Editorial Roundup: Bush Shows the Rules Don’t Apply to His Friends

July 3, 2007 -- People across the country are outraged that President Bush has commuted the sentence of a loyal Republican insider, Scooter Libby. Once again, Bush has sent the message that the rules that apply to ordinary Americans don’t apply to his cronies or staff in the White House.

Editorial boards echoed the sentiment of the American people, saying that “the president believes he is a better arbiter of justice than the judiciary,” that there appears to be “two standards of justice - one for the powerful and well-connected and another for the rest of the country,” and that instead of this special treatment the “message to a Scooter Libby ought to be the same as it is for other convicts.”

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The following are excerpts from editorials from across the country in response to the shocking news of the commutation of Libby’s sentence:

Dallas Morning News: Power of the President: Bush's loyalty to Libby is misguided. “Republicans are known for being tough on crime. Apparently there's an exception when the criminal is a member of President Bush's inner circle…the message this sends is that you can obstruct justice by lying under oath and never do a moment's time in prison – if you are a friend of the president.” [Dallas Morning News, Link, 7/3/07]

Arizona Republic: Shame on you, Mr. President. “This is the wrong game to play on a very public stage…The president's move can only feed a cynical disrespect for the American justice system, a notion that the rich and well connected are not like you and me… Commuting Libby's sentence is like reaching over to Lady Justice and lifting the edge of her blindfold. So she can see that the defendant is a VIP.” [Arizona Republic, Link, 7/3/07]

Sacramento Bee: Justice and judgment. “Fitzgerald's investigation was about the conduct and truthfulness of the Bush administration. It involved the nation's top leaders, the use and misuse of classified information and the misleading of the public and Congress as the nation moved toward war in Iraq. Now the president has commuted the sentence of a man who obstructed that investigation. Doing so is certainly within his power. In using that power, however, he has raised anew questions about his judgment and about all of the actions that were the focus of Fitzgerald's investigation.” [Sacramento Bee, Link, 7/3/07]

Denver Post: Bush spares Libby, but mocks justice. “The president said he ‘respected’ the decision of a jury to convict Libby, an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, but had ‘concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.’ In short, the president believes he is a better arbiter of justice than the judiciary - even a judge he appoints.” [Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6283642, 7/2/07]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Commuting the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby demonstrates that there are indeed two standards of justice. “The irony here would be laughable if the message the president sends with this action was not so damaging. And that would be that there are indeed two standards of justice - one for the powerful and well-connected and another for the rest of the country. And Libby, as former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, couldn't have been sitting closer to the seats of power or have been better connected.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Link, 7/2/07]

Chicago Tribune: Do the crime, do the time. “But in nixing the prison term, Bush sent a terrible message to citizens and to government officials who are expected to serve the public with integrity… The message to a Scooter Libby ought to be the same as it is for other convicts: You do the crime, you do the time.” [Chicago Tribune, Link, 7/3/07]

Source: DNC