Snow breaks 'silence' to defend boss's decision on Libby
 According to White House press secretary Tony Snow, President Bush's decision to commute ex White House aide I. Lewis Libby's prison sentence wasn't "motivated by politics."
In the rare op-ed, the former Fox News Channel pundit defends the president's move to spare the popular conservative from prison time, which has been the focus of much criticism by Democrats the last few days, and has sparked a call for an impeachment inquiry by one Democratic congressman. The op-ed published in USA Today is particularly striking because it appears to contradict the Bush Administration's strategy to avoid addressing the Plame leak, until the "process" has concluded.
On Tuesday, Snow refused to answer a reporter's question about why the president hadn't fired adviser Karl Rove to make good on his 2004 vow to fire all those "involved."
"We are not going to make comments in detail until the legal process is over," Snow said at Tuesday's briefing. "And it is not; there is still an appeal through..."
One analyst for MSNBC recently speculated that Bush didn't pardon Libby, because that would put an end to the "process," and would force the Administration to answer unresolved questions concerning what many Democrats believe was an orchestrated smear campaign intended to counter a critic of the Iraq war.
"After a highly publicized trial, involving calm legal analysis in the courtroom (but vicious vilification outside), Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice," Snow writes in the op-ed. "In reviewing the case, the president chose to rectify an excessive punishment, and at the same time, the president made clear that he would not second-guess the jury that found Libby guilty. He believes it is important to respect the jury's work. The concept of judgment by a jury of peers forms the backbone of our judicial system. So the president left intact the felony convictions and two of the major punishments — the fine and probation."
Snow continues, "Many analysts cleverly avoid grappling with either of these issues, and instead try to analyze the commutation as a raw political exercise. That sort of analysis is off-base. The president was not motivated by politics in making this decision. If he had made the decision based on opinion polls, he wouldn't have lifted a finger."
A blogger at Think Progress argues that Snow "conveniently ignores Judge Reggie Walton’s recent warning that Bush’s clemency order 'may wipe out Libby’s 2-year probation as well,' because the probation was contingent on prison time."
Snow discussed his op-ed during a press gaggle at the White House Thursday morning (Partial transcript can be read at this link), after being asked, "Why do you say that the President did not take politics into account, and if he had he would not have lifted a finger?"
Snow said, "Because you take a look at the polls ... the polls indicate that ... they've been recited ... people say, well, if you take a look at the polls, they wish he would have done nothing. So that's my reading of it."
The press secretary also referred to an essay written by Slate's Timothy Noah entitled, "Why Bush Was Right To Spare Libby." The normally left-leaning pundit claims that the judge went overboard with the sentence to "make an example" of Libby.
"What's the matter with that?" Noah wrote. "Two words: Bill Clinton."
Noah continued, "No fair-minded person can deny that the previous president committed perjury about Monica Lewinsky while serving in the Oval Office. The country knew it, and it let him get away with it. Does that mean no government official should ever again be prosecuted for perjury? Of course not. But it does mean Walton should have wondered whether he was imposing a double standard in treating Libby more harshly because Libby worked in the White House. Is it really fair to treat White House aides more harshly than ordinary citizens when presidents get off scot-free?"
However, Snow falsely claimed that Noah went "through and read what the sentencing commission had to say and they seem to agree," when it had actually recommended a fourteen month sentence.
Later, when asked about Congressman "Conyers and his desire to have some sort of investigation of the use of the President's power in this instance," Snow retorted, "Well, fine, knock himself out. I mean, perfectly happy. And while he's at it, why doesn't he look at January 20th, 2001?"
Snow was referring to Clinton's controversial pardon of financier Marc Rich, who was married to one of the former president's biggest fundraisers.
"Now you've got President Clinton and Senator Clinton out complaining about this, which, I got to tell you, I don't know what our Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it," Snow said.
A White House correspondent noted, "You and the President both said very, very clearly that the jury's verdict should be respected. Will you ever have to eat those words if he does grant Scooter Libby a pardon?"
"Well, again, just wait and see if that happens, and then we'll answer the question," Snow responded.
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