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In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies, President Bush has decided not to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, for his 2007 conviction in the CIA leak case, two White House officials said Monday.
On Bush’s last full day as president, Bush did commute the sentence of two former Border Patrol agents—Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos—for shooting a Mexican drug dealer and then lying about it. But White House press spokesman Tony Fratto told NEWSWEEK “you should not expect any more” pardons and commutations from Bush before he leaves office Tuesday. Another senior official, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive matters, confirmed that no more pardons would be granted.
But the decision not to pardon Libby stunned some longtime Bush backers who had been quietly making the case for the former vice presidential aide in recent weeks. A number of Libby’s allies had raised the issue with White House officials, arguing that as a loyal aide who played a key role in shaping Bush’s foreign policy during the president’s first term, including the decision to invade Iraq, Libby deserved to have the stain of his felony conviction erased from the record. In the only public sign of the lobbying campaign, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial strongly urging Libby’s pardon.
“I’m flabbergasted,” said one influential Republican activist, who had raised the issue with White House aides, but who asked not to be identified criticizing the president. Ambassador Richard Carlson, the vice chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a neo-conservative think tank, added that he too was “shocked” at Bush’s denial of a pardon for Libby.
Gasp!
I bet there are a lot of pissed off democraps right now.
This is one Demo that is quite happy that Dubya is leaving Scooter in jail; for once he has shown some sense. Outing a CIA agent is serious stuff, and people can and do die when it happens. Plus there’s the manufactured justification for invading Iraq, apparently to enrich Halliburton. Let him rot…
Fox anchors will be frothing, foaming at the mouth, white speckled with outrage. Can’t wait.
I’m holding my breath until after Obama is sworn in. I’m still afraid he will pardon every person who broke the law while he was in power.
Get under the bus Scooter!
#2: scooter never went to prison. should have, but didn’t.
# 2 Floyd said, “This is one Demo that is quite happy that Dubya is leaving Scooter in jail”
ROFL!
Bush commuted Libby’s prison term. Do you, as a Dem have clue what that means?
Man, that Bush is one mean son-of-a-bitch. Libby took one for the team and now Bush f’s him in the a.
I wonder what incentive the prosecution can dangle in front of Libby to testify against Bush, Cheney and Rove.
Scooter’s hearing is not so good so anyone talking to him gets the reply “Pardon Me?”
#2, I was trolling. I am sure the dems were just waiting for Bush to pardon him so they could scream bloody murder. Now they can’t 🙂
Bush needs loyalty no more. His political future is at it’s end. Why stir the pot?
On the other hand, why no pardon to begin with? As evidenced here on DU, the general public is unable to discern pardon from commuting a sentence. May as well gone for it to begin with.
see you just cant trust a republican…….
Don’t jinx it. He still has 15 hours to go.
#8 jealousmonk
“Libby took one for the team and now Bush f’s him in the a.”
It is his turn. After all the rest of America has been taking it in the a for 8 years!
The really sad/funny thing is that Armitage was the actual leaker in the Plame affair, but Libby was the one who did the time. Anyway, I figure the Democrats were hoping Libby would get a pardon so they could draw an equivalency between GWB and Bill Clinton’s last-day pardons of Rich, McDougal, and Rostenkowski (among 140 others).
I think Bush had to listen what his bosses at CIA said, and not to try to pardon a fellow worker.
I am not demanding that anyone go to jail or even trial.
I do demand that we hold investigations and find out what the hell happened during the most secretive administration I can remember.
If criminal behavior is unearthed, that’s a separate issue for prosecutors and grand juries.
But, as for me, secretive governments are antithetical to democracy and that needs to be fixed.
Its outrageous he didn’t pardon the border guards last year. I don’t understand his reticence to do so. It does look like the shooting was “questionable” and that the guards lied about key facts==but enhancing the crime for “using a gun” for border guards who are required to be armed is just too Kafkaesque–as is dope runners getting immunity while dope catchers get jail=== all while drug policy is inane.
What a wonderful world.
On related issues, I am glad for BushtheRetard. If he wasn’t, he would pardon EVERYONE for the use of torture.
Maybe that leaves a trap for Obama. I wouldn’t call for it as Obama, but I wouldn’t get in its way either.
Good!
It appears I was wrong on this. I would have bet the President would of granted a full pardon before leaving office. My bad.
He should be in with OJ today.
Shocked “Conservative” allies or Zionist (AKA Neoconservative) allies?
Interesting article on the Rich pardon. Looks like it was actually part of an attempt to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2009/01/16/holder/index.html
I think the only thing Bush got right in his 8 years was to pardon those two Boarder Patrol Agents who are doing time for shooting a Drug Runner.
I’m very happy they are now FREE!
Libby was Mark Rich’s lawyer, and he got a pardon. So now Libby does the jail time. And wasn’t Patrick Fitzgerald the prosecutor in the Rich case?
#7
Childrens/morons abbreviations…HA! I knew you were just some dumbass teen that like to feel grown up by posting on this site.
I may be wrong but i think this is correct.
The reason he did not pardon him is simple. If he gives him a pardon then he has complete immunity and then he could be compelled to talk about this issue under oath.
Since “W” only commuted his sentence so he would not do jail time was so he would not get immunity and thus he is not compelled to speak about it in a court room because he does not have immunity and can’t be forced to testify against himself.
Again I could be wrong but trust me they did it like this for a reason.
#28–Dick. Yes, you are wrong. A president cannot give immunity–only prosecutors can do that==usually with the condition that the recipient not commit any further crimes, tells the truth, and cooperates fully in the ongoing prosecution of others.
What Presidents do is give Pardons or Commutations. Three different things.
In most cases, Pardons are given out in exchange for money. Its criminal, but totally ingrained in our system of justice.
Libby didn’t get a pardon. His sentence was commuted. Bush spared him from jail time, but he still has a criminal record.
Perhaps the reason why he hasn’t pardoned all of Bushco, Inc., is because he does not feel anyone is guilty of anything illegal.
Time will tell if they are.