Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Will Libby Remain Free?   [Byron York]

On "Meet the Press" Sunday, I gave a pretty stark assessment of Lewis Libby's chances of staying out of jail while he appeals his conviction for perjury and obstruction:

Well, the fact is, the White House has shown no inclination at all to pardon Libby. They were hoping that all this would come later in the president's term; that he could essentially do it on the way out the door. The thing that has triggered all of this is Judge Reggie Walton, the judge in the case, deciding that Libby had to go to jail now rather than stay free pending his appeal. That's what has caused this problem, and I think that we're likely to see Libby go to jail in six weeks or so.

If I were asked the question today, all of 48 hours later, I might say it a bit differently.  First, I think it is absolutely certain that the president will not take any action on Libby's behalf during the relatively short period in which a federal appeals court is considering Libby's emergency request to stay out of jail while the appeal of his conviction goes forward.  If the court were to let Libby remain free, I think it's safe to say the White House would take no action as Libby awaited the final result of his appeal.  If, on the other hand — as some observers think likely — the appeals court denies Libby's emergency request, meaning that he will have to report to jail by, say, the end of summer, I now think it is possible that the president would step in to assure that Libby does not go to jail.  I'm not sure what form that action would take — perhaps a commutation or delay of the sentence without an outright pardon — but there now seems to be a real possibility that Libby will not go to jail while his appeal is considered.

06/19 04:55 PMShare