Progressives make the case for a Libby pardon
by
Shelia_B
06/13/2007, 8:19 PM #
And here I was almost convinced by FrayLib that it was CONSERVATIVES who were drooling for a Libby pardon......silly me. :)
The News
Obama’s top lawyer advocates pardon for Libby
By Sam Youngman
June 13, 2007
Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) top lawyer publicly made the case Wednesday for a presidential pardon for convicted White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
Obama general counsel Robert Bauer did not ask his boss, a presidential candidate, for permission to write the article, published on HuffingtonPost.com.
But Obama’s campaign said the senator will not ask for Bauer’s resignation, adding that he is “still our lawyer.”
Bauer and the campaign told The Hill Wednesday that he was not speaking on behalf of Obama when he wrote the piece and posted it online. The blog entry carries a disclaimer to that effect.
“Never at any time have I written for a candidate or asked a candidate’s approval, and I have not done so in this instance,” Bauer told The Hill. “The truth of the matter is, to sound humbly, I’m just his lawyer.”
If Bush were to pardon Libby, convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case of Valerie Plame, Obama supporters on the left and in the blogosphere would undoubtedly be outraged.
Said Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki in an e-mail Wednesday, “We are confident that people will recognize that Bob Bauer was speaking on his own behalf without consultation with the campaign.
“Sen. Obama’s position on ensuring that Libby is held accountable for breaking the law is clear.”
In his posting, entitled “The Progressive Case for a Libby Pardon,” Bauer laid out what he sees as the reason those on the left should want to see Bush intervene, presumably so the president would instantly become more involved in the scandal.
“A pardon is just what Bush's opponents should want,” Bauer wrote. “A pardon brings the president into the heart of the case. It compels him to do what he has so far managed to avoid: accept in some way responsibility for the conduct of his Administration in communicating with the public about national security and in its treatment of dissent.”
