WHY NOW?

Trump Pardons Former Cheney Aide Scooter Libby for Perjury in CIA Case

“I don’t know Mr. Libby, but for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly.”

President Trump on Friday officially pardoned former Dick Cheney chief of staff I. “Scooter” Lewis Libby for his 2007 convictions on four counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. “Before his conviction, Mr. Libby had rendered more than a decade of honorable service to the Nation as a public servant at the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the White House,” Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an official statement. “His record since his conviction is similarly unblemished, and he continues to be held in high regard by his colleagues and peers. In light of these facts, the President believes Mr. Libby is fully worthy of this pardon.” In a statement, the president wrote: “I don’t know Mr. 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.” Cheney told NBC News that he was “grateful that President Trump righted this wrong by issuing a full pardon to Scooter, and I am thrilled for Scooter and his family.” President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s sentence, but did not issue a full pardon.