WP, pg1: Bush Deflects Pressure To Give Libby a Pardon

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Deflects Pressure To Give Libby a Pardon
Clemency Before 2008 Election Could Be Politically Risky
By Peter Baker and Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A01

President Bush said yesterday that he is "pretty much going to stay out of" the case of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby until the legal process has run its course, deflecting pressure from supporters of the former White House aide to pardon him for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Libby's allies said Bush should not wait for Libby to be sentenced, and should use his executive power to spare Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff the risk of prison time for lying to a grand jury and FBI agents about his role in leaking the name of an undercover CIA officer. But the prospect of a pardon triggered condemnation from Democrats and caution from some Republicans wary of another furor....

In his first comments on the case since the verdict, Bush told CNN en Español that he has to "respect that conviction" but that he "was sad for a man who had worked in my administration." Bush did not rule out a pardon but implied that it is not imminent. "I'm pretty much going to stay out of it until the course -- the case has finally run its final -- the course it's going to take," he told Univision during an interview before a trip to Latin America that begins today....

***

Libby probably faces a prison sentence of 1 1/2 to three years for lying about his role in the disclosure of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, wife of war critic and former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. But Libby could avoid jail time until after the 2008 presidential election through appeals, according to legal specialists -- timing that would make a pardon easier for Bush politically.

Libby's defense team intends to seek a new trial and possibly appeal his conviction on four felony counts. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton has scheduled sentencing for June 5, when many lawyers expect him to allow Libby to remain out of prison pending appeals that could last through late 2008....

But if Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald insists that Libby begin serving his sentence right away and Walton agrees, it could force the question sooner. "Then the issue could ripen very fast," said Bradford A. Berenson, a former Bush White House lawyer, who said he expects a debate within the White House about what to do....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030700184.html

[MO_Dem]

1. He already promised!

Didn't he already say, long ago, that if anybody in his administration did leak classified information that "they would be taken care of"?

[rodeodance]

5. yeah bush will take of libby========grant a pardon (sometime)

[truthisfreedom]

2. "I'm pretty much going to stay out of it until the course -- the case has finally run its final --

-- the course it's going to take."

Pretty much, Mr. President?
Until the course? You mean the case?
The case has finally run it's final course?
The course it's going to take?

It's clear your're completely rattled by this situation. And don't think we aren't enjoying it. We are. We love it when you're rattled. It represents the way we see ourselves if we were you, running the administration like the most powerful mafia in the world, and suddenly coming to the realization that you may not have enough power to protect yourselves against having the curtains pulled back to reveal the true inner workings of your spectacularly corrupt organization.

[bluestateguy]

3. I'm not optimistic about this

and I think we all have to prepare ourselves for the likelihood that Scooter (what kind of a name is that for a grown man anyway?) Libby will not spend a day in prison.

He will be pardoned on Bush's last day in the White House, along with Abramoff, Cunningham, Skilling, Fastow and Safavian.

[Bhaisahab]

4. maybe not.

one of the posters at WP message boards says:

"Newsweek is reporting that BY LAW, Libby will not be eligible for a pardon until 5 years after his conviction. For Bush to pardon him, hell have to sign an executive order to nix that law just for Libby. If he does---and he buckles to the neocons at the National Review--his party will lose in 2008 by a landslide, and he knows it."
- By auntmo9990 | Mar 7, 2007 11:16:30 PM |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/comments/display?contentID=AR2007030700184

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Will Bush, the legacy hunter, be stupid enough to sign an executive order for a whole bunch of criminals?


Oh right, he will.