Ex-VP Dick Cheney outraged President Bush didn't grant 'Scooter' Libby full pardon

New York Daily News ^ | February 17, 2009 | Thomas M. DeFrank

[Arec Barrwin]

Ex-VP Dick Cheney outraged President Bush didn't grant 'Scooter' Libby full pardon

BY THOMAS M. DEFRANK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF Updated Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 8:36 AM

WASHINGTON - In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.

Sources close to Cheney told the Daily News the former vice president repeatedly pressed Bush to pardon Libby, arguing his ex-chief of staff and longtime alter ego deserved a full exoneration - even though Bush had already kept Libby out of jail by commuting his 30-month prison sentence.

"He tried to make it happen right up until the very end," one Cheney associate said.

[Arec Barrwin]

I'm with Cheney. Libby should have been pardoned.

[TC Rider]

Ditto

[RabidBartender]

I wonder why Al Gore is always referred to as “former” Vice President, while Cheney always seems to be called “ex-”.

[SharpTalons]

Didn’t Libby lie under Oath? Why I thought the Wilson/plame affair was hyperbole, we can’t absolve Libby’s error. He should have not lied.

[Cinnamon Girl]

Why DIDN’T President Bush pardon Libby?

[antonico]

Yet another “Dubya” failing. He spent so much time being worried about the Democrats that he’s the real reason we have Zerobama in the White House now.

[listenhillary]

So was I, So was I. It was a manufactured Democratic operative scandal.

Richard Armitage seen laughing all the way to the bank.

[xzins]

Libby was taken care of. He at least had a bone tossed to him by way of the commutation.

What about the Haditha sacrifical lambs: Chessani and Wuterich.

It’s a violation of the gravest order that the commander in chief would stand by while these men are being persecuted.

[sarasota]

“Outraged” and “furious”. Does the writer have an audio source for that? All is hearsay otherwise.

[listenhillary]

He didn’t remember a conversation that had taken place two years ago.

[SharpTalons]

Problem is that Libby committed perjury. The same garbage Clinton did. Conservatives can’t pick and choose when one of their own breaks the law.

[Chris DeWeese]

The Bush/Cheney ticked was almost as upside down as the Obama/Biden ticket.

[Ann Archy]

I'm sure Cheney is ticked off at Bush for a LOT of things!

Mark McKinnon, a DEMOCRAT was the WORST Commuunications person ....EVER!!!!! Well, I guess he was a good Democrat that helped RUIN the Republicans!

[Doogle]

NY DAILY NEWS....has always been, and always will be a libtard haven

[A.A. Cunningham]

From 22 January 2009:

Cheney Speaks Out on Libby (Cheney Mad at Bush)

[arealconservativeforachange]

Along with the border agents!

[devane617]

DOTTO DITTO DITTO WHAT YOU SAID!

[Verginius Rufus]

I don't know if Libby lied about anything. His recollections differed from those of Tim Russert, and Fitzgerald chose to believe Russert (whose memory was not always right). I think it's possible Libby was right and Russert wrong, or if Libby's version was wrong, he was trying his best to remember and give a truthful answer. I have not studied the case in sufficient detail to know, and maybe there is conclusive evidence somewhere in Fitzgerald's material, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Fitzgerald went after Libby because he needed to get someone to justify his witchhunt.

[Dixie Yooper]

And all this time, everyone thought Cheney was pulling the stings with this administration...

[ncalburt]

YOur full of crap TROLL.
There was no perjury . The crime was working for a repub WH in the DC court system. Buzz Off Obama drone .

[Old Retired Army Guy]

I cannot understand why Bush refused to do this.

[madinmadtown]

I heard someone who knows far more than most of us about this situation say exactly what you just said.

[My Favorite Headache]

Agreed. Clinton and Democrats get away with crimes in front of our face all day long. Bush was afraid to do the right thing with people who aren’t even guilty of a crime.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The unsuccessful full-court press left Cheney bitter."

Vice President Cheney, get in line. There's a lot of us that are mad at Bush. The ones that supported him. Well, Scooter can't vote now and he can't work in the profession he was trained in. I guess he should just become a Democrat and then apply for his Access card. Scooter will have company in the Access card line, Ramos and Compean....

[SharpTalons]

Whoa. are you completely delusional? You attack me for being a troll. I agree with the President on this call. BTW could you please step out of your “us vs. them” bubble and examine the situation on the ground. Frankly speaking the GOP and democratic party are not our friends. Look at the DOW for christ’s sake.

[Buck W.]

As I understand it, Libby didn’t want one.

[Doogle]

DAILY NEWS updated version of old news to keep people “occupied”, instead of talking about the liberal power grab using tax payer money

[bboop]

I cannot stand that NY Daily News site with the pop-ups that never go away.

Cheney is right, and he has the right to go public about this.

[nyconse]

Yeah, Libby should have been pardoned...I don’t think Bush thinks about anyone but himself...hanging a felony conviction around Libby’s neck is wrong...the guy didn’t do anything.

[TCats]

I am not a fan of Cheney but on this point I agree completely. Bush is downright irrational on so many points. Hope he remains invisible. A very, very big disappointment and I voted for him twice.

[nyconse]

I don’t believe it...why would he want a felony conviction?

[Buck W.]

The way I heard it put—if pardoned, he would be unable to win a court victory, as there would no longer be a charge. He wants to win in court.

Is it true? I don’t know!

[Balding_Eagle]

Didn’t Libby lie under Oath? Why I thought the Wilson/plame affair was hyperbole, we can’t absolve Libby’s error. He should have not lied.

Libby is an example why it's best to claim the 5th whenever possible.

[Condor51]

*** Didn’t Libby lie under Oath? ***

Not exactly.
His crime was remembering something different than Tim Russet in front of a Grand Jury and Fed Investigators. And we know that an ex Democratic operative and liberal (cough) journalist would never, ever, 'fib'.

Now, considering that Russet all of a sudden just went and 'suddenly died', maybe God was getting even for Russert 'misremembering'.

[Right Cal Gal]

A pardon halts the appeal process. I believe Libby wants to take this appeal as far as it will go.

[Right Cal Gal]

Or remember three little words: “I can’t recall.”

[eCSMaster]

I do know that the jury was a bunch of Democrats. The foreman was a friend of Russert’s and Woodward’s.

The whole case was a travesty.

But if Bush would have pardoned Libby, it would have made it appear as if he were really guilty.

Same with Wuterich.

It’s better to have Justice work in the end. I used to believe strongly that in the end Justice works. As I grow older, I’m not so sure...

[nyconse]

This was said about the border guys but no Libby...at least I never heard anyone say this...Cheney would not be ‘furious’ if this is true.

[Right Cal Gal]

IIRC, there was a failure to disclose media connections by one of the jurors, but since I don’t have the hard facts, I’ll leave to fellow Freepers with better memories.

[IMissPresidentReagan]

IIRC, and admittedly I had difficulty mustering enough interest in this whole debacle to understand, I believe the “lie” was something about when he talked to Novak; etc....Under President Bush the media stretched the meaning of the word “lie” to mean anything that one stated, that may turn out to be incorrect later is a lie. So...under the new “definition” of lie...every time the weather doesn't turn out the way the weatherman predicts, the weatherman is a liar. I think Libby's answers may or may not have been correct, but I don't know that they were lies.

JMO.

[Ditto]

IIRC, there was a failure to disclose media connections by one of the jurors, but since I don’t have the hard facts, I’ll leave to fellow Freepers with better memories.

One of the jurors was Tim Russert's neighbor and knew him socially.

[anita]

Thomas M. DeFrank is a HardBall regular with Chris Mathews, was constantly bashing Bush & Cheney. I would NEVER believe whatever this guy writes about anyone.

[nyconse]

This may be true...but why would Libby not want a pardon? Bush should have pardoned him.

[roses of sharon]

Commie propaganda trash.

[Mouton]

If he did not want one, it makes no sense that Chaney wanted the pardon. To me, this just like the border agent travesty a Bush failure. No pardon for Libby or the border agents who were just doing their jobs? I cannot wait for the dems to begin asking Bush some questions now either. I cannot wait to have him fumbling over his words and have a perjury charge dredged up for him to battle. If he thinks the zero is going to help him out, forget it. What goes around comes around I feel. Yeah he did great on the terror war and tax cuts but he was forced to make a good supreme court nominee, came up with a trillion dollar give away: the Medicare drug program, never objected to ridicules spending by the GOP, pushed for amnesty for illegals and supported RINOs like Spector.

[Ben Hecks]

It was a manufactured Democratic operative scandal.

The Democrats wanted to keep the focus on anyone other than Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame and the shadow government.

[Buck W.]

You’re right about the border agents, but I also heard it about Libby at the same time that his sentence was commuted. The question was asked at the time—why not a full pardon? That was the answer that was put forth. Again, who knows?

[Tribune7]

I’m with Cheney on this one too.

[ejonesie22]

That is right. A pardon leaves doubt forever and closes the door for a win on appeal which would clear the record completely.

The effect is the same, he is not in jail, but with the commutation he can still fight to truly clear his record.

Bush actually did right and God knows I love Chaney but Scooter needs to be allowed to clear his name via the courts. It will remove the asterisk from his name in the history books

[USS Alaska]

Problem is that Libby committed perjury. The same garbage Clinton did. Conservatives can’t pick and choose when one of their own breaks the law.

Your talons may be sharp but your brain is DU-LL.

To compare Klintoon's actions to Libby's is to compare a nuclear weapon with an M-80.

Richard Armitage was the leaker, no crime was committed because the bitch was not covert, and fitzy knowing this early on, continued his witch hunt to smear the Bush administration.

With klintoon the FBI had DNA PROOF, with Libby, firtzy had the potato-head with his version.