My coworkers and I were discussing this in line at Qdoba a couple days ago. When I heard Libby had been convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison, I thought to myself, “Well, all his legal team has to do is draw the appeals process out long enough so Bush can pardon him late next year, near the end of his term.”
But an astute coworker pointed out that Bush appears to genuinely care about his “legacy” and think that history will smile upon him. And if he’s really concerned about his legacy, he won’t commit any lame duck cop-outs. We’ll see, I guess. But my money’s on Scooter getting pardoned before December 2008. Anyone want to take that bet?
When Pardons Turn Political – New York Times
Hmm, looks like I may turn out to be wrong on this prediction. The appeals court is saying Libby will have to serve time in jail while waiting his appeal:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0236131820070702
Of course, if Bush steps in and pardons him pronto, then I guess he’ll be scot free.
By the way, I was wrong on my prediction. Libby didn’t get pardoned, at least not yet. But his sentence was commuted less than a month after his conviction. So he won’t serve any time after all.
It’s good to be the king!