Shortly after a federal appeals court said that Libby would not remain free while his case was on appeal, Bush announced that he was commuting Libby’s 30-month sentence. From the New York Times:

• Bush Spares Libby 30-Month Jail Term

It’s an interesting distinction that Bush did not actually pardon Libby. I wonder if there was a legal reason for this (i.e. Bush is so close to this that it might be even more improper to fully pardon Libby.)

Although I don’t think that anyone is actually surprised by this move, I find it hard to believe that it has actually happened. An editorial in The New York Times hits it spot on:

• Soft on Crime

It seems to me that given how close Bush and his cabinet are to this, it is entirely inappropriate for Bush to take a part in pardoning or commuting Libby’s sentence. Although from all accounts that I’ve heard, Bush did nothing illegal, it still reeks of dishonesty and corruption.

Word came through today that Scooter Libby was found guilty in four of the five charges leveled against him, including the most severe ones.

• Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case

To be completely honest, I’m pretty surprised that he was actually found guilty. Fitzgerald’s case seemed solid to me, but proving beyond a reasonable doubt about whether or not it was possible to forget something is a tough call. I thought for sure that Libby was going to get off when the jury asked for clarification from the judge about what ‘reasonable doubt’ actually meant. Basically, the jury was given the task of reading someone’s mind.

I’m happy that finally some sort of justice is being leveled against this administration. In my mind, we haven’t seen an administration this full of crooks since this guy.

It’s really unfortunate that Fitzgerald sounds like he’s not going to take this case any further (read: Cheney and Rove). Even though I believe (given the coverage of the trial) that Libby is guilty, I feel like he is just a low-level guy who was obviously tasked to protect those above him. I say give him two medals: one for loyalty, and one for stupidity. Then send him to prison.