Max Weber knew it. Karl Marx knew it. W.E.B. Dubois knew it. I know it … and if you don’t already know it- keep reading.
Does power and privilege produce social injustice?
Case study: I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff and the Bush administration. Libby was indicted October 28, 2005 for lying to federal investigators and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak investigation. Libby, who happens to be the first active White House aide charged with a crime since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s subsequently resigned.
Libby was one of Cheney’s closest advisors. He was facing a prison sentence of up to 30 years and $1.25 million in fines if convicted of two alleged counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice.
Libby proclaimed his innocence. He issued a statement through his attorney, Joseph Tate, which read: “I am confident that at the end of this process I will be completely and totally exonerated.” Who knew how prophetic those words would eventually become?
The Allegations
The charges centered on the illegal disclosure of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity to the news media to discredit her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, because of his criticism of the Bush administration’s Iraq war policy.
Libby was alleged to have leaked Plame’s name to a reporter and subsequently lying about it under oath to a federal grand jury. He was also accused of lying to FBI agents about how he learned about Plame. No other Bush administration official was ever charged, although others were implicated including Karl Rove, President Bush’s closest advisor.
Wilson was sent by the CIA to Niger in 2002 to see if Iraq was trying to obtain nuclear-weapons-grade-material, as some in the Bush administration suspected. He returned unconvinced, much to the chagrin of the administration, and reported his findings to the CIA.
When Bush alleged that Iraq was pursuing nuclear weapons in his 2003 State of the Union speech, Wilson was incensed.
Wilson then wrote a New York Times article, appeared on “Meet the Press” and did an interview with the Washington Post to give his side of the story. Subsequently-and perhaps because of his actions-his wife’s identity was revealed to Times reporter, Judith Miller.
Miller subsequently spent 85 days in jail for not testifying against Libby, but eventually revealed that he discussed Plame with her on three occasions. Libby was also alleged to have discussed Plame with others including Time magazine’s Matthew Cooper, White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer and columnist Robert D. Novak. Novak wrote a column about Plame and the rest, as they say, is history-but wait, there’s more.
Libby was eventually tried and convicted of four of the five charges, including lying, perjury and obstructing a leak investigation. He was acquitted of one count of lying to the FBI.
Libby was now faced with up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all four charges. Bush and Cheney expressed disappointment. No one else was charged and the investigation concluded.
So this is the part where Libby is supposed to fall on his sword and take one for the team, right?
Wrong!
Talk of a pardon began almost immediately. The Bush administration denied having a pardon file for Libby and refused to discuss hypothetical scenarios.
Fast forward. On Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and two years probation for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.
In July of 2007 after an appeals court denied Libby’s bid to remain free pending an appeal, President Bush commuted Libby’s sentence citing the term as too harsh. Later, Bush defended his decision and refused to rule out a pardon. Bush professes to be tough on crime, right?
Reality Check
According to Max Weber, “Parties live in a house of power.” It is widely acknowledged that Libby was one of the most powerful advisors in the Bush administration. As such, it is unlikely that his illegal actions were unilateral. Whose “house of power” was he protecting?
As Cheney’s chief of staff, Libby’s conviction and ultimate imprisonment would have done serious harm to the Bush legacy and his administration’s credibility, or what’s left of it. Hence, the Libby commutation is a no brainer if you’re Bush and Cheney, right?
Karl Marx said, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Numerous studies have shown that the wealthy are less likely to be tried and convicted than are the poor. Is there any doubt, then, that Libby’s membership in the privileged class played a significant role in his commutation?
In 1901, W.E.B. Dubois said, “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” The words of Du Bois were prophetic, because over 100 years later the problem of the Twenty First Century is still the “color-line.”
The regrettable truth is there is overwhelming evidence that blacks are more likely to be arrested, indicted, convicted, and imprisoned than are whites that commit the same offense. This begs the question, had Libby been black, Latino, or any minority, would he be rotting in prison right now? Yes: Power and privilege does produce social injustice.