The conviction of former vice presidential chief-of-staff Lewis (Scooter) Libby falls far short of what Democrats had hoped the CIA leak case would produce politically,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) greeted the conviction as the beginning of a reckoning with the Bush Administration for manipulating intelligence and discrediting critics. But that is an exaggeration of what the Libby jury actually found.
The worst news for Democrats was the announcement by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald that the investigation is finished. Vice President Dick Cheney is not going to be put in the dock.
Nevertheless, the conviction is an embarrassment for the Bush Administration, adding to the impression of a regime in disarray just as it seemed to be getting its act together.
Although Bush aides were strictly forbidden to comment on the verdict, gloom enveloped the White House over what was considered an unjust and an unfair verdict.
The big question remaining is what happens to Libby. The expectation is that President George W. Bush will pardon him on the way out the door. But the pardon may have to come sooner than to keep him from jail time. Whenever he delivers the pardon, he can expect a fusillade of Democratic and media fire. So, the hope is that the pardon will come after the 2008 election.
The post-trial comments of juror Denis Collins, a journalist, were disturbing. Saying that the jurors wanted to hear from presidential adviser Karl Rove sounded a lot like the Democrats desiring a broadening of the case.
