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Okay, so here is the summary so far:
Walton basically accepted the premise of Fitz' sentencing arguments, which put the range for the obstruction up to 30-37 months, but on the basis of the fact that Libby is a nice guy, took the lowest end of that range, 30 months. He gave him 15 on the other countrs, concurrent, but those other counts need to be recalculated, bc one should be lower and one should be higher. So the sentence is 30 months, but on stay until the Probation department does new calculations.
As to bond pending appeal, Walton basically said no, but Defense can submit a memo. That is due on Thrsday, and then the govt's is due on Tuesday, with Libby's response due on Wednesday. If Walton decides against bond pending appeal after reading those motions, then it all goes to the prison system and Libby goes to jail in normal schedule, which would be about 45-60 days.
The basis defense argued for appeal is twofold: that Walton rejected the memory defense, and Fitz' appointment in general. Walton basically said, "If you could introduce a memory expert on the basis of that hearing, we'd have to let in any thing, because there was no basis for applicability in this." As to Fitz' appointment, Walton said that, although no one oversaw Fitz' actions WRT this case, he was subject to normal discipline if he did anything bad. The fact that Sampson considered firing Fitzgerald is evidence of this in this case.
Reggie said something very important WRT this issue. He said that if Fitz' appointment were improper, then it would mean no one high in government, and no one in the justice system, could be held accountable for the things they did unless there were a way to appoint a prosecutor free of DOJ oversight in the particular case.
You think maybe Judge Walton has given some consideration of the possibility that high level DOJ employees might be indicted for things recently?
I'm headed out the pressers, will come back for an update then.
Update: No pressers. Neither side had a comment, ostensibly because they've got to come back for next week's hearing (on Wednesday) on bail pending appeal.
Now it's either beer thirty or I'm going to try to sneak into the SJC hearing. Can anyone tell me if it's beer thirty in DC?
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Stellar work Marcy, Jane, Christy, Mods !!!
((((((( FDL )))))))
Breaking news: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19039377/!
Great work Marci, Jane and Christy-a riveting morning.
Marcy!
Zed?
Thanks to all of you who have worked hard on this
Cheers
Oops, I guess it’s not that breaking — I see the 30 months were in the original post.
Must be the champagne doing the posting for me!
To elaborate, Fitz wanted to make sure that the correct numbers for concurrent sentences were in place. Walton was basing his calculation on a Federal Sentencing Guideline offense level of 17 for the perjury counts – which carries with it a range of 24-30 months. But Fitz was correcting that to a level of 14, which only carries 15-21 months.
Here’s the table: http://www.ussc.gov/2005guid/5a.htm
Anyone have a better reading?
Guess not.
Question: Does EACH count have to be appealed individually?
I am stunned to read, in Wolfowitz’s letter to Walton (bottom of page two), that Libby defended Richard Armitage on a pro bono basis against libelous accusations. When was this? What was this about?
As a former probation officer, who mostly did pre-sentence investigations and recs, I realized you have to know “your” judge.
Who will ask W the pardon question in Europe?
Yes, hear hear, nicely done.
Can’t imagine why the so-called “real medjia” don’t do this.
Great service you guys.
Love you guys!!! Great work! Donation coming.
CNN writeup refers to a letter whose sender is redacted. The letter was not in support of Libby. I wonder why the sender was redacted in that case?
Also, the letter from the director of NIAID is on HHS letterhead. Kind of odd, if you ask me, a letter on official government letterhead in support of a convicted felon?
I don’t understand the difference between perjury and false statements.
Where is it that folks are reading letters? Are they posted someplace?
Please?
whteher libby serves a day in jail or not, whether he’s pardoned or not, he still looses his license to practice law.
thats not a small thing
Thanks very much, Marcy.
EW - You are dead on with Walton’s comment. There is a lot of depth in those few words.
EPU’d:
IIRC, the legitimacy of an appeal would weigh heavily on whether or not Scoots gets to be ‘free’ during the appeal process. Didn’t Walton write a statement toward the end of the trial wrt an appeal and how he was taking taking pertinent steps so that an appeal would be relatively impotent?
SharonRB @ 4
SharonRB @ 8
Hey there :hi:
TeddySanFran @ 12
My guess is ….
Not an American reporter.
Educated Plaintiff @ 17
and to vote, no?
Faux News is having a meltdown, trotting out the “no underlying crime” bullshit. It’s wonderful to watch.
inmymind’seye @16
thesmokinggun.com has the letters from the “big names”.. not all of the letters are there, though.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/a.....ibby1.html
FlyOnTheWall @ 7
That’s correct–which is key, bc it probably would have provided basis for appeal if he hadn’t immediatley noticed it.
Anybody know when Walton will release the letters?
Ok $25 to Gilly’s family & $25 to FDl family~better than any dinner/night out I MIGHTHAVE DONE WITH THAT!
Job posting: Summer with OVP, low pay, high risk of indictment and time. Send application and political references to Monica.
Politburo @ 26
Ohhh, thanks for the link
Notice that Libby refused to admit guilt even in the sentencing phase where it is normal for the convicted criminal to show remorse- Walton clearly noticed that no remorse was being shown. Notice also that Libby’s attorney pronounced him innocent after the hearing. They’re tryin to make it easier for a pardon.
Does ex-USA Giuliani play to the wing-nut base tonight by supporting a pardon or by supporting the Rule of Law?
And on top of his other heretical positions on Abortion and Gun Control, would this kill him if he did support Fitz?
from CNN:Another person, whose signature was redacted, wrote, “I am writing to urge that Scooter Libby receive the maximum possible sentence. Due to the crimes for which he was convicted, we may never know of the more substantial criminal activities for which he served as a firewall.”
oops. I guess the letters are out per smoking gun?
Loo Hoo. @ 15
IIRC Perjury is when you’re sworn in, like with the GJ. False statements are to the FBI when they just come to ask questions. You have to be honest even if you’re not sworn in.
Yep — have to get the sentencing guidelines calculations precisely correct. The changes won’t likely make any difference to the time, since Judge Walton ran them concurrent and not consecutive, but you have to get the precise guidelines range and information as to why the sentence falls in that range correct or it does provide grounds for appeal. Smart to delay on exact language and calculations on this until the probation office walks back through the entire calculations for each and every count before a written order is issued and signed by the judge. (And likely a catch by Bonamici and/or Kidian, since that is the angle they have been working on this case.)
I especially like the community service
re:15
That a statement be false is necessary but not sufficient, by itself, to be evidence of perjury. A person can make a false statement while believing it to be true, for example.
QuickSilver @ 10
Yeah.
While not *proving* anything, it does suggest that Armitage’s ’slip’ to Woodward may have been more purposeful than previously suggested.
As in:
Scooter: Hey, Dick, remember those favors I did for you?
Armitage: What do you want, Scooter?
Scooter: Valerie Wilson. CIA Status. Leak.
Armitage: (sigh) Ok.
Shorter MSNBC man-on-the-scene: “uh, please forget everything I just told you a half-hour ago…” “Reporting live on the scene, Kevin (umm, do I have to give my last name right now, Monica?)”.
Marcy, Christy, and Ms. Jane–you’re the best.
I got almost no work done this morning. But I pardon you all… ;)
*cheers Marcy (hell, all y’all!) on!* :D
MSNBC had Pat Buchanan on earlier (right after sentence came down) and he was taking it very seriously, said the offenses were very serious, Scooter was a very high up government official. No bullshitting from PB.
CNNInternational and Faux here in the UK have barely given it a breaking news alert. All eyes on TB man and JFK terror plots.
ccmask @ 34
That’s the one I was referring to.. it’s odd to me that it was redacted.
I’ll ask again, from below; it’s a legal question, so I need a legal take on this (please excuse the layman’s ignorance of how it’s supposed to work):
What are the chances they can delay Scooter’s reporting to jail, just long enough to rush the entire case in front of a Court of Appeals… where some Loyal Bushie from the Federalist Society simply issues some problematic and thinly-justified crap, and springs our hero?
Loo Hoo. @ 15
Perjury is lying while under oath to testify in a court of law, before a grand jury or any other legal procedure that requires sworn testimony.
False statements = lies told while not under oath.
The gooper pardon drums have been beating for weeks. The question now comes down to WHEN?
If scoots gets to be free pending appeal- and if his lawyers lollygag during the process, he’ll never serve a day- there are only 18 months before Clusterfuck leaves office and the pardon becomes a free shot.
If- on the other hand- Scoots is forced to go to jail pending appeal- then Clusterfuck could be forced to do the pardon NOW- and take the political heat for it.
Either way- scoots doesn’t serve time- but one way Clusterfuck is forced to spend some political capital- of which he has none- and the other way he does not.
So where should he do his community service?
Politburo @ 14
Probably to protect the identity of a private citizen.
If the writer is not a public celebrity, or working in public service, their identity is of little news value.
Does this mean Bonamici messed up?
Okay, I’ll be the first to mock. The first line of Paul Wolfowitz’s letter reads:
ha-ha!
Barry at 47 — Small.
Loo Hoo. @ 15
Perjury is untruths before a grand jury.
False statements were made before the investigators (in this case, the FBI).
OK–having read through some of the letters, I know precisely what Jeffress was talking about when he feared ridicule from the blogosphere.
Mary Matalin’s letter. Undisclosed locations in the middle of nowhere. Halloween. Bored Cheney grandkids dragged along against their will–whining, Matalin whining as well, Scooter playing trick or treat, all the while working over 12 hours a day. Dinner with Mr. Scooter & Serpenthead. It just goes on and on and on.
Where do they find these people?
No one could’ve
Elliott @ 51
Baghdad, Sadr City.
He approaches…holy cow!! It’s a triple lindy!!
SPLASH
Man, said one of the Judges, I haven’t seen that much flip flopping since Nadia in ‘76 or Romney in ‘07.
I’m in the lake. hello pups.
Elliott @ 51
Sweeping the halls and cleaning toilets at the CIA.
Elliott @ 24
that depends on the state in which he was registered…
if he’s pardonned–granted clemency–it won’t matter, of course…
Too funny.
Does this mean that we will most likely see Sampson on the stand on appeal testifying as to why Fitz was on the list at one point?
Sparkles at 52 — No, it means that the judge made rulings from the bench in accordance with where he felt Libby’s conduct placed him on the guidelines range, and that the calculations must now be adjusted accordingly to fit the judge’s rulings.
JGabriel @ 51
I don’t see why the Court would make that distinction. Why does Rummy get his letter released with name attached? Just because he’s Rummy? That’s not fair.
ETA: When you comment on pending regulations, there is no right to be anonymous. I don’t see why the same principle shouldn’t apply here.
Elliott @ 50
Walter Reed. Or at Arlington.
annb @ 64
yeah!
hi ofg! hi redd!
Elliott @ 50
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques — Testing Subject, CIA.
Today’s earworm:
“Have your-self a mer-ry lit-tle Fitz-mas, Let your heart be light …”
ruffian @ 65
Better yet, a DC homeless shelter.
When is Libby losing his license to practice law?
TeddySanFran @ 53
Teddy, kicking a man when he is down, and only leaving with $400K in his pocket, is not your usual style but here are exceptions. *g*
scarecrow @ 58
ooo Perfect!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 63
Thanks. I had a hard time believing she made an error!
So let’s say Libby gets pardoned. What happens to the $250,000? If he’s pardoned does that mean that he no longer owes the fine or that it gets returned?
snips from Mary Matlin to Judge Walton:
His wife and my husband share similar political views and we are all late life parents with children the same ages.
On the many other occasions our children were forced to accompany Scooter and I on location with the VP. To this day, whenever I talk to my girls about attending any WH event, they always ask “Is Mr. Scooter going to be there?”
ccmask @ 76
awwww that’s just so sweeet!
One of my comments was awaiting moderation and then it disappeared. OMG. I feel so intimidated.
Just for a laugh I’m going to watch Tucker today
The “out on bail pending appeals” is a huge issue. I do not know what the chances are of Scooter flapping his yap while enjoying some much-deserved striped sunshine is, but I do know exactly what the chances are if he is not.
Did anyone see Mrs Scooter? And did she threaten anyone after the sentencing? What was she wearing?
Any other interesting sightings?
May not be beer-thirty for many of us here in DC, but i think you certainly earned the right to declare it beer-thirty for yourself. Better yet, take in a hibiscus margarita at Oyamel on 7th Street (my favorite place to picle my giblets after court).
Thanks re perjury/false statements. Duh.
If Libby is pardoned, can he then be UNdisbarred?
We had all hoped that this case would bring the Clusterfuckers down- that Cheney would be goin to the pokey- etc. Didn’t ever happen.
We really needed the other charge to stick to have a chance. If Libby had been convicted of outing an agent- it would have been a different ballgame- and there was a conspiracy dimension that could have netted some bigger fish.
Still- it has been interesting and added a little acceleration to the administration’s downward momentum.
The fact is that this administration is over. It is universally detested. Gingrich just let Clusterfuck have it with both barrels. The gooper candidates refuse to mention Clusterfuck’s name. The corpse is stinking- but we can’t bury it for a year and a half.
If they could- GOOPERS would impeach the son of a bitch- but their “base” isn’t quite ready for that yet.
It’s all worked out OK- just not in the way many of us had hoped.
Matalin and Carville’s ‘Mr. Scooter’ letter is a good place to start.
“Should you choose to show Scooter mercy, you would not be misjudging him.” — so writes Leon Wieseltier, who makes a point of saying he’s not a neoconservative, “as many of my neoconservative adversaries will attest.” Wieseltier writes on New Republic letterhead. Libby performed pro bono legal work for him and his family — details are blacked out.
Wasn’t someone talking about the headings on the letters to Walton and that it shouldn’t be from their government jobs?
Matalin:
Yeah, his concern for the Wilson/Plame family, and the families of those who also worked for Brewster-Jennings, is absolutely universal. Oh, and can we just put Carville back in his crypt for good, please, after this letter?
According to Matalin, her kids don’t get to go to the undisclosed locations on security-dictated runaway-and-hide trips, but the Cheney grandchildren do? wtf?
i particularly likeWoodhall Hollow @ 56
d ms. matalin’s closing request that scooter not be sent to prison, for all the children who liked him.
i’m paraphrasing, but really not by much.
Does this apply?
http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/pa.....ctions.htm
Carville…
‘and the horse he rode in on’
It is certainly beer 30 4 U
:♥)
“universal love of families”
Holy shit Tonto– get that barf bag QUICK!!
I’m sorry to hear about Matalin/Carville procreation, rw. Guess those kids will be independents.
Henry Kissinger says he doesn’t aggree with Scooter on some issues, and that what he did was wrong and he shouldn’t have done it, but the Judge should still be lenient.
Haha–shorter Henry: Scooter’s guilty!
Sparkles the Iguana @ 90
That is just for filing petitions, and it’s only a guideline. It does not bind the President’s pardon power in any way.
Peter Pace’s letter (pdf) is, um, rather stiff and unpersuasive. Seems to be written under duress. I wonder….
It’s certainly interesting that Libby was getting letters from people he did pro bono work for.
Unfortunately, it’s also making me wonder if the letters were written as favors called in for him.
QuickSilver @ 85
if you don’t charge your rich friends for legal advice, is that really pro-bono?
Sparkles- naw- those are for “ordinary” people.
TeddySanFran @ 87
Yeah, his concern for the Wilson/Plame family, and the families of those who also worked for Brewster-Jennings, is absolutely universal. Oh, and can we just put Carville back in his crypt for good, please, after this letter?
According to Matalin, her kids don’t get to go to the undisclosed locations on security-dictated runaway-and-hide trips, but the Cheney grandchildren do? wtf?
And all of those families in Iraq that the Cheney/Scooter/ PNAC team have been so concerned about.
P J Evans @ 96
Some seem less than
enthusiasticpersuasive. See the Kissinger letter.Which now that I think of it, makes sense. Because according to Bob Woodward, Cheney and Kissinger lunch frequently. Cheney made him write it. But Kissinger didn’t want to, but he did anyway because he can’t stand the idea of not keeping his mitts in the WH stew. Price of some influence.
ccmask @ 86
Looseheadprop.
elliot 51-So where should he do his community service?
a soup kitchen or local food bank.
or picking up trash on the interstate.
Considering this is a federal crime, barring a pardon, does that mean he serves the usual 85% of his time?
“I have a universal love of families–the Hitler family- the mussolini family- the Jack the Ripper family- never met a family I didn’t like”
Scoots
Sparkles the Iguana @ 89
It is a guide, but not binding. Pardon power comes directly out of the Constitutional provisions for the Executive (President) so there can be no mandatory limitation on it that is not provided by the Constitution or amendment thereto.
Okay - SJC coming up at 2:30 - Featuring the grilling of Scholzman and Graves.
Should be carried live on the SJC web-site or C-span3 (can someone please post the links?)
The Lake is the Place to be for all the fun!
Senate Judiciary hearing time change:
NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING
TIME CHANGE TO 2:30 p.m.
The hearing on “Preserving Prosecutorial Independence: Is the Department of Justice Politicizing the Hiring and Firing of U.S. Attorneys? — Part V” scheduled by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Tuesday, June 5, 2007 in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building will begin at 2:30 p.m. rather than the previously scheduled time of 2:00 p.m.
I say he should exterminate roaches in the Bronx.
Excellent reporting from the Prettyman Courthouse and legal clarification/commentary from chez Reddhedd. You guys really have been the journalism gold standard on this story, from the get-go. Kudos and thanks.
Does anybody know where these letters are?
annb @ 65
Baghdad, Walter Reed..take your pick Scooter.
He might enjoy being a guard at Guantanamo too much!
radiofreewill @ 107
I forgot all about that! thanks for the reminder
Loo Hoo. @ 93
That was a lot kinder than I would have been!
Nurses aid at the county hospital- wipin the asses of poor sick people
“Hey Mr. Scooter- ya missed a spot”
Marcy..it is beer thirty in the DC area. The underlying statute states that it is always beer thirty somewhere and so, legally beer thirty in the DC area at all times. (Still appreciate all you guys do all the time!!)
I like a period of 45-60 days for Scoots until reporting to the slam. Plenty of time for Repug cannibalism re pardon - but Scoots still in jail for a long time before January of 2009, at which time there will most certainly be a pardon.
I even like the idea of an immdediate pardon - naked and aggressive hypocrisy by the admin, followed by lots more unprotected testimony from Scoots in front of various congressional committees.
The R’s are in an ugly box right now. I feel just awful for them.
Snippette’s from The New Republic (I can’t make out the signature)to Walton:
My family has been in Libby’s debt for a very long time. What I do remember is that we were desperate for legal hel, and that we could not afford the legal help that the problem clearly required. I called Leonard Garment, an old friend, who agreed that something needed to be done, and he promptly put a young colleage of his on the case. The colleague was Scooter Libby. About his character I would put my hand on the Bible. Should you choose to show Scooter mercy, you will not be misjudging him.
Has anyone noticed the dates of the letters? Wolfie’s is very recent. Does that mean anything?
Elliott @ 50
Walter Reed hospital.
Great job, FDL!
I expect a breaking-news Terror Alert any minute now….
Shorter Mary: “Travelin’ with Shooter is torcha!”
Matt Apuzzo:
“Sitting with Libby’s wife Harriet Grant during the sentencing were conservative commentators Mary Matalin, a former Cheney aide, and Victoria Toensing, a former deputy assistant attorney general during the Reagan administration.”
Mrs. Libby looked mighty p.o.d and her loving traitor was sheepishly noticing. Hot time in the old household when the front door of home-sweet-home closes. May she keep whacking him for us. Cheney will not be taking any calls from her. Love it.