Students’ reactions mixed about I. Lewis Libby’s resignation

Students have mixed reactions to the tide of resignations and indictments in Washington, including that of I. Lewis Libby, the vice president’s former chief of staff.

Libby, indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the case of exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame, is now facing a possible court trial.

Shaun Zuhosky, sophomore music education major, said he was troubled by the current events in Washington, D.C.

“The Lewis Libby situation is most disturbing,” he said. “My confidence in the Republican Party has been shaken a little bit.”

Kevin Bobula, freshman history major, said his distrust of the GOP has only been furthered.

“I think that the party is completely full of corrupt liars,” he said. “Libby was just sloppier than the others and got caught.”

Ashlei Trimm, sophomore education major and vice president of administrative affairs for Kent Interhall Council, echoed Bobula’s distrust of the majority party.

“It didn’t surprise me. The Republicans have always seemed shady,” she said.

But Matt White, president of the College Republicans, said people should remember that nothing has been proven against Libby yet.

“It’s important that we allow all American citizens the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” he said.

Bill Ross, executive director of the Undergraduate Student Senate, called the indictment hurtful to the Bush administration.

“It’s not the kind of thing I’d like to see out of the administration’s high-ranking officials,” he said. “I would also like to see more cooperation within the government to discover where the leak came from.”

Several recent events, including the indictment of Libby, may loom negatively over the Republican Party for months to come, possibly paving the way for the Democratic Party to gain several seats in the November 2006 congressional elections.

Richard Robyn, director of the Washington Program in National Issues, admitted that a lasting trial for Libby could affect the 2006 elections, but it is still too far in the future to predict.

“Something that is more than a year away is easily an eternity away in American politics,” said Robyn, who has a neutral opinion on Libby’s credibility and innocence.

Libby’s first scheduled court appearance is Thursday. His trial could see testimonies from several key government officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney.

Contact news correspondent Derek Lenehan at [email protected].