ROGER SIMON COLUMN
NOVEMBER 9, 2005
WASHINGTON - - The Democratic leadership of the U. S. Senate is very, very worried that President Bush is going to pardon Scooter Libby.
Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, is currently charged with five felonies relating to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. It will be months and months before Libby goes to trial, but the Democrats are taking no chances.
"Although it is too early to judge Mr. Libby guilty or innocent of these particular charges, it is not too early for you to reassure the American people that you understand the enormous gravity of the allegations," the Democratic leadership said in a letter to President Bush Tuesday. "To this end, we urge you to pledge that if Mr. Libby or anyone else is found guilty of a crime in connection with Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation, you will not exercise your authority to issue a Presidential pardon."
Actually, the letter could have gone further. It could have asked Bush not to pardon Libby even before a guilty verdict. A president does not have to wait for a verdict, or even an indictment, before issuing a pardon.
President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, even though Nixon had not been indicted for any crimes. Although hugely controversial - - it certainly contributed to Ford's loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976 - - the pardon was perfectly legal.
According to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, the president "shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." And presidents exercise that power all the time. (It is an open question whether a president can pardon himself.)
Bush has pardoned 58 people since becoming president, which is actually a pretty low number. According to CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller, who is the unofficial historian of the presidential press corps, Richard Nixon granted 863 pardons in six years, Jimmy Carter granted 534 in four, Bill Clinton granted 396 in eight years, Ronald Reagan granted 393 in eight years, Ford granted 382 in two years and George H.W. Bush granted 74 in four years, including pardons for former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others involved in the Iran-Contra affair.
So pardons happen all the time, but Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said of a possible pardon for Libby: "The bottom line is that working in the White House and being a trusted adviser to the President and the Vice President should not be a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card for anyone."
How likely is it that Bush would pardon Libby? I think it is highly unlikely.
It would be very unpopular. According to a poll released this week by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 79 percent of those polled said that Libby's indictment was important to the nation and 60 percent said the indictment has not gotten too much news coverage.
Further, Libby is being accused of lying about the outing of a CIA agent and, thereby, damaging national security. Even putting aside the fact that Bush's father was once the director of the CIA, does President Bush really want to pardon such an act?
I don't think so. George Bush wants to spend his last years in office shaping his legacy to the nation and history. Of all the things his presidency needs right now, more controversy is not among them.
On his last day in office, Bill Clinton created a huge controversy when he pardoned international tax-fraud fugitive Marc Rich, whose wife was a big Democratic contributor.
But then for many years Rich had a good lawyer. His name was Scooter Libby.
Posted by rsimon at November 09, 2005 03:35 PM