DCCC slams Chabot - UPDATED!

We've already heard from most other members of the Greater Cincinnati delegation on what they think about President Bush commuting H. "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence.

Except Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Westwood.

UPDATED! Here's what Chabot had to say Wednesday:

"Perjury is a very serious charge. Our justice system requires people to provide truthful testimony and perjury has the potential to seriously undermine the legal process. While the President has the constitutional authority to commute sentences and issue pardons, I believe that these matters are better left to the courts."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, noticed Chabot's late response. And, considering that in 1999, Chabot was one of 13 House Managers in the impeachment trial of President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, they had PLENTY to say:

Does Representative Steve Chabot, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, believe in holding everyone accountable for committing perjury or just Democrats? On the eve of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearings into President Bush saving Scooter Libby from jail for his perjury conviction, we might soon find out.

THEN -- Impeachment Manager Steve Chabot in 1999: “Perjury is something that is really detrimental to our entire legal system. We have people that go to ourtrooms all across the country every day of the week and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and if they lie under oath, they're going to go to jail…” [The O’Reilly Factor; 1/19/99]

NOW -- "Steve Chabot's uncharacteristic silence is deafening on President Bush giving Scooter Libby a get out of jail free card,” said Jennifer Crider, Communications Director for the DCCC. “Representative Chabot spoke volumes about the need to hold Democrats accountable for lying under oath. Now that President Bush gave special treatment to one of his own for the very same charges, Steve Chabot’s constituents have a right to know where stands.”