Today’s Must ReadYesterday, the president played his part. The injustice of Scooter Libby serving one day of jail time for lying to investigators and a grand jury in order to shield the vice president has been averted.
But don’t forget that for the past several months, other prominent elements of the Washington establishment have been playing their parts, too. The Scooter Libby Defense Trust has collected close to $5 million, and its many moneyed donors rejoiced at the news, reports The Washington Post:
Former ambassador to Italy and developer Mel Sembler was returning from a fundraiser, and his chartered flight had just touched down in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“I got off the airplane and picked up my telephone and turned it back on again and found about 12 phone messages,” said Sembler, the chairman of the Libby Legal Defense Trust. “I was most pleased with my president.”
Richard Carlson, former ambassador to the Seychelles, was standing near his wife when he heard the news from an Associated Press reporter.
“My wife burst into tears,” Carlson said.
But, sadly, the hard work the trust’s patrons have had to endure (all because of the unquenchable bloodlust of a certain prosecutor) is not over. $5 million is not enough, apparently. Their man is still burdened with a conviction, two years probation, a $250,000 fine (which will not be covered by the fund, Sembler tells the Post), and only Libby’s lawyers can save him now. And his lawyers must be paid. So their quest continues.
Who are these champions of justice? A roll call:
The advisory committee of Libby’s trust is made up of developers, investors, publishers, think-tankers. There’s former senator Fred Thompson, the “Law & Order” star and Republican presidential aspirant — who even held a fundraiser for Libby at his McLean home, according to Carlson….
There are former Cabinet-level officials, including Ed Meese, Jack Kemp and Spencer Abraham. There is conservative thinker Bill Bennett and political philosopher Francis Fukuyama. There’s Ron Silver, of “West Wing” fame. There’s Mary Matalin, a former Cheney adviser, and Nina Rosenwald, chairwoman of the Middle East Media Research Institute. There is Steve Forbes, who knows a thing or two about writing checks.
