The Associated Press is reporting that Lewis Libby, federal inmate no. 28301-016, must begin his prison sentence pending his appeal.

Former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby cannot delay his 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled Monday.

The decision is a dramatic setback for Libby, who likely will have to surrender to prison in weeks. The ruling puts pressure on President Bush, who has been sidestepping calls by Libby’s allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Libby was convicted in March of lying and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. He is the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

Libby believed he had a good chance of overturning the conviction on appeal and asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to put the sentence on hold. In a two-sentence ruling, the court refused.

So what, exactly, did the courts say? According to Firedoglake:

ORDERED that the motion for release pending appeal be denied. Appellant has not shown that the appeal raises a substantial question under 18 USC Sec. 3143(b)(1)(B). See United States v. Perholtz, 836 F.2d 554, 555 (D.C.Cir. 1987) (per curiam)

So what does all of this mean? Well, pending intervention from either President Bush or the Supreme Court Libby’s “Do Not Pass Go, DO Not Collect $200″ moment has come. He’s exhausted his other legal options and now it’s time for the perp-walk.

Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters believes it might actually be in Bush’s favor to pardon Libby or at least commute his sentence:

The politics of this moment seem rather delicious. The President just enraged his base by attempting to push a deeply unpopular immigration bill through the Senate. He could regain a lot of that ground with a commutation of Libby’s sentence, or an outright pardon. Will he take advantage of the opportunity?

He’s got a point. With a 27% approval rating and a whopping 65% disapproval rating all Bush has left is his base. He’s already ticked them off with his immigration bill shenanigans, so if he’s strictly looking to play make-up with them pardoning Libby makes sense. And anyway, it’s not like he’s running for office again.

There’s just one problem: the Republican Party is. Like it or not, Bush, by virtue of being the president, is seen as the leader of his party. Bush might not take any fallout from pardoning Libby from his base, but the rest of the nation (all 73% of us) probably won’t be so kind. And for the Libby supporters who say this is just a partisan witch hunt ala the Clinton Blowjob scandal? Well lawyer blogger A.L. over at Anonymous Liberal has got a story for you:

Because we all know how conservative pundits and politicians are going to react to this news, I just want to take a second to review how we got to this point.

This began with a criminal referral from the CIA (that hotbed of liberalism) to John Ashcroft’s Justice Department. When Ashcroft (a Republican) recused himself from the case, his deputy James Comey (another Republican) appointed Patrick Fitzgerald (yet another Republican) to oversee the case. Though he likely could have secured indictments against a number of administration officials (including Karl Rove), Fitzgerald chose the conservative route and only indicted the person who had most obviously lied and obstructed the investigation, Scooter Libby. Refusing to plea, Libby hired all the best lawyers in Washington and took the case to trial, where a sympathetic jury nevertheless convicted him of four felony counts.

…

Head on over and read the rest.

Invariably though the “law and order” crowd will be screaming for Libby’s pardon. They constantly talk up being tough on crime and forcing people to take responsibility for their actions, but when things start to touch too close to home it’s suddenly “partisan theater”… Yeah, and I’ve got a bridge to sell.

In the words of the writers over at A Newer World:

Those who have defended this man, those who have tried to dismiss away his crimes, will go down in history as confused and deluded–or worse.

Update:

According to the National Review Online President Bush has decided Libby’s too much of a squealer risk too good to serve time in jail:

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby’s case is an appropriate exercise of this power.

If anyone, and I mean anyone, is still under the illusion that President Bush is anything but a corrupt crook looking out for his own hide after this point, if anyone still believes that he and his cohorts are acting nobly, you might as well move to a banana republic. This may have been a CYA maneuver to keep Libby quiet, it may have even been a reward for his loyalty and good service.

And all this talk about how prison would be a “harsh punishment” that would cause Libby’s wife and children to “suffer immensely”? Color me not sympathetic, that’s the whole idea of prison in the first place. The double standards and buddy-buddy corruption displayed by our President is just plain sickening.

Other blogger reactions (Thanks in part to MemeOrandum): Jeralyn (Talk Left); Wonkette; Steve Benen (The CarpetBagger Report); The Garlic; Brad DeLong (Grasping Reality)

Thanks to Democratic Convention or Bust!, Exposing the Neo-Right, and The Populist for linking in.

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