Can Bush issue a Pardon after commuting?

Question

Can Bush issue a Pardon for Libby right before he leaves office ( assuming he will )
after commuting Libby on jail . This way he can get less heat and sneak it in rather than doing the full thing now.

Answer 1

He does whatever the hell he wants anyway...

Answer 2

A Presidential Pardon can be issued at any time, irregardless of any action that took place prior to the pardon.

P.S. About Libby Lying....President Clinton was the Commander in Chief of the US Military (as all Presidents of the United States are). A US Soldier who commits adultery is usually sentenced to 10 years in Prison. If he/she lies about the event, they get another 10 years. If the Commander in Chief doesn't get the same sentence that the soldiers under him get, then why should any other politician be any different? A lying, cheating, and untrustworthy politican of any title is the same in my book.

P.P.S. Of all those pardons and other acts before Clinton left office, many had to deal with "White Water"...We found out who was really running the country!!! And she has the "equipment" to try to run again???

Answer 3

Yes, he can. What he did was commute the jail time but the conviction still stands.
He will still pardon him when he thinks no one is looking which will bypass the guidelines set by the Department of Justice.
1)Petitioner has to have gone to jail
2)The pardon request has to be made at least five (5)years after the date of the release of the petitioner from confinement or, in case no prison sentence was imposed, until the expiration of a period of at least five (5) years after the date of the conviction of the petitioner. Generally, no petition should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or supervised release.

These, ironically, are facts that Scooter Libby should know considering he was the one who submitted the clemency request for March Rich to President Bill Clinton
Primarily, these are the excuses Bush has used for not pardoning the two Border Patrol agents who were convicted for actually doing their job, which absolutely disgusts me But knowing GWB, since he seems to consider the US Constitution as a " just a piece of paper" and the rule of law as guidelines he can pick and choose which ones he feels to follow, he will crap on those rules and with no compunction flout those same rules and standards he holds the Border agents to and pardon someone who lied and obstructed justice about something to do with National Security
Edited to add:
I am sick and tired of people making excuses for Libby. No one forced Libby to take an oath to tell the truth and lie 7 times not only to the FBI but also to the grand jury. He had notes that he could have referred back to which he fully well knew he had but he still chose to lie. It was his own notes that were used him against as well as the testimony from the reporters, yes notes in his own handwriting detailing when he met and spoke with whom. Enough!!!

Answer 4

No, I think all that is done , is all that will be done. Pardons? that is Clinton's way, hours before he leaves office. Like over 200 of them.
President of the United States exercised his Constitutional authority to grant clemency to Scooter Libby. I always felt that he did not lie and I felt that the sentence was too harsh for the crime. The clemency only covers the jail term and leaves the probation and the fine intact. This allows Libby to continue to pursue appeals to litigate how someone can be guilty of obstruction without an underlying crime.” This is the Presidential Grant of Clemency:

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

WHEREAS Lewis Libby was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case United States v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (RBW), for which a sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment, 2 years’ supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $400 was imposed on June 22, 2007;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, do hereby commute the prison terms imposed by the sentence upon the said Lewis Libby to expire immediately, leaving intact and in effect the two-year term of supervised release, with all its conditions, and all other components of the sentence.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

After this push for immigration the President came back and got one right. I am sure the left will go nuts over this and there are people who will point out, that some will view Clinton’s perjury as a serious issue but that Libby’s is not. I have a different take on this. Both cases of perjury are serious (taking the jury verdict as proof because I am still not convinced he lied) but since Clinton never received jail time then Libby should get the same punishment. The President removed the jail portion of the penalty while leaving the rest intact which is similar to what Clinton received. One thing is for sure, Libby will never make the money that Clinton is now. His life is forever damaged because the Special Prosecutor kept looking after he knew who leaked the info. It was nothing more than a snipe hunt to satisfy the left.

As for Obama. Perhaps this guy has not paid attention or maybe he just wants to say something enough times that people will believe it, oh wait, the Liberals already believe it. What is the it? This is Obama’s statement about the clemency:

“This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.” Obama press release

B. Hussein Obama wants to be president and he has yet to figure out the facts in this case. Libby was convicted of lying to the Grand Jury (serious stuff, I agree) not of disclosing the identity of Valerie Plame. Forgetting, for a moment, that Plame was not covert, her identity was revealed by someone else who also happened to be critical of the war in Iraq. The way it was revealed was that people were trying to figure out who sent a low level former ambassador named Joe Wilson to Niger to investigate if Iraq had tried to get yellow cake Uranium. Wilson made the claim that he was sent at the behest of the Vice President (a lie) and when Cheney heard this he wanted to know who really sent him. That is when they found out that his wife recommended him for the mission, a fact she denied several times. Her involvement is no longer in question and it has been shown that she and her husband both lied in regard to this issue.

Not to rehash the whole issue (which will be dead in a week when people move on to other issues) but B. Hussein Obama makes it sound like President Bush let the leaker off the hook. I just want Obama to explain how perjury jeopardized national security. Seems that he is engaging in the kind of hype he criticizes the administration for. Also, I have never heard Obama chime in on how he feels Clinton should have been dealt with. Same crime, same time, and Clinton WAS a threat to national security! President Bush still left a hefty fine in place and two years of probation. Libby will no doubt lose his law license and have to write a book to make money.

If I were he, I might consider a tell all story about the things that went on in DC during this time. Sling a bit of mud on everyone, regardless of party. A good book is just what the doctor ordered.

Answer 5

Why do you think he'd get heat now? Because they're all a bunch of thugs and think they are above the law?

Answer 6

If it's not on the books, he'll figure out how to break the law and do it.

Answer 7

Commuting to where?