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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence

    The sentencing judge in the Lewis "Scooter" Libby case is a hard-line conservative appointed by President Bush. He said the evidence of felony crimes by Libby was "overwhelming," and gave him 30 months in prison. Yesterday, a three-judge panel ruled that Libby's sentence could not be delayed.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    The sentencing judge in the Lewis "Scooter" Libby case is a hard-line conservative appointed by President Bush. He said the evidence of felony crimes by Libby was "overwhelming," and gave him 30 months in prison. Yesterday, a three-judge panel ruled that Libby's sentence could not be delayed. The Bureau of Prisons had assigned him a number. But five hours later, President Bush commuted what he called an "excessive" sentence. Though he said he "respected" the jury's felony verdict, today said he would not rule out a full pardon for the Vice President's former top aide. There's no doubt the President has the power, but legal experts disagree on the way he's using it. So far he's used clemency less than any president in the past 100 years. Do some criminals outside politics deserve official forgiveness?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is 'Scooter' Libby in Line for a Pardon?
    1. 1:36Hospital near Glasgow at Center of UK Plot Investigation
    2. 7:36Bush Commutes Libby's SentenceYou’re reading this
    3. 42:35Bush and Putin Reel It In
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Vanessa Romo

      LA School Report

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Dan Konecky

      Producer, To the Point

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sheryl Gay Stolberg

      New York Times Washington Correspondent who covers health policy

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrew McCarthy

      Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

    • KCRW placeholder

      Douglas Berman

      Professor of Law at Ohio State University

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is 'Scooter' Libby in Line for a Pardon?
    1. 1:36Hospital near Glasgow at Center of UK Plot Investigation
    2. 7:36Bush Commutes Libby's SentenceYou’re reading this
    3. 42:35Bush and Putin Reel It In
    Back to To the Point