CBS, NBC uncritically reported Bush claim that Libby's sentence was "excessive"

While reporting on President Bush's decision to commute the prison sentence of former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, both NBC's Nightly News and the CBS Evening News uncritically reported Bush's claim that he "concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive." Neither newscast noted that special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald argued that the sentencing guidelines called for a 30- to 37-month sentence, a range within which U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton's sentence fell.

At Libby's sentencing hearing -- following his March 6 conviction on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements to investigators, and perjury in connection with the investigation into who leaked the identity of former CIA agent Valerie Plame -- Fitzgerald argued that federal sentencing guidelines called for a 30- to 37-month sentence based on Libby's offenses. Fitzgerald further argued that a "sentence within the advisory guidelines range would appropriately take into account the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant, as well as the need for the sentence imposed to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment, and the need to afford adequate deterrence to similar criminal conduct."

As The Washington Post reported, according to Libby's attorneys, the federal probation office, which also issues sentencing recommendations to the judge, found that the sentencing guidelines required "a prison term of 15 to 21 months" while "citing potential grounds for a shorter sentence." Fitzgerald did not challenge Libby's attorneys' claims about the probation office's recommendation. As the Post also reported, the federal probation office's "suggestion is officially secret."

The Post reported on June 6 that in sentencing Libby to "30 months in prison for lying to federal investigators about his role in the leak" of Plame's identity, Walton "essentially rejected the arguments of defense lawyers that Libby should be given probation." According to the Post, Walton "declared the evidence against" Libby to be " 'overwhelming' and concluded that Libby 'got off course' as a White House employee." Walton added: "I think public officials need to know if they are going to step over the line, there are going to be consequences. ... [What Libby did] causes people to think our government does not work for them." Libby's lawyers appealed the sentence as well as the conviction, and filed a motion to keep Libby out of jail until the appeals process ran its course. On July 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously denied Libby's request.

Hours after the appeals court's decision, Bush decided to commute Libby's prison sentence, keeping in place the probation and the $250,000 fine. In a statement explaining his decision, Bush asserted:

I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

During her report on the July 2 Nightly News broadcast, NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell uncritically reported Bush's opinion, which got "to the heart of the matter" that Libby's sentence was "excessive." Similarly, CBS News Justice Department correspondent Bob Orr also reported only Bush's statement that "I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive." Neither O'Donnell nor Orr reported Fitzgerald's and Walton's opinion that Libby's sentence was within federal guidelines.

After Bush's announcement, Fitzgerald's office issued its own response, specifically taking issue with Bush's belief that Libby's sentence was "excessive." Fitzgerald argued that the "sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country." From the 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.

From the July 2 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:

BRIAN WILLIAMS (host): Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, will not go to prison for his conviction in the CIA leak case. Late today, he was spared jail time by the president of the United States. Minutes after Air Force One touched down outside Washington, delivering the president from his all-day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and just hours after a judge told Scooter Libby he'd have to report to prison pending appeal, we learned of the president's order.

Kelly O'Donnell was in Kennebunkport, Maine, to cover the meeting of these two leaders. She is prepared to read from the White House statement to start off our coverage tonight. Kelly, good evening.

O'DONNELL: Good evening, Brian. First, senior officials to the president say he has been weighing this option of commuting Libby's sentence for a considerable amount of time and that White House lawyers had been evaluating the legal arguments for several weeks, and over the course of the last week, the president has been leaning toward this option, commutation. They also say that he felt it was very important not to take issue with the jury's verdict.

We received a two-page statement from the president who outlined all of his thinking, some of the history of the case, and laid out the arguments that both critics on each side, for a pardon or commutation, and those who opposed it, and then the president said, "Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today," President Bush says, "I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding the case."

And then, really getting to the heart of the matter, Brian, the president writes, "I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive." It was 30 months. "Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."

What does this mean? This means that Scooter Libby will still have to pay a $250,000 fine. He will still be a convicted felon, and, as an attorney, he will likely lose his law license, and he will further, as the president says, "The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, a public servant and a private citizen will be long lasting." The president also refers to Libby's family. And in making this decision, the president says that the Constitution gives him this power, and it's the president's decision tonight that he says it is an appropriate exercise of that power -- Brian.

WILLIAMS: All right. Kelly O'Donnell starting us off with this big story tonight from the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

From the July 2 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:

ORR: Katie, I have to say all of Washington is stunned. This happened with great speed today, as the president moved just hours after a U.S. appeals court refused to intervene in the case.

Now, you might remember, attorneys for Lewis "Scooter" Libby had asked the court to allow Libby to remain free while the court heard his appeal, but today, the court refused, and Libby faced the prospect of going to prison sometime in the next six weeks.

That was before the president stepped in and then commuted the prison sentence.

This all now means that Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, will not go to prison. However, we have to point out, the president's action is not a pardon, either. Libby still faces fines of $250,000, and he will remain on probation for two years.

Now, in a statement just issued by the White House, the president said, and I quote here: "I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive."

Libby was facing until today two and a half years in prison after being convicted in March for lying to a grand jury and also obstructing an investigation into who leaked the name of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. At his sentencing, the judge lectured Mr. Libby that no one was above the law.

Now, White House press secretary Tony Snow just a short time ago denied that the president acted under any pressure from all of Libby's friends. Snow said Mr. Bush considered every option in the case, including a full pardon, but then decided that commuting the sentence was the most appropriate course.

Of course, administration critics undoubtedly will see all of this as the White House once again taking care of one of their own -- Katie.