Comments on: Where’s “Fair & Balanced” When You Need It? Odd News Coverage Gaps at www.scooterlibby.com

By: Maryland Conservatarian

Maryland Conservatarian — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:24:40 +0000

Fair enough I guess but descriptively, lying under oath is lying under oath…I’d be curious how many from the left would sign on to such a suggested nuance if, instead of Paula Jones as the victim of such a lie, it were the plaintiff in one of John Edwards’ multi-million lawsuits or some illegal immigrant claiming housing discrimination.

By: Scott Moss

Scott Moss — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:27:56 +0000

A good distinction, Howard.

By: Howard Wasserman

Howard Wasserman — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:09:45 +0000

There is not necessarily an inconsistency.

Conduct that should be a criminally punishable offense is not the same as conduct that should be an impeachable offense. One could believe that Clinton’s conduct was criminal and even that he should have been prosecuted (as Libby is being prosecuted) without believing that he should have been impeached and removed from office.

And descriptively, the difference between Clinton lying (even under oath) in a civil case and Libby lying to authorities in a criminal investigation is significant. There are few, if any, prosecutions for perjury in civil cases, while it is quite common in criminal cases.

By: Scott Moss

Scott Moss — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 14:53:02 +0000

I actually was in favor of the Clinton impeachment; I was a plaintiff-side employment lawyer, so I was extremely offended by Clinton lying in a sex harassment suit deposition. I concede to yuo that I was virtually alone on the left on this front. But I haven’t seen that many on the left getting that excited about Scooter Libby; personally, I may well buy his defense that he was the fall guy for Karl Rove.

If you want inconsistency, try “Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on perjury prosecutions”:

* in 2005, when asked re Libby: “I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn’t indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.”

* in 1999, when asked re Clinton: “The concept of equal justice under law and the importance of absolute truth in legal proceedings is the foundation of our justice system in the courts. To say otherwise would be to severely lower the moral and legal standards of accountability that are imposed on ordinary citizens every day…. If only the President … had said early in this episode `I cannot tell a lie,’ we would not be here today.”

By: Maryland Conservatarian

Maryland Conservatarian — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:18:29 +0000

whooa!! a law professor guest-blogger on Concurring Opinions who is critical of conservatives and the Bush Administration?? I mean, who saw this one coming? Such a diversity of bloggers!!

And a good follow-on post would be the intellectual argument for why Pres. Clinton should not have been impeached for lying under oath BUT Scooter Libby should be on trial for supposedly lying to investigators.