After the Obstruction
Libby’s guilty. I don’t know that there was any real doubt of it. Now what? I’m hearing that the maximum penalty is 30 years in jail & $1m in fines? Of course Libby won’t get that, even assuming appeals are unsuccessful & assuming no pardon. But, just the possibility of those penalties seems to me to be rather draconian.
I’ve spent some time thinking (both before & after the verdict) about what a suitable result would be, in light of the irksome nature of incarceration and in light of an ethical view of justice.
Honestly, I don’t see where anything that we do to Libby is going to create much justice. A stiff fine and a ban from government would be good for deterrent and prevention, maybe. Incarceration, while perhaps a deterrent, is probably not worth the expense to the taxpayer or the removal of the man from his family to be put in a cage. His deeds do not mark him as a danger to society when he isn’t sitting in the Vice President’s office.
So, don’t pardon him - don’t let the powerful think they are untouchable - but let’s not get giddy with dreams of retribution, either.
Are you serious? Think of the revolving door situation for most of these guys. High-ranking Administration (and other gov’t) officials waltz back and forth between the public and private sector, climbing both ladders as they go. The “threat” of having to start your exponentially higher-paying private sector job early because you lost our government post is no deterrent at all.
The ONLY thing that scares white-collar criminals is jail time. That goes for Administration perjurers and corporate robber-barons alike. And unless the sentence is severe enough, even that might not deter some.
Throw away the key.
As for the “danger to society” angle? No, Libby was not a rapist or thug, but he undermined the rule of law from the highest offices in the land—a clear danger to society. And I would feel comfortable in placing blame for the carnage overseas at the feet of many Bush officials. I’d hardly call this man a saint.