Report: Libby commutation may aid alleged Hamas operative
RAW STORY
Published: Thursday July 5, 2007
A man convicted of obstructing justice in an investigation of Hamas is planning to use President Bush's decision to spare a former vice presidential aide jail time in arguing that he deserves a light sentence for his charges, the New York Sun reports.
Mohammed Salah was convicted on a single obstruction of justice charge in February, but he and a co-defendant were acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy in support of Hamas's terror campaigns in the Middle East, according to the newspaper.
At his sentencing next week, Salah's lawyers are expected to invoke Bush's decision to commute the 30-month prison sentence handed to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in arguing that Salah deserves to be sentenced only to probation.
"What the president said about Mr. Libby applies in spades to the case of Mohammed Salah," his defense attorney Michael Deutsch told the Sun. "We'll definitely be brining it up to the judge."
Law professors have observed that President Bush's decision could open a wave of "Libby Motions" filed in federal cases across the country.
"Clearly, every criminal defense lawyer who practices in the white collar arena is asking him or herself - why shouldn't my client have this same privilege?" observered White Collar Crime Prof Blog.
Prosecutors in Salah's case are arguing he should be sentenced to 22 years in prison, although they acknowledge the maximum sentence allowed for a single obstruction count is 10 years, according to the Sun.
The prosecution will ask a sentencing judge to consider the racketeering charges, of which Salah was acquitted, along with a series of alleged offenses from the 1990s, including bank fraud and perjury on behalf of a Hamas leader, that Salah was never charged with.
Salah's attorneys say it is unfair for their client to be sentenced on the basis of crimes for which he was not convicted.
Bush explained he thought Libby's sentence was "excessive" because the judge in that case considered "allegations never presented to the jury," related to Libby's and other administration officials' roles in outing covert CIA agent Valerie Plame.
"It applies to an even greater extent in Mr. Salah's case," Mr. Deutsch told the Sun. "In our case, these allegations were presented to a jury and he was acquitted."
Bush's commutation order creates no legal precedent in cases other than Libby's, and it is hard to say how judges will respond to "Libby motions" brought in other cases, observes Sentencing Law Policy blog.
[Which can be found at
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2007/07/still-more-sent.html ]
"What is certain however," the blog notes, "is that every official effort to defend the commutation creates more potential arguments for defendants and defense lawyers."
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Report_Libby_commutation_may_aid_alleged_0705.html
