Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Romney: Hypocrite on Libby Pardon

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Update: Headline should say Commutation (not Pardon).  Thanks PP.

The AP just nails it.  Mitt Romney’s pandering and lies only go so far, he’s becoming a parody of himself (emphasis mine)

Romney often proudly points out that he was the first governor in modern Massachusetts history to deny every request for a pardon or commutation during his four years in office. He says he refused pardons because he didn’t want to overturn a jury.

One example noted was Anthony Circosta who Mitt twice rejected for a pardon.  What did Anthony do and why he was requesting a pardon you ask?

..at age 13 was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun – a shot that didn’t break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq’s deadly Sunni triangle.

In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer.

Um, sorry no pardon for you.  Don’t want to overturn a jury.

When asked about Libby’s pardon Romney said it was “Reasonable”.

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Comments

  1. Scooter Libby was PARDONED?  WHEN?

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    I KNOW Chris Matthews was going on about a potential pardon date with Bob Bennet yesterday, but I didn’t realize it had HAPPENED already!

    • Thanks for pointing it out.

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      But if you follow the intent of the post you would see that the quote noted “commutation” as well as pardons.  Which Mitt said that was against the jury’s wishes so he wouldn’t do it.  Why is this different?  Pandering???  Hypocrite???

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      You were well aware it noted both but conveniently decided to focus on pardon without addressing the issue.

  4. If we want to get hysterical over rhetorics – whether charley used “Pardon” or “commutation” I think we’re going a tad bit crazy. Considering the fact that a commutation is WORSE, we should be more angry with Bush. By commuting the sentence, Libby can still plead the fifth if he’s dragged before congress to testify against the administration. By commuting his sentence, the justice department can’t offer any sort of deals for his cooperation against people in the administration who were more at fault – Cheney, Rove, Bush, etc. Furthermore, by commuting the sentence, Bush can always just give him the full pardon later on.

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    So, let’s not get carried away. Bush commuted Libby out of convienance to the Bush administration, not for any other reason. They have more control over him that way.

        • With a full pardon, Libby’s ability to plead the 5th probably vanishes.  With a commutation, it’s still intact — best of both worlds for the administration.  As for Romney, he’s never “overturned” any verdicts — yet he’s said that, if elected, he’d consider doing so in Libby’s case.  Why, pray tell?

          • If from elsewhere, do you have a citation?

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            (This is not snark – I just don’t remember this)

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            Romney seems to speak of the commutation as a solution.  Again, excerpted, so it’s hard to tell.

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            What I don’t get is why MSNBC is trying to equate the two.  Are they really THAT intent on misinforming the public?

            • Is this link better, it’s the same story.

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              Same quote:

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              In his presidential bid, Romney often proudly points out that he was the first governor in modern Massachusetts history to deny every request for a pardon or commutation during his four years in office.

      • and takes a cushy job at the American Enterprise Institute, where all the wacko neocons and discredited Republicans go to die pretend they are still masterminding the universe. 

  5. …pardon the guy on his own motion.

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    I seriously cannot understand how a 13 year old could be convicted of such a crime.  Who was the idiot prosecutor who brought the case to trial?

    • the prosecutor who brought the case to trial probably didn’t want to see his face splashed all over the front page of the herald if he dismissed the case and the 13 year old who assaulted another kid with a bb gun decided to use a real gun in the future.  Obviously it makes Romney look like a hypocrite (and he is one), but the circumstances surrounding the bb gun incident could have truly egregious for all we know. 

      • …obviously he decided to “use a real gun in the future” and that’s why he joined the military and went to Iraq.

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        Let’s understand something.  There may be reasons to preclude someone from public trust (like GWBush for torturing little animals as a child, or Bill Frist for killing cats while in medical school) but it strikes me as a bit much to single out a 13 year old for a single incident that apparently didn’t even injure someone.

    • Marriott statement described him as an “active, hands-on director.”

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      Ewww…

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