Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison, Fined $250K

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Jun 5 2007, 01:18 PM) [snapback]455781[/snapback]</div>

agree - i hope he is pardoned

i also am sickened by rep jefferson - or whatever the crooks name is- and the 96 page count of indictmant which number i think over 12 - with $100,000 in his fridge - and where are the dems calling for him to quit his seats and resign????? he should go to jail if anyone. its not even on the home page for cnn.com - how sad is that.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 5 2007, 01:38 PM) [snapback]455806[/snapback]</div>

as of now i believe he is business as usual - and these charges have been hanging over his head for over a year or so?

Where is Pelosi and Reid and Kennedy, et al - if he is still occupying seats on committees or even in the Congress?

 

Clinton was found guilty of lieing to the investigators but given no sentence... Anyone know why this is any different?

The cases are strikingly similar... No big deal about what happened to spawn the investigation (not guilty for sex, not guilty for leaking the name), but both guilty for lieing to the investigators.

Why one goes to prison and one goes on a speaking tour?

Jefferson needs to do about 229 years for his deal. A boot in the butt on the way out the capitol doors.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Jun 5 2007, 01:31 PM) [snapback]455853[/snapback]</div>

Ok, so yes... Martha and Libby both did time for lieing to the investigation. Clinton also guilty of lieing to the investigation and did no time... How is that?

It's either purjury or it isn't..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jun 5 2007, 01:26 PM) [snapback]455792[/snapback]</div>

Get your facts straight, doc. You're passing judgment on the guy, and you're not even sure what his name is? All you know is that he's a Democrat, so by God, he must be bad!

When the FBI conducted the raid last year on the William Jefferson's office in the House Office Building, the loudest voices of protest came from Republicans (e.g., Hastert and Sensenbrenner). They accused the FBI of violation of the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government. Nevertheless, when the charges were brought against Jefferson, Nancy Pelosi ordered him to resign from the House Ways and Means Committee. Jefferson refused, and the House Democrats voted to strip him of his committee assignment. And as a result of his indictment this week, John Boehner is asking the House ethics committee to review the indictment in order to seek Jefferson's expulsion from Congress. However, he has been indicted, not tried, and presumably, despite being a Democrat, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Compare this to the Republican's actions in response to the indictments against Tom DeLay, who was involved in much more corruption that Jefferson. They changed the GOP rules that require a Republican congressman to give up any leadership posts if indicted, so that DeLay could stay in power as House Majority Leader. It was only after a huge storm of protests that DeLay had to step down.

Also note that seven of the eight representatives currently under investigation are Republicans.
The case of Jefferson shows that, in contrast to the Republicans, the Democrats make an attempt to keep their own house in order.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Jun 5 2007, 01:31 PM) [snapback]455853[/snapback]</div>

Libby hasnt only committed perjury.Hes being leaned on because hes withholding information which would convict members of the Bush Administration for a serious felony.I think torture would be appropriate in this circumstance.He should be sent to Abu Ghraib and interviewed by the CIA agents whose lives were endangered by Cheneys outing.
You could compare Libby's circumstance more to Susan Mcdougal 's in the Clinton era.Except in her case,Ken Starr used jail to try to force Mcdougal to lie about Whitewater.

 

Judge Reggie Walton said he received more than 150 letters saying that Libby did not deserve any jail time. The letter writers included John Bolton, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz. Libby is fortunate that he wasn't sentenced to thirty YEARS! :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jun 5 2007, 01:26 PM) [snapback]455792[/snapback]</div>

Of course, Fox "News" was all over the story. But when they aired the "breaking news" of Jefferson's indictment, they showed footage of Rep. John Conyers instead of Jefferson. Guess they "all look alike" over at Fox.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ Jun 5 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]455922[/snapback]</div>

larkinmj, before you chastise someone on 'getting the facts straight' . . . you may wish to first check your own. <_<

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ Jun 5 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]455922[/snapback]</div>

So does that mean since Jefferson has been indicted - he is no longer "under investigation" - and therefore taken off of YOUR list? :huh:
And which other Democrat did you leave off the list? . . . the list of TEN!
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.V.) or Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)??? :huh: :huh:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title...r_investigation

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ Jun 5 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]455922[/snapback]</div>

Federal Indictment</span>
On June 4, 2007 Jefferson (Democrat-Louisianna) was indicted on 16-counts in a 94-page indictment that included charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 235 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Jefferson

Videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills in a leather briefcase, and then $90,000 of that money shows up in his office freezer? He is sooooo toast! :blink:

So does anybody really believe the FBI shouldn't have raided Jefferson's congressional office . . . because anything a politician does in their office should be considered above the law??? . . . thought not.

Given the choice, I'd rather be facing DeLay's problems.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jun 6 2007, 04:58 AM) [snapback]456399[/snapback]</div>

Well, the one time I actually used Fox "News" as a source, and I got burned! That's where I saw the 7 out of 8 statistic. I forgot about Harman and Mollohan. But in both of those cases, Nancy Pelosi removed them from their committee positions (Harman- Intelligence Committee; Mollohan- Ethics Committee). Which supports my contention that the new congress is actually making an attempt to go after corruption, and that the Democrats are serious about keeping their own house in order. When the Republicans attempted to change their own rules about corruption to allow DeLay to keep his poition as Majority Leader, that was despicable.
Neither party has a monopoly on corruption- politicians on both sides of the aisle have abused the public's trust for years. But anyone who doesn't think that the last Republican Congress was particularly bad (DeLay, Cunningham, etc.,etc.), especially since the party was in control of all branches of government just doesn't read the papers. Since you consider SourceWatch a relaible source (I do), here's an article on the Republican culture of corruption to get you started.

If you actually read what I wrote, other than just cherry-picking things to argue with me about, you would see that I did not say otherwise. I noted that it was the Republicans (particulary then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert) who complained about it. And Hastert himself is under investigation, and at that time there was a lot of heat under him because of the Mark Foley scandal. So perhaps the Republicans were worried that the FBI would be raiding their offices?

Don't misconstrue me- I am not defending Jefferson's actions, or making light of what he did. The system is working in his case, and he will be brought to justice, and if convicted, I hope that he is put in the "deep freeze" (where he likes to keep his cash, apparently) for a long time. I just find it slightly hypocritical when the right-wingers jump up and down over this incident, while forgetting the six years of a Republican monopoly when we had to read about new scandals on a weekly basis.




<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jun 5 2007, 01:52 PM) [snapback]455821[/snapback]</div>

Dr. Berman- please either read my responses, or read the news- just read something, OK?

 

Perjury is not always treated the same. There is a difference in punishment if the underlying offense is petty theft or murder or between national security and a BJ. But don't take my word for it, quotes from the judge:

Instead, US District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Libby to 2-1/2 years in jail, plus a fine of $250,000.

"People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem," said Judge Walton.
It is one thing to obstruct a petty larceny, he said. "It's another thing if you obstruct a murder investigation," said Walton.

"Evidence in this case overwhelmingly indicated Mr. Libby's culpability," said Walton.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ Jun 5 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]455922[/snapback]</div>

Come on Michael. Be reasonable. You wouldn't expect the Weekly World News to print facts. Berman is Prius Chat's Weekly World News. His posts, like the articles in the Weekly World News, are supposed to be taken as a strange sort of humor. I admit I don't actually get the jokes, but I'm sure they're intended that way.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(etyler88 @ Jun 6 2007, 10:11 AM) [snapback]456540[/snapback]</div>

Excellent summation by the judge and by etyler...