No pardon for Libby.

The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday, June 7:

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Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to FBI agents. That left many of his friends gasping and has them pressing for President Bush to pardon Libby.

That shouldn't happen.

During his sentencing Tuesday, Libby neither acknowledged his crime nor expressed remorse. Instead, he asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to "consider, along with the jury verdict, my whole life." The judge received more than 150 statements from Libby friends and colleagues pleading for leniency. Those supporters, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, often cited Libby's dedication to and long years in public service.

But by his actions, Libby undermined the very system to which he dedicated his life. A jury found he did not allow the system to work to ferret out truth. He lied under oath. He lied repeatedly and boldly. He wasted federal investigators' time and resources. He obstructed justice.

In the words of the special prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald: "When someone doesn't tell the truth to the system, everyone suffers. The legal system suffers because we don't know what the actual facts are. And, frankly, lots of other people suffer since, when you don't know what the truth is, people draw all sorts of conclusions."

A question for those who seek to spare Libby from prison for lying under oath _ what did you have to say when President Bill Clinton faced impeachment for lying under oath? Most likely, you wanted Clinton punished.

Thirty months (and a $250,000 fine) is a stiff sentence for Libby. He has a legal process to appeal. But Bush should steer clear of this matter. First, because he has a conflict of interest_Libby was serving the political interests of the administration when he committed his crimes. Second, because a pardon would be as indefensible as some of the pardons Clinton issued as he exited the White House.

Bush shouldn't add to the taint _ now or in the final days of his term.

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(c) 2007, Chicago Tribune.

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ARCHIVE PHOTOS on MCT Direct (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Scooter Libby

GRAPHICS (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): Scooter Libby

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