President Bush vermindert straf Libby

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Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence

* Story Highlights
* White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby faced 30 months in prison
* Libby will not serve that sentence but will pay $250,000 fine
* Libby convicted in relation to investigation into 2003 leak of CIA operative's identity
* Bush called 30 months in prison "excessive"

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush has commuted the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.

Earlier Monday, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that Libby could not delay his sentence.

The charges relate to the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Libby was only weeks away from surrendering to a prison.

Bush was under great pressure by Libby allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a written statement issued hours after that ruling, Bush called the sentence "excessive." But he also rejected calls for a pardon for Libby.

"The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting," Bush said.

But he said Libby was given "a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury."

Libby was the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

The conviction remains on Libby's record and he still has to pay a $250,000 fine.

Commutations are rarely granted, says CNN's chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. A commutation is a total right of the president and it cannot be challenged by any attorney or court, he said.

It means that Libby will still have the conviction on his record -- unless he is able to overturn it on appeal, which he will likely continue to pursue.

A pardon is a complete eradication of a conviction record, making it appear as if the person has never been convicted. It's possible that Bush could still grant Libby a full pardon.

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 01:34 schreef __Saviour__ het volgende:
Raar. Een president zou niet zulke macht mogen hebben.

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 01:38 schreef zarGon het volgende:
De president kan alles. Hij wordt wél democratisch gekozen, .

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 01:43 schreef __Saviour__ het volgende:

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Nogal enorm idioot ja. En er mankeert wel meer aan de Amerikaanse 'democratie'.
Door het systeem van kiesmannen bij de presidentsverkiezingen is het gebeurd dat Al Gore meer dan 500.000 stemmen meer kreeg van de bevolking, maar toch niet won.

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 01:46 schreef Hathor het volgende:

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En zelfs daar is in het geval van Bush geen sprake van, of ben je dat gerotzooi met die stemmen in Florida alweer vergeten?

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 01:48 schreef __Saviour__ het volgende:

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In een presidentsverkiezing moet toch het volk kiezen. Hun stem zou de uitkomst moeten bepalen. Het mag dan idd wel allemaal netjes wettelijk verlopen zijn, maar een mooi systeem is het niet.