DTM as aggregator

Remember the advert of some years gone by, Is it Live, or is it Memorex? Well, read the next two instalments:

This from the Associated Press:

“In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

Bush’s decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.

Rancor over their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in 2005.

Ramos and Compean became a rallying point among conservatives and on talk shows where their supporters called them heroes. Nearly the entire bipartisan congressional delegation from Texas and other lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle pleaded with Bush to grant them clemency.

Bush didn’t pardon the men for their crimes, but decided instead to commute their prison sentences because he believed they were excessive and that they had already suffered the loss of their jobs, freedom and reputations, a senior administration official said.

The action by the president, who believes the border agents received fair trials and that the verdicts were just, does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes, the official said.

Compean and Ramos, who have served about two years of their sentences, are expected to be released from prison within the next two months.

They were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana. The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana. The prosecutor also said the border agents didn’t report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.

The agents were fired after their convictions on several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and with serious bodily injury, violation of civil rights and obstruction of justice. All their convictions, except obstruction of justice, were upheld on appeal.

With the new acts of clemency, Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and 11 commutations.

That’s fewer than half as many as Presidents Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan issued during their two-term tenures. Bush technically has until noon on Tuesday when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office to exercise his executive pardon authority, but presidential advisers said no more were forthcoming.

The president had made most of his pardon decisions on low-profile cases, but his batch in December created controversy.

Isaac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, N.Y, convicted of making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and of mail fraud, was among 19 people Bush pardoned just before Christmas. But after learning in news reports that Toussie’s father had donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party a few months ago, as well as other information, the president reversed his decision on Toussie’s case.

The White House said the decision to revoke the pardon—a step unheard of in recent memory—was based on information about the extent and nature of Toussie’s prior criminal offenses, and that neither the White House counsel’s office nor the president had been aware of a political contribution by Toussie’s father and wanted to avoid creating an appearance of impropriety.

In an earlier high-profile official act of forgiveness, Bush saved Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, from serving prison time in the case of the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstructing justice. Bush could still grant him a full pardon, although Libby has not applied for one.

Bush’s batches of pardons, however, have never included any well-known convicts like junk bond dealer Michael Milken, who sought a pardon on securities fraud charges, or two politicians convicted of public corruption—former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards—who wanted Bush to shorten their prison terms.

Clinton issued a total of 457 in eight years in office. Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, issued 77 in four years. Reagan issued 406 in eight years, and President Carter issued 563 in four years. Since World War II, the largest number of pardons and commutations—2,031—came from President Truman, who served 82 days short of eight years.”

And this, from the current online version of the DTM:

“Globe and Mail Update, The Associated Press January 19, 2009 at 6:07 PM EST

Conrad Black has lost a bid for clemency from outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush.

In his final acts of clemency Monday, Mr. Bush commuted the prison sentence of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

Mr. Black didn’t make the list, and although Mr. Bush technically has until noon Tuesday, when president-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office, to exercise his executive pardon authority, presidential advisers said no more were forthcoming.

Lord Black sought commutation of his fraud sentence in November, joining a long list of convicted felons that included former sprinter Marian Jones and former junk bond king Michael Milken, who was looking for a pardon.

Lord Black was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice over the theft of more than $6-million (U.S.) from Hollinger International Inc., a Chicago-based newspaper company Lord Black once controlled. Three other former Hollinger executives were also convicted of fraud.

Lord Black was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison. He has lost several court appeals of the conviction but has filed one last appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is not clear when or if that court will hear the case.

With the new acts of clemency, Mr. Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and 11 commutations. That’s fewer than half as many as former presidents Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan issued during their two-term tenures.

Mr. Clinton issued a total of 457 in eight years in office. Mr. Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, issued 77 in four years. Mr. Reagan issued 406 in eight years, and former president Jimmy Carter issued 563 in four years. Since the Second World War, the largest number of pardons and commutations — 2,031 — came from president Harry Truman, who served 82 days short of eight years.

In an earlier high-profile official act of forgiveness, Mr.Bush saved vice-president Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, from serving prison time in the case of the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity.

Mr. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstructing justice. Mr. Bush could still grant him a full pardon, although Mr. Libby has not applied for one.

Mr. Bush’s decision to commute the sentences of border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the dealer’s shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the U.S. border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair was given were too harsh.”

As a public service, I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting those portions of the second news story that are identical to the original wire piece. Now, I’m used to seeing wire stories. And we all recognize the local media. And the tag line “with a file from Associated Press” is quite normal. But for the wire story to be combined with the local flavour under two bylines. That’s something new.

While I have you, and also in the name of public service, it is worth pointing out that I was completely wrong about some of my predictions of President Bush’s final 10 weeks in office (see prior post “Bush gets down to unfinished business” November 5-08). I saw no Presidential Medals of Freedom for Messers Paulson and Bernake. Former British PM Tony Blair got it instead.

I guess I was right about Lord Black not getting his pardon. When I was writing this morning I thought, “today’s the final day”. Given President Bush’s clear view about right and wrong, the chance of granting it today seemed to be absolutely zero. In the wake of the Madoff debacle, releasing a white-collar criminal was impossible.

But I was very wrong about Bush helping the Israelis launch an airstrike against Iran’s nuclear site. It seems, according to the NYT, that he actually blocked it!

Leaving President-Elect Obama with both a flailing economy and a nuclear-primed Iran. The nerve.

MRM