Libby Liberated. Paris Punished.

Paris Hilton and Scooter Libby have one (and probably only one) thing in common -- "excessive" sentencing -- but it's Paris, not Scooter, who actually did the time. Nice to have some friendly Bush on your side!
Scooter Libby and Paris Hilton

President Bush commuted the 2-1/2 year sentence of longtime White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby yesterday, calling Libby's punishment "excessive" -- just as Paris said of her own summertime slammer-time. Libby was busted for leaking a CIA agent's identity, putting her life in jeopardy. Aside from more than a few fashion disasters, Hilton was convicted of what some considered a glorified traffic violation. And who gets the free pass?

Most Americans aren't sympathetic to Paris and Scooter. When TMZ asked whether Paris got what she deserved, an overwhelming 93 percent of the more than 121,000 people who answered the poll responded that yes, Ms. Hilton deserved to do time for the crime. Similarly, most Americans think Libby should've done his too: A SurveyUSA poll revealed that 60 percent of Americans believe that Scooter Libby's 2-1/2 year sentence should stick. It didn't.

Reader Comments

(Page 10 of 11) Previous 15 Comments | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

136. Enough is enoughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

President Bush is the best President ever lived in the whole world. He fears God and

God protects him always. He is a human being, he has emotions, he has feelings,

and human beings make mistakes. Would any human being stand up and say

I never make mistakes? If you do not stand, that's your very first mistake or more. .

What would Jesus do? He will say, come you and heavy burden, cast all your worries

and anxieties to ME and I will give you rest.

President Bush pardoning Libby's case or letting him go by not serving prison jail

does not make the end of the world. There are many important things the world must

do and face. First the homeless, the poor, the hungry, the lame, the mute, the deaf, the

dumb, the blind, the widows, the orphans, the missing and abused children, the

women of abuse, the elders, the sick, the dying, your father, your mother, your brother,

your sister, your daughter, your son, your neighbor, the murderers, the pedophiles , the

wife beaters and the list goes on. Worry about these things, pray for them that God will

save them, deliverance, provision, protection, healing, peace and unity. May God

bless you all, open your eyes of understanding that you all know the hope of His calling,

and make He make His face shine upon you. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life,

no one comes to the Father but by Him.---John 14:6

Posted at 11:28AM on Jul 4th 2007 by angel

137. Enough is enoughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

President Bush is the best President ever lived in the whole world. He fears God and

God protects him always. He is a human being, he has emotions, he has feelings,

and human beings make mistakes. Would any human being stand up and say

I never make mistakes? If you do not stand, that's your very first mistake or more. .

What would Jesus do? He will say, come you and heavy burden, cast all your worries

and anxieties to ME and I will give you rest.

President Bush pardoning Libby's case or letting him go by not serving prison jail

does not make the end of the world. There are many important things the world must

do and face. First the homeless, the poor, the hungry, the lame, the mute, the deaf, the

dumb, the blind, the widows, the orphans, the missing and abused children, the

women of abuse, the elders, the sick, the dying, your father, your mother, your brother,

your sister, your daughter, your son, your neighbor, the murderers, the pedophiles , the

wife beaters and the list goes on. Worry about these things, pray for them that God will

save them, deliverance, provision, protection, healing, peace and unity. May God

bless you all, open your eyes of understanding that you all know the hope of His calling,

and may He make His face shine upon you. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life,

no one comes to the Father but by Him.---John 14:6

Posted at 11:32AM on Jul 4th 2007 by angel

138. Do people actually get their real news from TMZ, when TMZ can't ever seem to figure out what people were convicted of doing wrong? If so, that's a very sad commentary on our society.

Posted at 1:24PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Puh-lease

139. The piece reads " Libby was busted for leaking a CIA agent's identity".
Wrong!!!! hey Harvey, Don`t you proofread this stuff?
Sandy Berger leaked her name, HE should be going to jail.

Posted at 1:17PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Konabob

140. To Angel:
When has Bush ever admitted making ANY mistake? The point of this story is that being involved in treason gets less jail time than a suspended license.What would Jesus say about false prophets who lie and cheat the people they supposedly serve?

Posted at 2:07PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Eric

141. Regardless of where this leak emanated, and good luck ever figuring out the initial source, who will feel confident working for the C.I.A., or the F.B.I. for that matter, if their covert identity is in danger from friendly fire of questionable motive, with no deterring consequences with any teeth? I used to admire the U.S. because I thought they stood for truth, but I guess if you work for the CIA now you'd better do what you're told, or look what can happen to you, just like the Germans did in WWII, out of fear of voicing a dissenting opinion. Thats not the America or allies I remember my father describing or the democracy my father bravely defended as a fighter pilot in WWII. At least Snow apologized in the media. I think a formal apology more in line if Plame and her husband were good servants. Idealists do not fare well in today's cynical political landscape, that's for sure.

Hilton is a mere gnat in the large scheme of things who served too much time comparitively, if you must compare the two.

Posted at 2:26PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Outsider

142. Eric, President Bush is a good president, he is the best among the best, the best

person, the best husband, the best son, the best good looking president, the best

president of America.

You may not see it with your eyes, because you and the rest of the world are

consumed with hatred and anger and envy about him doing a good job has been

blinded by the god of aged to see the truth.

He is not a false prophet, he is a true followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus said, "in this

world you have tribulation but be of good cheer I(Jesus) has overcome the world.

You better be careful of saying evil things about President Bush, without you knowing it

you are sowing seeds of cursing to your future and cursing yourself instead of

blessings.. You'll never know how the law of sowing and reaping may fall on your face.

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows

-(Galatians 6:7)

God said, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.

The Bible clearly says to respect authority, pray for those who are in authority . I pray that

God will open your eyes and give you spiritual understanding. Jesus said, I have come

to give life and life abundantly.--John 10:10.

May God bless you Eric and make His face shine upon you. I care for you. God loves you.

Posted at 2:39PM on Jul 4th 2007 by angel

143. "And yes, all presidents have used the pardon, but I don't believe there's another instance of using it to cover up their own shady misdoings."

Actually, one of Clinton's pardons was used for someone who refused to testify about his lies in the Whitewater scandal. So nice try, but It's the exact same thing. I love double standards, don't you? I found a lot of quotes from Democrats about how the punishment should fit the crime, all made after Clinton's bribery pardons. Weird huh? No outrage for pardons given to terrorists, spies and drug dealers...but Libby has to go down hard. Why? Because he's a Republican, of course. Even as shady as those pardons were, nobody questioned his right as President to issue them. Because that would be retarded.

But if you are still outraged, do me a favor...google "Sandy Berger" and shut the hell up. Bush should've commuted Libby's sentence to match Berger's. It's funny how the executive power is enlarged when there is a Dem in office, but shrinks right up when the president is a Republican. Another example: Clinton fired all 93 U.S. Attorneys, including the one in Little Rock who was investigating Whitewater. Nobody howled about politics back then and nobody questioned that it was within his authority to do it. So if I was Bush, I'd tell everybody to suck it.

Paris got a few pardons before she was hauled back before the judge...she was stopped more than once driving on a suspended license and she got a pass because of her celebrity. So cry me a river.

Libby was a political prosecution from Day One. There wasn't even a crime committed here. And he didn't even get pardoned, in my opinion so he can continue to appeal and eventually be exonerated. The trial judge exhibited obvious bias against him and then gave him an excessive sentence...and even the jurors said they didn't want him to go to jail but they didn't feel like they had a choice. The whole thing was a waste of taxpayer money and time. So if you use politics to try and railroad somebody, don't bitch and moan when politics is used against you in return.

Posted at 4:07PM on Jul 4th 2007 by nolagirl05

144. "For those of you comparing this commute to Clinton's pardons is stupid. To compare any past president's pardons to other past or current president's pardons is stupid."

Yeah, especially when it shows blatant hypocrisy and a double standard. Because then you don't have to confront the argument.

Posted at 4:07PM on Jul 4th 2007 by nolagirl05

145. We found out after his term as US President that Ronald Reagan had altzheimers disease, what is Prez Bush's explaination for acting like a third word dictator ?? We have a legal system in place in this country with the option for appeals set in place, what is he covering up by overstepping the court system to commune Libby's sentence? Don't want Chaney and himself outted for illegal deeds?....Can't wait for 2009 to get rid of his Dictatorship Reign.....impeachment should be an option.....

Posted at 4:20PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Patty

146. Libby did NOT leak the CIA agent's name; that was Richard Armitage, Deputy of the State Dept. Libby was prosecuted for lying to the Prosecutor.

Posted at 1:25PM on Jul 5th 2007 by Cd6068

147. No, no, NO! Libby was convicted of LYING to the Feds & obstructing justice, NOT leaking! This is how Martha Stewart landed in jail, too. Althought the investigation was of insider trading, she was convicted of lying! Plead the 5th---no time. Lie--do time.

Don't you read the papers besides the National Enquirer, TMZ? Guess not.

Posted at 4:36PM on Jul 4th 2007 by MJ

148. 139. The piece reads " Libby was busted for leaking a CIA agent's identity".
Wrong!!!! hey Harvey, Don`t you proofread this stuff?
Sandy Berger leaked her name, HE should be going to jail.


Posted at 1:17PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Konabob
********************************************************
Stand in the corner with a dunce cap, Konabob. Sandy Berger had NOTHING to do with this case...

Posted at 4:39PM on Jul 4th 2007 by MJ

149. You should at least get the facts correct. (1) Valerie Plame wasn't a covert agent at the time her name was revealed. (2) Fitzgerald KNEW very shortly into the investigation that it was Richard Armitage who revealed her name. It should have ended there, but it didn't. Scooter was convicted for a bad memory. I challenge everyone out there to have the number of meetings this man had in his position in the Vice-President's office and then try to remember the details of conversations. There was never a crime - Fitzgerald didn't charge anyone with revealing her name. This was a matter of someone who couldn't remember who said what exactly when - and it didn't matter anyway because there wasn't an initial crime. I have worked in scheduling offices with names you would recognize and you cannot possibly imagine the number of people seen, nor the number of conversations had by people in Libby's position. It is impossible to remember exact conversations. This man served his country and was sentenced for a bad memory. Patrick Fitzgerald couldn't find a crime committed with her name being revealed so he got good ol' Scooter for a bad memory.

The next time Congress wants to swear people in and they refuse, think of Libby. They are trying to catch people in lies - or shall we say with a bad memory.

Paris Hilton drove drunk, lost her license and then continued to drive. Was she treated fairly? Don't know and don't care.

Posted at 5:15PM on Jul 4th 2007 by Donna

150. This corrupt administration
does whatever the hell they want to do. The Constitution, the Bill of rights, the courts, the Senate and the Congress don't have any power over them.

These liars and crooks have done more harm to our democracy than a couple of lowlifes with bombs could ever do! Republicans be careful..Be very careful. Bush isn't always going to be President..He and his corrupt Klan have opened the door for the next president to go even further than he has gone when it comes to disregarding:

The will of the people
The Constitution
The Bill Of Rights
Court verdicts
The Senate
Congress

Posted at 6:01PM on Jul 4th 2007 by rainlillie

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