Former lobbyist Harvey Whittemore was given a two-year sentenceearlier this week for organizing donations to a PAC run by Sen. Harry Reid and then reimbursing the donors. The $134,000 donation was far above the legal limit any one donor can give. So was two-years just for a lawyer and lobbyist who breaks the campaign finance laws? Or would it have been better to give him a non-custodial sentence doing, for example, pro bono legal work? Some want the letter of the law enforcedon the most egregious example of side-stepping election law while others have said justice should be tempered with mercy because Whittemore does not threaten public safety and the jail sentence is too harsh for his crime.
Steve Sebelius, columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Jon Ralston, host, Ralston Reports