Commuting Libby a crime

President Bush commuted the sentence Monday of the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

A 30-month prison term had been imposed after a federal court convicted Libby of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators in the probe of the leak of the name of a CIA operative. The leak had been part of an administration effort to smear the husband of the operative, who had become a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

Libby still has to pay a fine, and will be on probation, but he won't spend a day in jail. Bush said that despite the commutation of the sentence, there were still "serious penalties" attached to the conviction.

Right. Unlike a pardon, he'll still have a criminal record. Which won't prevent him from making a fortune on the conservative lecture circuit or launching a consulting/lobbying firm. Libby will make millions.

But what he won't do is spend time in jail, like any other American who'd been convicted of the same charges.

The only thing this does is send a message that, if you're a part of this administration's seemingly institutionalized habit of lying, you won't face any "real" consequences.

This was a very bad move.

-- Kelly Everitt