Fitzmas comes again next Tuesday, June 5, when Scooter Libby gets sentenced!

[Ninong]

It has been a long time coming but it's only one week away now. Next Tuesday, Scooter Libby will be sentenced. I predict 30 months. Let's see how close I come.

BTW, one of the exhibits Patrick Fitzgerald filed with the court last week is a declassified CIA summary of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment history with them, or, I should say, her employment history that they have chosen to declassify. They say nothing about her employment prior to January 1, 2002.

In any case, it is absolutely, positively, perfectly clear that she was indeed a covert CIA agent at the time of the leak in July 2003. This is not really new news because it was confirmed by high-ranking CIA officials a long time ago but certain right-wing Republican spokespersons are still claiming on TV that she was not covert at the time of the leak.

In spite of the fact that the conservative Republican prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, has been claiming all along that he was certain that she was covert, these right-wing whackos are still insisting that she was not.

P.S. -- In March 2007 when Valerie Plame Wilson testified before Congress, she said she was a covert operative and that she had travelled overseas during the previous five years as a covert CIA agent. At that time, the committee announced that they had requested confirmation from Gen. Hayden, Director of the CIA, as to Ms Wilson's status at the time of the leak and he replied in writing telling them that "she was covert."

Fox News talking heads, including current White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, repeatedly insisted that she was not covert. Tony Snow was guest hosting for Bill O'Reilly in February 2006 when he made the following false claim: "She wasn't a covert agent." That false claim has been repeated dozens of times over the past three years by various well known Republican spokespersons and even by members of the Bush Administration.

Even after Gen. Hayden verified that she was covert, these wing-nut whackjobs still insisted that she wasn't really and truly covert.


______________________________________________

Impeach Gonzo!

[Ninong]

Cool!!!

The judge has agreed to release all of the "sentencing letters" received by the court. This should be hilarious. We will get to see who was asking him to go easy on Scooter and who was asking him to crucify him.

P.S. -- Let us not forget that this investigation is not closed. Fitzgerald's appointment as Special Counsel ends when he ends it, and given his apparent view that Cheney is the mastermind behind the leak and subsequent coverup, I don't expect him to end it anytime soon.

One other point: Judge Reggie Walton has a reputation as a no-nonsense, law-and-order judge. Just the sort of judge the Republicans say they like, except when they're on trial that is.

[Ninong]

Tuesday's the day. I'm still hoping for 30 months. Fitzgerald asked for 36 months but most online legal blogs are predicting 15-21 months. Libby, not surprisingly, is asking for probation.

The judge will probably give him two or three days to get his affairs in order but it would be so much more entertaining if they took him into custody on the spot. Time to call up Martha Stewart for her homemade shank recipe.

Actually Tuesday should be a two-fer because after Judge Walton sentences Scooter, he will probably release the "more than 150" sentencing letters received by the court. Those may not be released until several hours after the sentencing. I'm waiting to see if Fred Thompson wrote one of those letters in support of Scooter. I suspect he did. It will be interesting to see what arguments he put forth. If they're anything like his arguments in support of Richard Nixon when he was Watergate minority counsel, it should be a fun read. Might also impact his presidential ambitions.

[Ninong]

Tuesday's the day. I'm still hoping for 30 months. Fitzgerald asked for 36 months but most online legal blogs are predicting 15-21 months. Libby, not surprisingly, is asking for probation.

Libby sentenced to 30 months in prison, fined $250,000



"Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, stood calmly before a packed courtroom as a federal judge said the evidence overwhelmingly proved his guilt.

"[Judge Reggie] Walton fined Libby $250,000 and placed him on probation for two years following his release from prison. Walton did not immediately address whether Libby could remain free pending appeal."

Read all about it here.

P.S. -- Judge Reggie B. Walton is reputed to be a tough, no-nonsense, law-and-order judge. Just the sort of judge the Republicans say they want on the bench, unless, or course, they're on trial.

He was appointed to his present lifetime seat on the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2001. Way to go, Dubya! He was originally appointed by Ronald Reagan and reappointed by Dubya's father.

[Ninong]

The Smoking Gun has a few of the sentencing letters online. I couldn't find any by any current presidential candidates but I would be willing to bet that Fred Thompson wrote one. Actually, TSG has only a few of the more than 150 letters online.

They have the letters from Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Henry Kissinger, John Bolton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Peter Pace as well as a letter from the former Joint Chiefs Chairman, Gen. Richard B. Myers (now retired). They even have a letter from Natan Sharansky.

The letter from Pete Pace is the most interesting. It begins with "At the request of Mr. Scooter Libby," meaning on orders from Vice President Cheney, "I am writing to provide my opinion of Mr. Libby's professional character for your consideration." Pace's letter is the most restrictive of the bunch. It includes this caveat: "I know Mr. Libby in a professional capacity, and my opinion of him is based on our professional interactions."

Henry Kissinger's letter has the funniest line. "Having served in the White House and under pressure, I have seen how difficult it sometimes is to recall precisely a particular sequence of events." No kidding! Henry forgot a lot. I read most of his extremly boring memoir and it is the biggest piece of revisionist trash you ever want to read. I only bought it because it seemed like a bargain at the time. It had been heavily discounted; I think it was on the $5 table at the time. It's bigger than Bill Clinton's autobiography.

Paul Wolfowitz wrote the longest letter (of the ones posted so far). He goes on and on about how he feels responsible because he's the guy who first talked Scooter into getting into public service and he's the guy who hired him at the Dept. of Defense.

Somehow I don't think it was a great move on the part of the defense to have people like Doug Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and John Bolton write letters attesting to Scooter's character.

I'm waiting for the full release to see if there is a character endorsement from Jack Abramoff.

[Ninong]

Joe and Valerie Plame Wilson sent out this comment on the sentencing via their attorney:

"As Americans, both Valerie and I are grateful that justice has been served, reconfirming that our country remains a nation of laws.

We are also saddened for the pain that Mr. Libby has inflicted on his family, friends, and the nation. Mr. Libby benefited from the best this country had to offer: the finest schools, a lucrative career as a lawyer and many years of service in Republican administrations. That he would knowingly lie, perjure himself and obstruct a legitimate criminal investigation is incomprehensible.

It is our hope that he will now cooperate with Special Counsel Fitzgerald in his efforts to get to the truth. As Mr. Fitzgerald has said, a cloud remains over the Vice President.

Every official in this administration must be held accountable for their actions."

Jared Liu-Klein
Winner & Associates
16501 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 605
Encino, CA 91436

[almostdiva]

He'll never serve (I don't think... )

Dubbya is going to pardon him, despite the hue and outcry that everyone except the dudes who wrote Scooter's letters will raise. He's just that stubborn.

Do I think he should do 30 mos -- ABSOLUTELY! Do I think Judge Reggie Walton is spot-on in his statements about public servants having to live up to strict standards-- ABSOLUTELY. Do I think Scooty will EVER see the inside of a prison -- ABSOLUTELY not.

When does the Wilson's Civil Case go before the court?

[Ninong]

When does the Wilson's Civil Case go before the court?

Rebecca,

I believe this Washington Post story from last month is the latest update on the civil case.

Note this outrageous claim:

"Cheney's attorney went further, arguing that Cheney is legally akin to the president because of his unique government role and has absolute immunity from any lawsuit."

That's absurd! Cheney's assertion that he has "absolute immunity from any lawsuit" is laughable but this is coming from the same guy who is convinced that the president has the power under the Constitution to ignore any laws that in his opinion restrict his ability to exercise his commander-in-chief responsibilities in time of war. These people are insanely criminal but at the same time they are stunningly incompetent.

[Ninong]

He'll never serve (I don't think... )

Dubbya is going to pardon him, despite the hue and outcry that everyone except the dudes who wrote Scooter's letters will raise. He's just that stubborn.

Do I think he should do 30 mos -- ABSOLUTELY! Do I think Judge Reggie Walton is spot-on in his statements about public servants having to live up to strict standards-- ABSOLUTELY. Do I think Scooty will EVER see the inside of a prison -- ABSOLUTELY not.

I know that's the conventional wisdom right now but I have a hunch it's not going to work out that way. At the risk of endangering my so far stellar record of predicting what's going to happen to Scooter, I predict that within a matter of weeks Judge Walton will issue an order for Scooter to report to prison. He will consider the requests that Scooter be allowed to remain free during the appeals process but dismiss them as without merit. I don't believe the judge made any errors in this case that could provide the basis for an appeal.

I predict that Scooter will be in custody by Labor Day. That would put the Bush Administration in a terrible predicament. They're hoping that Libby will be allowed to remain free during the appeals process because then Bush can stay out of it entirely. He'll keep saying that he will have no comment to make as long as the judicial process is still incomplete. Then, he can figure out if he wants to pardon Scooter on the last day of his presidency or simply ignore the question entirely, especially if the appeals are still ongoing at that time.

On the other hand, if Scooter is sent to prison sometime in the next several weeks (which is what I predict), it will put enormous pressure on Bush from the right-wing of the Republican Party to grant him an immediate pardon. If he does pardon Scooter, it will have devastating consequences for the Republican Party's chances in the 2008 general elections, both presidential and congressional.

[zhenya]

These people are insanely criminal but at the same time they are stunningly incompetent.

And I would like to add to this statement that the saddest part in all of this is that none of them will ever be held responsible for what they have done already.

All of this probing will end up in nothing, I'm afraid.

[Ninong]

Boy, the wingnutosphere is going ballistic over the possibility Judge Walton might order Libby to report to prison and not allow him to remain free during the appeal process.

I would be surprised if the judge doesn't order him to prison. I think we will know something very soon. I still predict that Libby will be behind bars before Labor Day.

The judge will probably grant him 45-60 days to get his affairs in order before reporting. That's when Bush will begin to really feel heat from the reichwing of the GOP demanding that he pardon Libby before he even reports.

If Bush doesn't pardon Libby, 'the base' goes berserk! If he does pardon Libby, it damages the Republicans in the 2008 general election.

What Bush really wants is for Judge Walton to allow Libby to remain free during the appeal process so that they can drag that out beyond November 2008. Then Bush can pardon Libby after the November elections.

I think it's clear that Bush intends to pardon Libby but he would rather not have to do it right now.

[almostdiva]

And apparently THAT is not going to happen. .. (the free while appealing part)

The various news web sites say Scooter will have to show up to jail in 6 to 8 weeks.

So Dubbya, Scooter and the blogosphere will NOT get what they want (at least until after the Nov election).

[Ninong]

Quote:
Originally Posted by almostdiva
And apparently THAT is not going to happen. .. (the free while appealing part)


Yes, I see that. Go directly to jail! Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

I just got back home from a doctor's appointment, so I was out of touch for the past few hours.

It does indeed bring this issue to a climax at an inopportune time for Bushie. (That's what he's called in Tirana.)

I nearly fell off my chair laughing when I saw that Judge Walton b!tchslapped Robert Bork from the bench!!! Speaking of the amici curiae brief filed by Bork and 11 others, Reggie said, "These are intelligent people, but I would not accept this brief from a first year law student. I believe this was put out to put pressure on this court in the public sphere to rule as you wish." :eek3:

Full MSNBC account here.

FireDogLake has been blogging the Libby trial live from court and they have the most details. Looks like the judge has been receiving death threats since he sentenced poor little Scooter. We've been spending a fortune on security for federal judges ever since wingnuts like Tom DeLay started criticizing the federal bench.

[Ninong]

Libby has a new team of appellate attorneys. I just checked and it looks like the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court has 11 Republican appointees and 4 Democratic appointees. That doesn't mean a lot when you consider that the most liberal member of the current Supreme Court was appointed by a Republican. (P.S. -- And Judge Reggie Walton is himself a conservative Republican appointed by our current boy king, the Commander Guy, Deciderer in Chief, Brilliant Invincible Commander, Defender of the Faith-based Initiatives.)

I also read in the MSNBC account that the appeals court isn't sitting right now. I wonder if there are provisions for an emergency appeal to one of them at home like the Supreme Court has? In other words, can they get a delay on the order to report pending a full court hearing on the request to stay?)

If they can get the D.C. Circuit to overturn Judge Walton and allow Libby to remain free during the appeals process the Bush Administration will breathe a collective sigh of relief. They don't want to deal with this issue right now while they're having to deal with the Gonzo problem.

[Ninong]

This is hilarious!

J. Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, is due to be sentenced next Tuesday for lying about his relationship with Jack Abramoff. The prosecutor is asking the judge to hit him hard and compared him to David Safavian, who received 18 months for lying about all the gifts he received from Abramoff for favors rendered, and Scooter Libby, who was sentenced to 30 months and a $250,000 fine for lying and obstructing justice to protect Deputy Leader Dick.

Here's the good part: Griles' lawyer is arguing that his client is nowhere near as big a criminal as either Safavian or Libby.

Instead of addressing the clear precedent that supports Mr. Griles' position, the DOJ cites two cases that are dramatically different and resulted in prison terms after multiple guilty verdicts at trial. First, the DOJ asserts that Mr. Griles' conduct is similar to that of recently convicted and sentenced defendant I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in that "the defendant's lies and concealment of material information prevented investigators from learning the truth about what was being investigated." DOJ Mem. at 47. The DOJ then cites U.S. v. Safavian, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83170 (November 16, 2006) (Friedman, J.), and states, without any discussion, that the "defendant cites but incorrectly characterizes as being incongruous to this case and more severe than what is needed here." Id.

Mr. Griles' case is far different than both Mr. Libby's and Mr. Safavian's. Mr. Libby was convicted after trial of multiple counts of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and perjury in a grand jury investigation related to a very serious issue of National security and covert operations in foreign countries. U.S. v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (D.D.C.). Mr. Griles' concealment of a personal relationship and how it led to his meeting and knowing Mr. Abramoff is hardly comparable.

Mr. Safavian's conduct was also far more egregious than Mr. Griles'. Mr. Safavian was convicted of three counts of false statements and one count of obstruction of a GSA-OIG and Congressional investigation. Safavian, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83170 at *1. According to the Court in its Sentencing Opinion, Mr. Safavian: was not engaged in a single scheme to conceal and falsify facts or obstruct government bodies. Rather, he engaged in a series of separate concealments and falsifications, either in response to the various investigative bodies looking into Jack Abramoff, or in an initial effort to take the trip to Scotland without arousing suspicion. ... His lies, concealments, and obstruction were intermittent. Each was done in a different year, each was directed at a different entity, and each was done in a wholly different fashion.

Is. at *27-28. Mr. Safavian engaged in a course of criminal conduct over a number of years which is far different from Mr. Griles' conduct. In an effort to "dress up" the time frame of Mr. Griles' crimes, the DOJ states that Mr. Griles has admitted that his conduct lasted "[t]wo weeks and two fora." DOJ Mem. at 42. This assertion is incorrect as Mr. Griles testified on two occasions over two separate days for a total of less than five hours before one body -- the Senate Committee and its staff.

Conclusion

Based on Mr. Griles' opening Sentencing Memorandum, and the arguments and responses to the DOJ's Memorandum provided herein, it is respectfully requested that this Court sentence Mr. Griles to three months of home confinement, 500 hours of community service, and a reasonable fine.



P.S. -- It will be interesting to see if he gets off with no jail time at all. I predict he will get at least six months.

Here's another interesting point. If Bushie decides to pardon Scooter, shouldn't he pardon all the other administration felons whose crimes were not nearly as egregious as Scooter's?

[Ninong]

I believe this Washington Post story from last month is the latest update on the civil case.

Note this outrageous claim:

"Cheney's attorney went further, arguing that Cheney is legally akin to the president because of his unique government role and has absolute immunity from any lawsuit."

That's absurd! Cheney's assertion that he has "absolute immunity from any lawsuit" is laughable but this is coming from the same guy who is convinced that the president has the power under the Constitution to ignore any laws that in his opinion restrict his ability to exercise his commander-in-chief responsibilities in time of war. These people are insanely criminal but at the same time they are stunningly incompetent.

Deputy Leader Dick can't seem to make up his mind. One minute he's insisting that he's sort of a co-executive entitled to the same privileges and immunity as the executive, and then the next minute he's arguing that he's not part of the executive branch at all.

Since 2002, he has refused to comply with the law requiring the preservation of all executive branch papers. The National Archives filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office but the Justice Department has taken no action on the complaint.

It was only a few months ago that Cheney ordered the Secret Service to shred all of their guest logs that record who visited him and when.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is trying to get Cheney to explain exactly why he believes he is exempt from the requirements of presidential orders. (I think it's because he's the one who gives the orders to the president and not the other way around.)

"The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, you exempted the Office of the Vice President from the presidential executive order that establishes a uniform, government-wide system for safeguarding classified national security information," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Committee's chairman, wrote in a letter to Cheney. "Your decision to exempt your office from the President's order is problematic because it could place national security secrets at risk. It is also hard to understand given the history of security breaches involving officials in your office."

Waxman noted that Cheney's office had declared itself not affected by an executive order amended by President George W. Bush in 2003 regarding classification and declassification of government materials.

"Your position was that your office 'does not believe it is included in the definition of 'agency' as set forth in the Order' and 'does not consider itself an 'entity within the executive branch' that comes into the possession of classified information,'" a National Archives official claims Cheney chief of staff David Addington wrote to him.

The Vice President's office's refusal to comply with the executive order and the National Archives's request prompted the National Archives to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office. But the Justice Department has not followed up on the Archives's request.

The Office of the Vice President has always been considered to be part of the Executive Branch. If the Office of the Vice President is "not an agency" within the federal government and it is "not an entity within the executive branch," then what is it? Is it a monarchy? Cheney has already claimed "absolute immunity from any lawsuit," so I guess that makes him either a sovereign or a rogue nation?

Cheney could be correct. He's not a member of the Executive Branch, he's a member of an organized crime syndicate.

P.S. -- We have only three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The Office of the Vice President is part of the executive branch. Cheney himself asserted "executive privilege" in refusing to tell us which oil company executives participated in his energy task force meetings early in the first term.

[Ninong]

More on Deputy Leader Dick's claim that as a divinity in his own right he is above the law:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales was formally asked to answer a very simple question from the folks at the National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office: Is the Office of the Vice President an "entity within the executive branch" subject to a presidential executive order designed to safeguard classified national security information.

The Attorney General of the United States, Gonzo the Magnificent, has ignored the National Archives' request for a determination. Meanwhile, the Vice President of the United States is trying to abolish the National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office. His solution to this problem is to simply do away with the pesky ISOO that dares to question his claim to absolute authority to make up his own rules.

[Ninong]

Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, still doesn't understand why Deputy Leader Dick is exempt from all Earthly laws:

Mr. Waxman asserted in his letter and the interview that Mr. Cheney’s office should take the efforts of the National Archives especially seriously because it has had problems protecting secrets.

He noted that I. Lewis Libby, Jr., the vice president’s former chief of staff, was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury and the F.B.I. during an investigation of the leak of classified information — the secret status of Valerie Wilson, the wife of a Bush administration critic, as a Central Intelligence Agency officer.

Mr. Waxman added that in May 2006, a former aide in Mr. Cheney’s office, Leandro Aragoncillo, pleaded guilty to passing classified information to plotters trying to overthrow the president of the Philippines.

“Your office may have the worst record in the executive branch for safeguarding classified information,” Mr. Waxman wrote to Mr. Cheney.

In the tradition of Washington’s semantic dust-ups, this one might be described as a fight over what an “entity” is. The executive order, last updated in 2003 and currently under revision, states that it applies to any “entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information.”

The true source of Deputy Leader Dick's authority:

Only a handful of people know Deputy Leader Dick's true identity. Many people think of him only as the charismatic, lovable Vice President of the United States who enjoys shooting people in the face, but in truth he is an ambassador from the Galactic Confederacy sent to Earth (aka Teegeeack) to prepare the way for the reign of Xenu II (aka Samuel David Cheney). The dark lord Xenu is actually the baby's father.

As the official representative of an extraterrestrial superhuman entity, Deputy Leader Dick has absolute immunity from all Earthly laws.

[Ninong]

Here's the latest explanation from the White House:

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that the White House and Cheney's office had a legal obligation to adhere to the executive order's guidelines regarding the proper handling of classified documents, even if they didn't have to submit to oversight by an outside agency.

The President is now claiming that both he and the Vice President, as Supreme Beings, are not subject to oversight or inspection by the ISOO and are not required to comply with the reporting requirements. This is a new explanation that has not been offered previously. The White House acknowledges that it appears that the executive order requires full compliance by both the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President but the President is the Commander Guy and he now says that he never intended that either his office or the Office of the Vice President should be counted as an "executive branch entity" subject to all the requirements of the executive order. In other words, they are both subject to the order but not subject to the reporting or verification requirements of the order. He forgot to make that distinction in the order itself but he now remembers what his intentions were at the time.

In other words, both the President and the Vice President are exempt from inspection or oversight but not exempt from the requirements concerning the safekeeping of classified documents. They both promise to comply with the regulations but not the reporting requirements and they will not allow their offices to be inspected or provide any proof that they are in fact complying.

We will just have to take their word for it. Bushie and Deputy Leader Dick, putting the con in Constitution.

P.S. -- It's amazing that this explanation was NOT advanced earlier when this topic first came up. And now the National Archives is refusing to answer any questions at all about whether they have ever received any reports from the Office of the President. They did receive reports from the Office of the Vice President for the years 2001 and 2002 but not for 2003 and subsequent years.

I'm sure both the Attorney General, Gonzo the Magnificent, and the Vice President, Deputy Leader Dick, will be pleased to learn that the Commander Guy never intended that either he or the Vice President should be subject to the reporting requirements of that executive order. They have been trying to come up with an explanation for the past several months without success. It's a good thing the Deciderer in Chief finally remembered what his intentions were when he issued that executive order -- actually it was a revision to an existing executive order.

P.P.S. -- In 1995, the Clinton White House issued an executive order establishing uniform rules for protecting classified information. In 2003, the Bush White House revised it. The order plainly includes any executive-branch agency, any military department, and "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information." The entire branch of government, the order said, is subject to oversight. So Bushie's explanation doesn't hold water.

[Ninong]

This is hilarious!

J. Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, is due to be sentenced next Tuesday for lying about his relationship with Jack Abramoff. The prosecutor is asking the judge to hit him hard and compared him to David Safavian, who received 18 months for lying about all the gifts he received from Abramoff for favors rendered, and Scooter Libby, who was sentenced to 30 months and a $250,000 fine for lying and obstructing justice to protect Deputy Leader Dick.

Here's the good part: Griles' lawyer is arguing that his client is nowhere near as big a criminal as either Safavian or Libby.

Instead of addressing the clear precedent that supports Mr. Griles' position, the DOJ cites two cases that are dramatically different and resulted in prison terms after multiple guilty verdicts at trial. First, the DOJ asserts that Mr. Griles' conduct is similar to that of recently convicted and sentenced defendant I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in that "the defendant's lies and concealment of material information prevented investigators from learning the truth about what was being investigated." DOJ Mem. at 47. The DOJ then cites U.S. v. Safavian, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83170 (November 16, 2006) (Friedman, J.), and states, without any discussion, that the "defendant cites but incorrectly characterizes as being incongruous to this case and more severe than what is needed here." Id.

Mr. Griles' case is far different than both Mr. Libby's and Mr. Safavian's. Mr. Libby was convicted after trial of multiple counts of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and perjury in a grand jury investigation related to a very serious issue of National security and covert operations in foreign countries. U.S. v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (D.D.C.). Mr. Griles' concealment of a personal relationship and how it led to his meeting and knowing Mr. Abramoff is hardly comparable.

Mr. Safavian's conduct was also far more egregious than Mr. Griles'. Mr. Safavian was convicted of three counts of false statements and one count of obstruction of a GSA-OIG and Congressional investigation. Safavian, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83170 at *1. According to the Court in its Sentencing Opinion, Mr. Safavian: was not engaged in a single scheme to conceal and falsify facts or obstruct government bodies. Rather, he engaged in a series of separate concealments and falsifications, either in response to the various investigative bodies looking into Jack Abramoff, or in an initial effort to take the trip to Scotland without arousing suspicion. ... His lies, concealments, and obstruction were intermittent. Each was done in a different year, each was directed at a different entity, and each was done in a wholly different fashion.

Is. at *27-28. Mr. Safavian engaged in a course of criminal conduct over a number of years which is far different from Mr. Griles' conduct. In an effort to "dress up" the time frame of Mr. Griles' crimes, the DOJ states that Mr. Griles has admitted that his conduct lasted "[t]wo weeks and two fora." DOJ Mem. at 42. This assertion is incorrect as Mr. Griles testified on two occasions over two separate days for a total of less than five hours before one body -- the Senate Committee and its staff.

Conclusion

Based on Mr. Griles' opening Sentencing Memorandum, and the arguments and responses to the DOJ's Memorandum provided herein, it is respectfully requested that this Court sentence Mr. Griles to three months of home confinement, 500 hours of community service, and a reasonable fine.



P.S. -- It will be interesting to see if he gets off with no jail time at all. I predict he will get at least six months.

Here's another interesting point. If Bushie decides to pardon Scooter, shouldn't he pardon all the other administration felons whose crimes were not nearly as egregious as Scooter's?

Here come da judge!

Wow! I think I see a trend here!

When I predicted that former coal industry lobbyist J. Steven Griles, who was Bushie's Deputy Secretary of the Interior, would probably get "at least six months" in prison, I didn't realize that he had cut a deal with the prosecutor for no more than 5 months in prison and 5 months home confinement, which is what the prosecutor requested.

The judge was not amused! She sentenced him to 10 months in prison!

"Even now you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct," U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle told Mr. Griles before doubling the five-month prison term he and prosecutors had agreed on.