Abuse of power

July 3, 2007 -- Despite assuring the American people that anyone within his Administration involved in the leaking of classified information would be “taken care of,” President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's sentence -- a conviction he received for lying about matters of national security.    » read more »

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.    » read more »

July 3, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. General, thank you very much for your hospitality. It's a true honor to come to Walter Reed to be able to see the docs and nurses, the physical therapists who are working with our wounded soldiers. The care here is remarkable. There has been some bureaucratic red-tape issues in the past that the military is working hard to cure. But when it comes time to healing broken bodies, this is a fabulous place.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- “We have known for a long time that this Administration has contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law, but today’s action by the President to intervene to save a high-ranking member of his Administration – who was found by a jury to have broken the law and obstructed justice, on behalf of the Vice President – is a new low.

It shows that this President believes there is one set of rules for his friends, and another set for everyone else.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after President Bush commuted the prison sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby for obstruction of justice:

“The President's decision to commute Mr. Libby’s sentence is disgraceful.

Libby’s conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War.

Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone.    » read more »

July 02, 2007 -- Barack Obama today released the following statement on President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of Scooter Libby.

"This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law.    » read more »

7/2/2007 -- Senator Hillary Clinton issued the following statement on President Bush’s decision to commute the sentence of Scooter Libby:

"Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law.

This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies.

Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent.    » read more »

07/02/2007 -- Hours after a federal appeals court ruled that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby would have to begin serving his prison sentence while appealing his conviction for crimes of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators, President Bush commuted his sentence.

Last week Vice President Cheney asserted that he was beyond the reach of the law. Today, President Bush demonstrated the lengths he would go to, ensuring that even aides to Dick Cheney are beyond the judgment of the law.

It is time for the American people to be heard.    » read more »

Administration clearly thinks it is above the law

07/02/2007 -- SANTA FE, NM -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today issued the following statement regarding President Bush commuting the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted on federal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators.    » read more »

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement today about President Bush commuting Scooter Libby's prison sentence.

"Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today.

President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world.

In George Bush's America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- Following the announcement that President Bush commuted the sentence of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a crime since the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

“Once again President Bush and the GOP have undermined a core American value: equal justice under the law for every American.    » read more »

02 July 2007 -- President Bush has commuted the prison sentence of a top administration aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who had been sentenced to 30 months in prison for perjury. The president's action keeps Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, from going to jail.

In a statement issued late Monday, Mr. Bush said he took action because Libby's prison term was excessive.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- "The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby's request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.    » read more »

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

July 2, 2007 -- WHEREAS Lewis Libby was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case United States v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (RBW), for which a sentence of 30 months' imprisonment, 2 years' supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $400 was imposed on June 22, 2007;    » read more »

Take Next Steps To Enforce Congressional Subpoenas

WASHINGTON (Friday, June 29) -- Today, Senate and House Judiciary Chairmen Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) sent a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, responding to the President's executive privilege assertion over documents relating to the US Attorney investigation. Leahy and Conyers reiterated their concern that the President's sweeping assertion was unprecedented.    » read more »