No Pardon Anytime Soon

Neil A. Lewis writes in the New York Times: "In effect, the ruling means that the only thing standing between Mr. Libby and prison is a pardon from President Bush, which Mr. Libby and his supporters are avidly seeking. But Mr. Bush has so far shown no inclination to intervene. . . .

"The final decision led to the stark spectacle of Mr. Libby's leaving the courtroom for the first time not through the public entrance as he had done dozens of times in the past, but escorted in the fashion of a convict out a private door by grim-faced marshals.

"Under federal procedures, the Bureau of Prisons is supposed to review Mr. Libby's case and determine a location for him. Because federal prisoners are supposed to be placed near their homes if possible, Mr. Libby might be sent to a minimum-security prison camp in Maryland, Virginia or New Jersey. . . .

"Mr. Libby's supporters had hoped that he could remain free while his case was appealed and that Mr. Bush might find it more palatable to issue a pardon later in his term, even just before he left office. . . .

"Democratic leaders in Congress have said that any pardon would be improper and a display of favoritism. The discussion among Republicans has been occasionally vitriolic, demonstrating the vexing political situation the Libby conviction has thrown up for Mr. Bush."

James Gordon Meek writes in the New York Daily News: "Cheney is pressing for a pardon, but other Bush advisers are urging the President not to do it, sources told the Daily News."

Timothy M. Phelps writes in Newsday: "Bush, now dipping below a 30 percent approval rating in some political polls, must decide whether to risk what little political capital he has left with a pardon likely to be unpopular with the general public, or risk the outraged ire of conservatives, particularly Libby's fellow neoconservatives, who are among the few who still support him.

"Chief among those presumed lobbying for a Libby pardon is Cheney, one of the most powerful vice presidents in history, who called his top assistant 'a man of the highest intellect, judgment and personal integrity,' even after his conviction for perjury and obstructing justice in the investigation into who leaked the name of former covert CIA agent Valerie Plame to reporters in 2003. If there were any skeletons in Bush's closet, Cheney would probably be able to call them by name.

"'The dilemma the president faces is whether a timely pardon will win him more support than simply throwing Scooter Libby to the wolves,' said Ross Baker, an expert on the presidency at Rutgers University. 'It may be there's a greater risk in the pursuance of the core loyalists like the Cheney people in the party . . . It might well be argued to the president that this is something he ought to put off until the 19th of January, 2009 [his last day in office]. . . .

"But if Bush waits until he is leaving office, Libby . . . might already have spent nearly a year and a half out of his two-and-a-half-year sentence in jail."

Slate's John Dickerson seems to think a pardon is a done deal: "It has always been the view among Cheney loyalists and former Bush administration officials who have followed the case closely that the president would never allow Libby to spend a single day in an orange jumpsuit. The few people who may have held serious conversations with the president about a pardon are staying mum (this is the Bush administration, after all). But those I've talked to who know the president well and have worked for him predict a pardon for two reasons.

"First: Dick Cheney. The vice president may not be winning as many foreign-policy battles as he used to, but Libby's fate is a highly personal matter for Cheney. He will ask Bush for a pardon, and he is unlikely to back down. If Bush resists, Cheney could argue that his close aide Libby should not go to jail while Karl Rove, another key figure in the scandal, has been protected by Bush and the administration.