Bad apples and oranges

If President Bill Clinton got away with lying to a grand jury when he was president, why shouldn't I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whose 30-month sentence was commuted by President Bush this week?

The question begs for a good answer, and there is at least one.

A Republican-controlled House impeached Mr. Clinton, a Democrat, after he perjured himself in a civil case. He was then tried in the Republican-controlled Senate and acquitted - unlike Mr. Libby.

Mr. Libby was prosecuted for criminal offenses by a Republican-appointed prosecutor, tried before a judge and convicted - unlike Mr. Clinton - of perjury and obstruction of justice. The presiding judge, incidentally, is also a Republican appointee.

The difference between conviction and acquittal seems to be lost on those who agreed with Mr. Bush that this convict doesn't belong in prison.

Maybe the 30-month sentence was excessive, but zero time is a joke for a high government official who betrayed the public trust and endangered a CIA agent's life by participating in her outing.

On average, perjury convictions draw 17 months behind bars, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, who also is a friend of the president, won't spend 17 minutes in prison.

Martha Stewart and countless other less famous perjurers served time. But Mr. Libby's defenders say their man has been punished enough: He paid a $250,000 fine Thursday, remains on probation for two years and possibly will lose his license to practice law.

Not so fast. Mr. Bush said he would not rule out an eventual pardon, which would wipe the slate clean for Mr. Libby. This simply doesn't jibe with the image of a president who spent his public career cultivating a law-and-order image.
The Hartford Courant