The timing could hardly have been better -- the middle of a holiday week -- although I'm sure he would have preferred, say, Christmas Eve. Sadly, the appeals court forced his hand with its ruling that Scooter would have to report to the pokey forthwith.
The commutation leaves in place Libby's criminal conviction, a $250,000 fine, and two years' probation, but excuses him from his 30-month prison sentence.
Bush said his action still "leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."
Oh, yeah. Really harsh. I expect the Scooter Defense Fund will pay the fine, and some Heritage Foundation clone will have him on the payroll before the week is over. That's some tough punishment.
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