I thought for sure that George Bush would issue a large number of pardons during his last few days in office, eight years after Republicans expressed dire outrage at Bill Clinton’s last minute pardons. He did not. I’m guessing he thought it would look hypocritical. He deserves credit for that, if not for much else.
Apparently, VP Cheney lobbied long and hard for a pardon for “Scooter” Libby, reflecting the more traditional Republican approach to justice: severe punishment for the poor and minorities for even minor crimes, and bottomless generosity and grace towards our friends.
Libby was convicted of perjury by a trial jury and the fact that he was buddies with the VP should not have played any role at all in the consideration of a pardon– and the fact that Bush resisted it is a little amazing, but was clearly the right decision. Libby likely lied to cover up the role played by Cheney and Rove in the outing of Valerie Plume. To pardon him would be a clever way for any president to lie at will, induce lower-ranking aides and officials to take the blame, and then issue pardons to them. Bush was right in every respect to withhold the pardon.
All Libby had to do to avoid any punishment at all was reveal who lied and who leaked. The Bush Administration tried to discredit political opponents who knew the truth about the doctored intelligence on Iraq. The tragedy is that Cheney and Rove both walked away.
I believe that George W. Bush, contemplating the legacy, the disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan that Cheney had pushed him into, left office in a rueful state. He stood up to someone who had pushed him into bad decisions as his last act as President. That was almost honorable.