CNN’s Cafferty: Bush Sees Constitution as an Inconvenience for His Agenda

During Tuesday’s "Situation Room," Jack Cafferty used the conviction of a former aide to Vice President Cheney as a springboard for wild attacks against George W. Bush. According to the CNN correspondent, a decision by the President to pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby would be symptomatic of "an administration that has come to view things like the Constitution and the nation’s laws as inconveniences that only serve to get in the way of their agenda."

Cafferty, who once giddily joked about Karl Rove being indicted in the CIA leak case, also furiously speculated about just who Lewis Libby is "protecting":

Jack Cafferty: "Remember this?"

George W. Bush (file footage): "America wants somebody to restore honor and dignity to the White House. That’s what America is looking for."

Cafferty: "That’s an interesting clip in light of today’s conviction of Vice President Cheney’s former top advisor Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby. He was found guilty on four of five counts against him and they all had to do with lying and obstructing justice when it came to details about Valerie Plame’s identity. Why would he lie? Who was he protecting? We’ll probably never know the answer to that."

A complete transcript of the segment, which aired at 5:09pm on March 6, follows:

Jack Cafferty: "Remember this?"

George W. Bush: "America wants somebody to restore honor and dignity to the White House. That’s what America is looking for."

Cafferty: "That’s an interesting clip in light of today’s conviction of Vice President Cheney’s former top advisor Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby. He was found guilty on four of five counts against him and they all had to do with lying and obstructing justice when it came to details about Valerie Plame’s identity. Why would he lie? Who was he protecting? We’ll probably never know the answer to that. But the fact that Libby lied to investigators and to a grand jury speaks volumes. This was the nation’s top advisor to the Vice President, one of a handful of people who had unfettered access to the highest levels of power in this country. And yet he couldn’t tell the truth? Why not? What’s he hiding? The most interesting part of this story will be whether or not President Bush pardons Libby on his way out the door a year and a half or so down the road. Somehow, it would be the perfect parting gesture for an administration that has come to view things like the Constitution and the nation’s laws as inconveniences that only serve to get in the way of their agenda. So, here’s the question: ‘How will the conviction of Scooter Libby impact the Bush White House? E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com. or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile."