Posted by
NOTLEGALROADKILLYET on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 5:30:11 PM
Well, Scooter Libby gets convicted. Before people panic or begin to celebrate, it is good to remember some things which call the quality of justice available to Republicans into question.
First, recall that Bill Clinton was taped in the act of committing perjury. It is hard to imagine more convincing proof than video tape. Yet, the special prosecutor declined to prosecute. Was it out of fear that he couldn't get a jury in Washington D.C. to convict? So it would seem.
Second, consider that the Democrats, led by Harry Reid, voted in lock step not to convict President William Jefferson Clinton at his impeachment trial. Perjury didn't seem all that important to any of them then, but now that Libby has been convicted, perjury is a high crime, not to be forgiven.
Third, consider Sandy Berger who was given a slap on the hand for stealing very highly classified documents, documents that had a very short list of folks authorized to see them.. He didn't just steal them, he hid them in a place where they could easily have been found by someone else.
Fourth, consider Harry Reid's anger and consternation when he discovered that Sandy Berger wasn't being prosecuted to the full extent of the law! What, you don't remember anger and consternation? Neither do I.
If Republican media outlets (including blogs) handle this right, and keep their cool, the the Libby verdict and its aftermath could be a real blessing for everyone but Libby.
Meanwhile, the legal ethics system gets one more black eye. We can't have two systems of justice anywhere, and it is clear we do in Washington, D.C.