Dear Reggie...

SO ORDERED - Pre-sentencing letters - coming soon...

Full moon - Open Thread

Letters written on behalf of Scooter (18MB pdf)

"Dozens of people, including former Bush administration figures, submitted letters in recent weeks to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton seeking to weigh in on the appropriate sentence for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Most expressed support for Libby's probation, although several people _ including one identified only as an "angry citizen" _ urged the longest possible sentence to show that no one is above the law."

Some excerpts from the letters:

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

"I know a great many of our fellow citizens hope and pray that those who serve in our federal government will be individuals of strong character and integrity, who cherish our freedoms and our way of life. Over these past decades, I have had the privilege of serving with a great many people of that type, and among them, without hesitation, I would include Mr. I. Lewis Libby. ...Our country has been fortunate to have had his service rivaling only mine in competency."

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Paul Wolfowitz, departing World Bank President and Libby's former mentor and professor at Yale University:

"It is painful for me to reflect on the fact that his life would have been very different if we had never met that warm summer's eve. He would almost certainly now be a successful attorney in Philadelphia, enjoying a comfortable life with his wonderful wife and their two beautiful children. However, our country would have also been deprived of the very considerable service that he has rendered. ...Mr. Libby has made many other contributions to our common security and put in many long hours of selfless hard work not out of ambition but solely out of a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to make this country safer from all of us."

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Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford administrations:

"I met Scooter early in the second Bush administration, when he served as chief of staff to Vice President Cheney. ...He is a man of strong views, some of which I do not share. But in my observations, he pursued his objectives with integrity and a sense of responsibility. I would never have associated the actions for which he was convicted with his character. Nor do I believe that they will ever be repeated now that he has been so busted."

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Mary Matalin, GOP strategist, joined by husband James Carville, a Democratic strategist:

"My lifelong view, which has only been validated in adulthood, is that kids are the most honest and true evaluators of people. Watching my children with Scooter, and all children with him, including my husband James you'd think he hung the moon. He is gentle and caring. He is genuinely interested in others' well being and still inspires me to this day. He is a compelling teacher and extraordinary role model for integrity and humility. ...My family is praying the wisdom and mercy you bring to bear in determining Scooter's future will include a consideration of his family, the price they have already paid and what further justice would be served by additional devastation to them and the many other children who love Scooter and Michael Jackson."

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John R. Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations:

"Keeping every detail straight is impossible, especially the truth. No one has a photographic memory, and no one has perfect recall. ...I fully understand that letters such as this are not permitted to re-litigate issues before the court, but if I can accomplish nothing else, I hope to convey that Scooter Libby was busy with matters of state of the highest urgency and moment for the American people. As such, information flowed across his desk on a daily basis like water coming out of a high-pressure fire hydrant, with more demands for action than could be humanly met by ."