Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced today to 2½ years in prison for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case. In his surprisingly tough sentence, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton also fined Libby $250,000 and called for two years of probation after his release, suggesting people in such positions of public trust "have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem." That description of Libby’s wrongdoing is as vague as this case turned out to be. Now, the only thing seemingly standing between Libby and the jailhouse door is a presidential pardon. Will President Bush oblige?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It took forever, but Rep. William "Cold Cash" Jefferson, D-La., was finally indicted for bribery Monday. As a result, he told House leaders today that he plans to take a temporary leave of absence from the House Small Business Committee.
It’s been almost two years since investigators raided Jefferson’s D.C. home and found $90,000 in the freezer. It apparently took so long to file charges because of the stunning scope of the alleged bribery schemes that allegedly netted Jefferson more than $500,000.
As a Washington Post editorial noted, if the allegations are true, it’s a wonder that Jefferson "had any time left over for his day job." Yet even after the freezer scandal, Jefferson easily won re-election last year.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Congratulations to the Wichita State University baseball team for winning its regional Monday night and getting to host University of California-Irvine in a best-of-three super regional beginning Saturday at Eck Stadium. It’s been a bit of an up and down season, but it’s certainly concluding on a high.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
President Bush’s planned visit to Wichita on June 15 will put a national spotlight on a great public-private partnership: the new Boys & Girls Club complex on East 21st Street. In addition to helping celebrate the opening of the new club, Bush will tour the Opportunity Project preschool and be able to see where a new Wichita public school is being built.
Russ Meyer, chairman emeritus of Cessna Aircraft Co. and the driving force behind the complex, encouraged Bush to come. It will be the second presidential visit to a project in the area connected with Meyer; President Clinton visited Cessna’s 21st Street training facility in November 1997.
During that visit, Clinton called the training facility "a model for the nation." The Boys & Girls complex is one, too.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
To stop the genocide in Darfur, the United States needs to put more pressure on China, which provides billions of dollars in investment, oil revenue, infrastructure development and arms sales to Sudan. But the United States shouldn’t go as far as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson recommended during Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate and threaten to pull out of the 2008 Summer Olympics unless China does something about Darfur.
Posted by Andie Clum
It doesn’t give you much confidence in our border security that tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker was able to get into the United States. His passport had been flagged so that he would be detained and isolated at the border. But when Speaker and his fiancee flew into Montreal and drove across the border into New York, they were stopped for just two minutes and then allowed to pass through. The inspector who let him through was removed from duty, but our borders must have significant weaknesses if a person with flagged passport is allowed in.
Posted by Andie Clum
