George Bush created a political storm yesterday by intervening to stop the disgraced White House aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, from going to jail. The president, in a statement, said the prison sentence imposed on Mr Libby, who was found guilty of perjury in a complex spy case linked to the Iraq war, was too harsh.
He commuted Mr Libby's jail sentence, but did not grant him a pardon. Mr Libby still faces a $250,000 (£125,000) fine and will remain on probation.
AP - Bush won't rule out full Libby pardon
President Bush on Tuesday refused to rule out an eventual pardon for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, leaving open the chance he may wipe away the former White House aide's criminal record after already erasing his prison sentence.
"I rule nothing in or nothing out," Bush said when asked about whether he might pardon Libby before leaving office in January 2009.
President Clinton pardoned 140 people on his last day in office, including fugitive financier Marc Rich — whose lawyer was Libby.
On Christmas Eve in 1992, just before he left office, the first President Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and a CIA official as they awaited trial on Iran-Contra charges, as well as four other administration officials who had pleaded or been found guilty in the affair.
My previous post about Libby can be seen here.
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