Cheney Says Bush Should Have Pardoned Libby

Just a day after the end of their political marriage, Dick Cheney says it was a mistake for George W. Bush not to pardon his former chief of staff Scooter Libby. 

Cheney told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that his former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, whom he described as a “victim of a serious miscarriage of justice,” deserved a presidential pardon.

Asked for his reaction to Bush’s decision Cheney said: “Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and honorable men I’ve ever known. He’s been an outstanding public servant throughout his career. He was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice, and I strongly believe that he deserved a presidential pardon. Obviously, I disagree with President Bush’s decision.”

At the time Libby’s sentence was commuted, Bush said the sentence was excessive, but he never said Libby wasn’t guilty.  Bush said then, “I respect the jury’s verdict,” and praised prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald for running the investigation in “a very dignified way.”  Someof the few supporters Bush still have are miffed by the lack of a pardon.

One Libby sympathizer, a longtime defender of Bush, told friends she was “disgusted” by the president. Another described Bush as “dishonorable” and a third suggested that refusing to pardon Libby was akin to leaving a soldier on the battlefield.

 I can’t wait for the Bush rehabilitation tour.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.