Bush Commutes Sentences of Former US Border Agents

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»

'He seems to go out of his way to deny the high rollers, the prominent people,' source says

(NEWSER) - George Bush formally denied pardons for several prominent politicians and businessmen on his last day in office, the Justice Department told the Los Angeles Times today. Among those whose pleas fell on deaf ears were Michael Milken, a businessman convicted of insider trading and stock evasion, and Randall Cunningham, a Congressman who pleaded guilty to taking bribes in 2006. 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»

President's tally still pales in comparison to Clinton, Reagan

(NEWSER) - Another round of presidential pardons today might not be the last, the Washington Post reports. “The president has maintained his authority to do that until his last day,” a spokesman said. No big names, such as Scooter Libby, were announced, but President Bush did issue a rare posthumous pardon for a man who smuggled arms to Jewish fighters in Palestine in the 1940s. More»

Petitioners include the American Taliban, but not Scooter Libby

(NEWSER) - President Bush is nearing the end of his term, and felons are coming out of the woodwork in historic numbers to ask for pardons and reduced sentences, the New York Times reports. It is not unusual for there to be a spike in pardons granted by a president in his final months in office: Half of Bill Clinton’s 459 pardons happened in his last three months. More»