I am very confident that the 5th Circuit will reverse this conviction. Bush will see to it. He won't pardon them (he can't), but he will take the heat off by getting the 5th Circuit panel to in essence do it for him.OK, IJ, you lost me there. How is "Bush going to see to it"? That's the whole friggin purpose of the lifetime appointments...so the executive or legislative branches can't screw with the judiciary or their work.
I know plenty of circuit court judges, and not one of them is beholden to anyone in the executive branch.
How naive you are. I could name several Fifth Circuit judges who could be easily swayed by a subtle indirect word from Bush. Some justices are highly political.
Also, the fact that the judgment should be reversed will make it easy to do what they know that Bush wants them to do.