As if You Care: David’s Take on Scooter Libby

In no particular order:

• Richard Armitage, a State Department official and no fan of Bush, admitted in 2006 that it was he who gave Bob Novak Valerie Plame’s name, after, he said, reading it in an unclassified FBI memo that named her and did not indicate she was covert.  As far as anyone can tell, no one put our intelligence gathering apparatus in jeopardy, in the White House or elsewhere, except perhaps inadvertently, if you count whoever wrote the memo for the FBI.
• Lying under oath is a serious offense, regardless of whether there is an underlying crime.  If Libby did it, he should have been punished appropriately—much as President Clinton should, and for the same reason—and should not have been pardoned.  But I remain rationally ignorant of the details of the case, the law regarding perjury, and relevant sentencing norms, so I can’t say what constitutes appropriate punishment.
• As with Whitewater and Clinton, the fuss over Plame and her alleged covert status had little to do with any merit to Joe Wilson’s allegations, and everything to do with political BS.  Congressional Democrats are crazy in their hatred of Bush, their bitterness at the Clinton impeachment and their frustration over Election 2000, and their loss in 2004.  They will do anything and everything they can to target the president and his allies until they can find a pretext to impeach him back.
• If Libby was not guilty in fact, but was found guilty, Bush should have pardoned him.  If he was guilty but his punishment excessive relative to the norm, Bush should have commuted his sentence.  Again, I don’t know enough about the case to hazard an opinion as to whether Bush’s intervention in the case was, in fact, appropriate.
• Bush is constitutionally entitled to pardon Libby, whether innocent or guilty, just as Clinton was entitled to his pardons.  Congressional Democrats have one legitimate recourse: they can cry about it, just as Republicans did in response to Clinton’s pardons.  Their desire to instead “investigate”, as if they have some review authority in the matter, is perfectly understandable, and is fueled by the same thing that drives a lot of what politicians in both parties do: they are weasels.
• Notwithstanding all of the above, seeing Nancy Pelosi furious about it warms my heart.