WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s pardon of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
A spokesman for George W. Bush says the former president is “very pleased” for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and his family after he was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The spokesman, Freddy Ford, says, “President Bush is very pleased for Scooter and his family.”
Libby was a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney. He was convicted of lying to investigators and obstruction of justice following the 2003 leak of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame.
Bush commuted Libby’s 30-month prison sentence but didn’t issue a pardon despite intense pressure from Cheney.
Trump said in a statement that he doesn’t know Libby, but “for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly.”
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1:25 p.m.
President Donald Trump has issued a full pardon to I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement Friday that Trump has issued the pardon.
Libby is Cheney’s former chief of staff. He was convicted of lying to investigators and obstruction of justice following the 2003 leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
President George W. Bush later commuted Libby’s 30-month prison sentence, but didn’t issue a pardon despite intense pressure from Cheney. No one was ever charged with the leak.
Trump says in the statement that he does not know Libby, but “for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly. Hopefully, this full pardon will help rectify a very sad portion of his life.”
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11:15 a.m.
Former CIA operative Valerie Plame says President Donald Trump’s plans to pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby send a message “that you can commit crimes against national security and you will be pardoned.”
Plame was exposed as a CIA operative during the George W. Bush administration. Libby, who served as Cheney’s chief of staff, was convicted in 2007 of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to FBI investigators. No one, however, was charged for the leak.
Trump plans to pardon Libby. That’s according to a person familiar with the president’s decision; the person wasn’t authorized to discuss the decision ahead of its public announcement and demanded anonymity.
Plame spoke to MSNBC Friday.
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7:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump plans to pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.
That’s according to a person familiar with the president’s decision who said the announcement could come as early as Friday. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the decision ahead of its public announcement and demanded anonymity.
The person said the pardon has been under consideration at the White House for months.
Libby, who served as Cheney’s chief of staff, was convicted in 2007 of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements. The case stemmed from an investigation into the leaking of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, though no one was charged for the leak.
President George W. Bush had previously commuted Libby’s prison sentence.
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