Bring Justice to Libby: Fine Him

Defense likely to appeal trial court's ruling

(NEWSER) - Scooter Libby may not remain free pending appeal, the judge in his perjury trial ruled today, and must begin serving his 30-month sentence this summer. His defense team will turn next to a federal appeals court, the Washington Post reports, but the most pressing legal question now is whether President Bush will pardon the VP's onetime right-hand man. More»

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney pursued a pardon for former aide Scooter Libby so doggedly in his final days in office that he pushed the bounds of his 9-year relationship with George Bush, reports Time. It wasn't so much a political issue as a moral "crusade" for Cheney, write Massimo Calabresi and Michael Weisskopf. He implored Bush not to leave "anyone on the battlefield" and said anything less than a full pardon would tarnish their legacy in the war on terror. "Cheney really got in the president's face," says one source. "He just wouldn't give it up." More»

Ex-VP pushed prez for reprieve 'til he left DC

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney is furious that President Bush wouldn’t listen when he repeatedly pushed for a last-minute pardon for Scooter Libby, the New York Daily News reports. The ex-VP “went to the mat and came back and back and back at Bush” for a full pardon, said one close to Cheney. "He was still trying the day before Obama was sworn in." More»

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney believes disgraced former chief of staff Scooter Libby, convicted in the CIA leak investigation, deserved a pardon, the Weekly Standard reports. “He was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice,” the former vice president said. “Obviously, I disagree with President Bush.” Bush’s decision has been ascribed to an honest belief in Libby’s guilt, but also to a desire for the pardon not to appear politically motivated. More»

Scooter Libby? Alberto Gonzales? The entire CIA? Speculation swirls

(NEWSER) - President Bush has shown no inclination to go on a Clinton-esque pardon binge, but that won't stop Josh Gerstein of Politico from speculating. Here are the potential pardon/commutation prospects, and the odds:

• All CIA and military interrogators: Bush could make a big splash with a blanket pardon to anyone who may or may not have tortured suspects in the war on terror. But it’d be legally tricky and enrage many. Odds: 4 to 1