Trump to pardon ex-Cheney aide Scooter Libby: report
– By Brett Samuels (thehill.com) / April 13 2018
President Trump is expected to pardon Scooter Libby, the former chief of staff to then-Vice President Dick Cheney, ABC News reported Thursday.
The president has reportedly already signed off on the pardon for Libby, who was convicted in 2007 for lying to the FBI and obstructing justice in the investigation into who leaked the identity of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Multiple people claimed that Libby leaked Plame’s identity to them after he had publicly stated he was not the source of the information.
Former President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s subsequent 30-month prison sentence, but did not pardon him.
Libby would mark Trump’s second pardon of a controversial figure since he took office.
He pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio last August after the former Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff had been found guilty of contempt of court after a Justice Department investigation found he racially profiled Latinos.
The New York Times also reported late last month that John Dowd, Trump’s former lawyer, discussed with the president last year the possibility of pardoning two former associates who have been caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The White House said in response that there has been no consideration or discussion of pardons “at this time.”
