On Libby: To pardon or not to pardon?

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On Libby: To pardon or not to pardon?
That is the question of the day as the media, commentators and bloggers all have their say in the aftermath of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction for lying to investigators during the probe into who leaked CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the media in 2003.

As USA TODAY's Ken Dilanian writes, "With the ink hardly dry on ... Libby's perjury conviction, some conservatives are urging President Bush to wipe away the jury's finding of guilt by granting the former vice presidential aide a pardon."

New York Post columnist John Podhertz goes so far as to say it's a sure thing that Libby will eventually be cleared by the president:

Why? Because if Bush fails to pardon Libby, he will implicitly be accepting the contention that Scooter Libby was part of a White House conspiracy at the highest levels to destroy the career of a CIA agent whose husband had proved Bush & Co. had lied us into the Iraq War.

However:

• The Washington Post points out that "President Bush said yesterday that he is 'pretty much going to stay out of' the case ... until the legal process has run its course, deflecting pressure from supporters of the former White House aide to pardon (Libby)."

• Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball write that they don't think Bush can pardon Libby. "Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff does not qualify to even be considered for a presidential pardon under Justice Department guidelines," they say.

Why not? They point to a discussion at the Department of Justice's website, where it's written that "a petitioner (must) wait a period of at least five years after conviction or release from confinement (whichever is later) before filing a pardon application." Bush has always followed DOJ's guidelines, Isikoff and Hosenball report.

As for whether Libby should be pardoned:

• Ron Chusid at the blog The Liberal Values argues no, and writes that "if conservatives really acted on their rhetorical distrust of big government they would react to this case by wanting to throw Bush and Cheney out of power, not by calling for a pardon for one of their flunkies."

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/03/on_libby_to_par.html