Goldstein Discusses Libby Commutation

Earlier today, Post staff writer Amy Goldstein held an online chat on the commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison term. Some excerpts:

Oxford, Miss.: I’m not asking you to speculate, just to clarify: There’s still nothing preventing Bush from pardoning Libby on, say, his last day of office, right?

Amy Goldstein: Thanks for this question, which really gets to the heart of what President Bush did and did not do last evening. He has commuted the 30-month year prison sentence to which Mr. Libby was sentenced by a U.S. District Judge last month. On the other hand, the president did not pardon Mr. Libby. That means that the conviction on four felonies still stands. It means that Mr. Libby still faces a $250 fine and two years’ probation that were part of his sentence. It also means that Mr. Bush could, if he chose, pardon him in the future, although that does not seem terribly likely at the moment.

…

Philadelphia: Before the Clinton-haters try to equate Libby with Marc Rich I would like to point out two facts: Rich didn’t have anything on Clinton or Gore that might lead them to be implicated in a crime, and Marc Rich’s attorney at the time of his pardon was … Scooter Libby.

Amy Goldstein: I would be surprised if, in coming days, we didn’t hear a lot of partisan debate comparing the use of the presidential power of clemency by President Bush and President Bill Clinton. Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich on his last day in office surely will figure that debate.

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Washington: Could you please tell if there have been historical precedents in which the president commuted the sentence of a close aide?

Also, the Special prosecutor came out with a strong statement disagreeing with the rationale behind the president’s decision without, of course, disagreeing with the decision itself. I am wondering if prosecutors typically come out with such strong statements against pardon/commutation decisions.

Amy Goldstein: Taking the second part of your question, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald was careful not to dispute the president’s authority to commute a sentence. Mr. Fitzgerald, as you say, did dispute with the president’s characterization of the sentence as excessive. The prosecutor did so in a way that was consistent with his arguments at the sentencing hearing early last month. So, the statement didn’t strike me as that strong.

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