Meet Victor Rita

Comparing Lewis Libby and Victor Rita

Among the more fascinating aspects of Lewis Libby's commuted sentence is that this case mirrors the case of Victor Rita, the defendant whose 33-month (within-guideline) sentence is currently under review by the US Supreme Court.

First of all, there is a clear parallel nature of the crimes. Like Libby, Victor Rita got caught up in a criminal investigation and ultimately was indicted on five felony counts based on allegations that he lied under oath as part of the investigation. And, like Libby, Victor Rita asserted his innocence and exercised his right to a jury trial. Secondly, we should also look at their parallel personal histories. Like Libby, Victor Rita was an atypical federal defendant because of his career in government service. Rita served 24 years in the Marine Corps, had tours of duty in Vietnam and the first Gulf war, and received over 35 military medals and awards. Libby's pre-conviction resume is just impressive. Furthermore, the federal guidelines do not provide any formal breaks for government service or prior good works.

To that regard, Rita's 33-month sentence should have been the perfect benchmark for Libby's sentence. And it was according to the judge who sentenced him. But then Bush stepped in and commuted Libby's jail time because he thought it was excessive. Yet when it came to Rita's case, the Bush Administration and the Justice Department filed as a party before the Supreme Court, stating they thought Rita's sentence was 'reasonable.'

How can we not wonder why President Bush viewed Scooter Libby's (within-guidelines) prison sentence to be excessive while the Justice Department argued so forcefully that Victor Rita's (within-guidelines and longer) sentence is reasonable?

Joe Biden is the first of the Presidential hopefuls to also pick up on this:

"Tony Snow said that President Bush decided to commute Scooter Libby's two and a half year-prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice, because it was 'excessive.' Yet last year the Bush Administration filed a 'friend-of-the-court brief' with the Supreme Court, in an attempt to uphold a lower court's ruling that a 33-month prison sentence for Victor Rita, who was convicted of the same exact charges, perjury and obstruction of justice, was 'reasonable' The questions we should all be asking ourselves today are: Why is the President flip-flopping on these criminal justice decisions? Why is Scooter Libby getting special treatment?"

I think we all know the answer...