Spitzer, Libby and Some Perspective
Because I’m disappointed I got no action on my Cold Turkey post below, I need to reference it here in a way that is really unrelated to the main point of my post.
Mr. Alan M. Dershowitz is arguably the most celebrated professor at Harvard Law (Mr. Laurence H. Tribe is his competition). He’s Jewish (a “faction”). I’m Catholic (a different “faction”). Yet, however Madison’s Factions worked it out, he and I are in lock-step agreement that the State of Israel is in the fight of Her life for survival and any and all resources of the United States should be exhausted to help sustain this democracy (Israel’s survival goes directly to the national security of the United States, that’s my justification.).
Of course, Mr. Dershowitz is also a deranged, liberal extremist who thought the absentee ballots of US servicewoman and men need not be counted in any 2000 Presidential election Florida recount and only the votes that added to Vice President Al Gore’s total should have been added to any totals. Yes, I'm spinning here but, then again, I'm a clear-thinking, logical, conservative so in this case a different "faction" coming to a different conclusion. Now drifting back to my point of the day.
The link immediately below is Mr. Dershowitz’s Wall Street Journal apology for Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The title of the article, The Entrapment of Eliot, is all you really need to know about the article if you choose not to read the whole thing (caution: have a barf bag at the ready if you do). The article appeared March 13, 2008.
The gist of the article suggests the Feds targeted Gov. Spitzer exactly because of who he is and that prosecutors have discretion in cases involving the Federal laws Gov. Spitzer allegedly violated so only an over-zealous prosecutor would prosecute in cases where no such prosecution has occurred prior.
Other Spitzer apologists have gone out of their way to remind Americans that all the prosecutors in this case are Republicans; uh, duh!; the prosecutors are appointed by the President. Republicans keep winning Presidential elections so who do the apologists think would be the prosecutors? The apologists seem to be implying when the Republicans are in the White House, liberal extremists have free rein to violate Federal law because ipso facto their prosecution is only politically motivated. Thank goodness I’m not an idiot; I’d hate to have to argue this liberal extremist crap.
Anyway, the link to the Dershowitz article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120536943121332151.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
And, now finally to my point for the day. For perspective, these are the quotes of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald from his sentencing recommendation memo to District Court Judge Reggie Walton in advance of the latter’s sentencing of Scooter Libby, for obstruction of justice no less! (that’s sarcasm), and from Judge Walton at sentencing.
In Mr. Fitzgerald’s 18-page memo he wrote, "Particularly in a case such as this, where Mr. Libby was a high-ranking government official whose falsehoods were central to issues in a significant criminal investigation, it is important that this court impose a sentence that accurately reflects the value the judicial system places on truth-telling in criminal investigations . . . As an experienced attorney, Mr. Libby knew well both the seriousness of this investigation and the range of options available to him as the investigation progressed.”
Does anyone doubt that Gov. Spitzer is a high-ranking government official and who as a celebrated prosecutor of prostitution rings didn’t know the Federal laws he was breaking as he was breaking them? Free kool-aid all around!
Judge Walton said, "People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem."
It appears Messrs. Fitzgerald and Walton recognize station in life and if Clients 1 – 8 are “private” citizens then selective prosecution is warranted. Or, please, no howls when President Bush fully pardons Mr. Scooter Libby.
Just so I can get all my Spitzer comments out in one post, I add just these thoughts:
At what point was the prostitution ring going to “comp” Gov. Spitzer’s services received in exchange for a well-timed veto or signature or similar?
Gov. Spitzer personally arranged for all the details in breaking Federal law. When he was arranging for a hotel room under his friend's name, when he was on the phone with felons, when he was structuring illegal money transactions, when he was plotting all of this when he should have been reading proposed legislation or coming up with his own solutions to New York’s problems, and when he was, um, engaged with Kristen, how were the people of New York being properly served by their Governor? Of course, this was a public matter; there was absolutely no privacy argument here at all. Only an idiot would argue there is.
Of course, Governors can spend time with their wives, children and other family members at the expense of reading more proposed legislation or coming up with their own solutions to State problems. I’d simply prefer my Governor not be breaking Federal law when he’s not doing something “governorly”.
Because I’m disappointed I got no action on my Cold Turkey post below, I need to reference it here in a way that is really unrelated to the main point of my post.
Mr. Alan M. Dershowitz is arguably the most celebrated professor at Harvard Law (Mr. Laurence H. Tribe is his competition). He’s Jewish (a “faction”). I’m Catholic (a different “faction”). Yet, however Madison’s Factions worked it out, he and I are in lock-step agreement that the State of Israel is in the fight of Her life for survival and any and all resources of the United States should be exhausted to help sustain this democracy (Israel’s survival goes directly to the national security of the United States, that’s my justification.).
Of course, Mr. Dershowitz is also a deranged, liberal extremist who thought the absentee ballots of US servicewoman and men need not be counted in any 2000 Presidential election Florida recount and only the votes that added to Vice President Al Gore’s total should have been added to any totals. Yes, I'm spinning here but, then again, I'm a clear-thinking, logical, conservative so in this case a different "faction" coming to a different conclusion. Now drifting back to my point of the day.
The link immediately below is Mr. Dershowitz’s Wall Street Journal apology for Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The title of the article, The Entrapment of Eliot, is all you really need to know about the article if you choose not to read the whole thing (caution: have a barf bag at the ready if you do). The article appeared March 13, 2008.
The gist of the article suggests the Feds targeted Gov. Spitzer exactly because of who he is and that prosecutors have discretion in cases involving the Federal laws Gov. Spitzer allegedly violated so only an over-zealous prosecutor would prosecute in cases where no such prosecution has occurred prior.
Other Spitzer apologists have gone out of their way to remind Americans that all the prosecutors in this case are Republicans; uh, duh!; the prosecutors are appointed by the President. Republicans keep winning Presidential elections so who do the apologists think would be the prosecutors? The apologists seem to be implying when the Republicans are in the White House, liberal extremists have free rein to violate Federal law because ipso facto their prosecution is only politically motivated. Thank goodness I’m not an idiot; I’d hate to have to argue this liberal extremist crap.
Anyway, the link to the Dershowitz article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120536943121332151.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
And, now finally to my point for the day. For perspective, these are the quotes of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald from his sentencing recommendation memo to District Court Judge Reggie Walton in advance of the latter’s sentencing of Scooter Libby, for obstruction of justice no less! (that’s sarcasm), and from Judge Walton at sentencing.
In Mr. Fitzgerald’s 18-page memo he wrote, "Particularly in a case such as this, where Mr. Libby was a high-ranking government official whose falsehoods were central to issues in a significant criminal investigation, it is important that this court impose a sentence that accurately reflects the value the judicial system places on truth-telling in criminal investigations . . . As an experienced attorney, Mr. Libby knew well both the seriousness of this investigation and the range of options available to him as the investigation progressed.”
Does anyone doubt that Gov. Spitzer is a high-ranking government official and who as a celebrated prosecutor of prostitution rings didn’t know the Federal laws he was breaking as he was breaking them? Free kool-aid all around!
Judge Walton said, "People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem."
It appears Messrs. Fitzgerald and Walton recognize station in life and if Clients 1 – 8 are “private” citizens then selective prosecution is warranted. Or, please, no howls when President Bush fully pardons Mr. Scooter Libby.
Just so I can get all my Spitzer comments out in one post, I add just these thoughts:
At what point was the prostitution ring going to “comp” Gov. Spitzer’s services received in exchange for a well-timed veto or signature or similar?
Gov. Spitzer personally arranged for all the details in breaking Federal law. When he was arranging for a hotel room under his friend's name, when he was on the phone with felons, when he was structuring illegal money transactions, when he was plotting all of this when he should have been reading proposed legislation or coming up with his own solutions to New York’s problems, and when he was, um, engaged with Kristen, how were the people of New York being properly served by their Governor? Of course, this was a public matter; there was absolutely no privacy argument here at all. Only an idiot would argue there is.
Of course, Governors can spend time with their wives, children and other family members at the expense of reading more proposed legislation or coming up with their own solutions to State problems. I’d simply prefer my Governor not be breaking Federal law when he’s not doing something “governorly”.
posted by Zack at 8:58 AM
2 Comments:
Berlin - (Reuters; 3/15) Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with Israel in the face of threats to the state yesterday, on the eve of a three-day visit to the country. She also said Iran must halt its nuclear program. "The threats to which the Israeli state is exposed are also threats to us," Merkel said in her weekly podcast. (End of Reuters report.)
ZACKlyRight readers should know that Germany's intelligence agencies do not share intelligence information with me.
March 16; 7:03 pm
It's hard to believe that Dersh isn't embarrassed to have his name attached to such tripe. That article was utter nonsense. Who cares if Spitzer was targeted? If he was behaving within the boundaries of the law, it wouldn't matter who was investigating him or for what, they would have come up empty and moved on. One wonders how friendly Spitzer and Dersh are and if their common faith has anything to do w/Dersh's allegiance or is it just his love of criminals in general. Spitzer deserves everything he gets from here on out. Oh my, how the mighty have fallen.
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