If Scooter Libby is pardoned, could he be compelled to testify against others without invoking 5th amendment?

Question

If he is pardoned, he will have immunity and therefore can he be compelled to testify without fear of incriminating himself?

I'm asking a legal question, not a political one.

I think the president can choose how broad a pardon he is giving. For example, Ford pardoned Nixon for crimes that he had not yet been indicted for! But that was pretty exceptional.

Answer 1

Depends on the scope of his pardon; it would likely cover any contempt charges that might be used to compel his testimony. Pardons are generally written very broadly, to cover anything that might have anything to do with the charges.

Answer 2

Not if he has a brain in his head.

He wasn't accused of anything in this investigation in the first place, because Fitzgerald knew there was no crime committed. Anyone could have disclosed Valerie Plame's status as a former covert operative, and it would not have been a crime because that status was too far in the past. Now, you can argue that it was leaked for political reasons, or that the statute should go back farther, but that doesn't change the law. There was no crime.

So Scooter gets charged with perjury. Since perjury requires that the false statements be about a material matter, and there was no underlying crime, I fail to see how any of his statements, true or otherwise, were material.

And yet, he is convicted. The witness to a non-crime is convicted.

Anyone with any sense at all would plead the Fifth when questioned by the Feds, since a faulty answer can land you in jail.

Answer 3

A pardon does not give him immunity. It merely "forgives" his past crimes. If he were to provide information against others that further implicated himself in ADDITIONAL crimes to the ones he is pardoned for, then, without also having secured an immunity deal, he could be charged again.

Answer 4

George Walker Bush says he is not even considering the pardon of this convicted felon.

Mark my words.

"This will be one more promise that Bush will flip flop on."

You watch one more thing...

If L.Scooter Libby decides to blow the whistle on his boss, he will mysteriously die the day before he is due to testify.

.

Answer 5

I can't tell you exactly, cause I'm not a law expert, but odds are, he'll probably testify against others anyway. Double jeopardy prevents him from going to jail, but what he went through could convince him to try to put others in jail.

Answer 6

He may be called to testify, and his attorneys may insist that he plead the fifth. However, he cannot testify against himself, and other than that, he has nothing to worry about. Unless he lies about the others involved.