Fitzgerald Speaks

The man was appointed by the Bush administration to seek out justice. The trouble is: he actually did his job. When he found perjury, he prosecuted perjury. It was not a close call. The president did not consult with the prosecutor in commuting Libby's sentence. Why should he? He's the decider. The rule of law is no contest when you have the Decider superseding such quaint notions of equality before the law. And so Fitzgerald is forced to issue the following statement:

We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as "excessive." The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Although the President's decision eliminates Mr. Libby's sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process.

(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty.)