Cheney made the decision alone. Bush probably didn't learn he commuted Scooter's sentence until after all the paperwork was completed and, possibly, even signed by him! Then he covered his backside by trying to make it appear he was in charge of this decision.

It was Cheney. It has always been Cheney. Cheney made the decision. And he'll make the next one: to pardon Libby completely when the timing is right.

Just joined digg.com, let's push this story! thanks jakeybro

Yeah, yeah, we all hate Bush -- that's pretty much a given. And yes, it's very hard to give the benefit of the doubt to someone that we hate. I get that.

And while the merits of commuting Libby's pardon certainly deserve discussion, are there not greater issues at play here than to gnaw at the breaking of guidelines?

Guidelines are just that -- guidelines. They do not have the force of law, especially for the President under the Constitution (I remember that document, even if the President doesn't). It is not difficult to imagine that these guidelines are in place so that there is a procedure for those lesser lights who have not worked with the President and whose trial has not been front page news, and you can consider that it is cronyism at best and corruption at worst. But the fact is, the President doesn't have to follow the guidelines and in this one crazy instance, he doesn't have to.

In commutations and pardons, guidelines are handy for the President and the Justice Department to shuffle all the supplicants through. Ever had favors to impart? Then you needed guidelines, didn't you? "So sorry, I'd love to help you, but first fill out these forms and it will go into the review process."

Instead of getting down in the weeds about the guidelines, consider that as I watched this morning's press conference with Tony Snow, as soon as they moved on to another issue (immigration), all the newscasts broke away.

Discuss that!

The garble you link to are guidelines for the Justice Department's Pardon Attorney with respect to petitions for clemency. They in no way restrict the President's power to pardon and if they presumed to do so then they would be in violation of Article II of the Constitution.

The Executive may pardon whomever he pleases. Impeachment is the only exception.

By my reading, those are not guidelines for the President, but rather for people petitioning the President for clemency or pardon. The office in question is a filter to select which requests actually get to the President. It doesn't limit him from granting any kind of clemency or pardon.

The Pardon Attorney, under the direction of the Deputy Attorney General, receives and reviews all petitions for executive clemency (which includes pardon after completion of sentence, commutation of sentence, remission of fine and reprieve), initiates and directs the necessary investigations, and prepares a report and recommendation for submission to the President in every case.

Bush likes to talk and act tough but he is a wuss.

He has no problem violating the letter and spirit of the law and the Constitution when it suits his purpose but when he has the Constitutional authority to grant a pardon to someone he spits the bit. Scooter Libby should have gone to jail. He lied to federal prosecutors. Repeatedly. He fell on his sword for Darth Cheney. If Paris Hilton can do time, so can Scooter.

Bush had to know he would be subject to a barrage of criticism by commuting Libby's sentence so why not pardon the guy? Under this deal, Libby pays a hefty fine, has 2 years of probation and is a convicted felon. That means he probably will be disbarred. In some states he won't be able to vote or hold any kind of public office. With a pardon, the conviction would be removed from his record.

I assume a full pardon is planned for January 19, 2009, so why not do it now?

Can Congress pardon a convicted felon? If so, I would have the Senate or House Intelligence Committe submit one in exchange for Libby's full and complete testimony about the Plame case and who specifically said what.

Bush made his mind up without any legal advice because he is King god-damn-it, King. The King pays no attention to the subtleties of trivial matters such as laws. He and prince Rove make the laws as they go along and then they "fart in our general direction"...

Yes, I don't think it's a good idea for Scooter to get off so easy. He was found guilty and he should have served his time in prison. But I also don't see the point of this post. Those standards are for weeding out cases before they get to the president. They're guidelines for people who want to submit their case for consideration, not for the president to get approval from the Justice Department. The president was already fully aware of this case and I'm sure he didn't need any assistance from the Pardon Attorney to make up his mind.

And anyone else who wants to raise awareness of this story.

While Libby was far from innocent in all of this, he received punishment that should have been doled out to any number of people. It's felt hollow from the beginning to punish him without others also being punished. Does anyone actually think that someone does something like Libby did without it being sanctioned by Cheney, Rove and the gang?

In that case, Libby should have rolled on the masterminds whose bidding he did. Instead, they are buying his silence by dispensing with his prison sentence.

...if a democratic president in the future could get away with all this shit.

While Libby was far from innocent in all of this, he received punishment that should have been doled out to any number of people. It's felt hollow from the beginning to punish him without others also being punished. Does anyone actually think that someone does something like Libby did without it being sanctioned by Cheney, Rove and the gang?