison since the Iran-Contra
> affair.
> 
> Bush said of Cheney's former aide: "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."
> 
> Statement by the President
> 
> 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 
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