Scooter Libby could be just the beginning.
By Dylan Matthews@dylanmattdylan@vox.
On Friday, April 13, President Donald Trump pardoned I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney who was convicted of multiple felonies, including perjury, lying to the FBI, and obstruction of justice, in 2007.
The pardon is alarming on several levels. It’s a direct reward to a veteran of the immediate previous Republican administration, a veteran who served alongside a number of Trump’s top staffers (notably National Security Adviser John Bolton).
It could also be an attempt to intimidate Trump’s ex-staffers and push them to not flip. As Marcy Wheeler, a journalist who has covered the Libby case more extensively than any other, reminds us, Libby’s case was notable largely because he stayed loyal to the administration and did not flip and incriminate any other staffers or officials. “The audience here is Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and a slew of other people who can incriminate Trump,” Wheeler writes.
The pardon could also be meant as a shot against James Comey, who is releasing a tell-all book attacking Trump and who appointed Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor who brought Libby to justice. All three of these motives would be incredibly inappropriate.
But here’s the thing: The presidential pardon power is basically unlimited. It can be used to obstruct justice, yes, and in that case, Congress would have the power to impeach and/or remove Trump if it so chooses. But it cannot undo Trump’s pardons, or limit them in any way, once they’ve been granted.
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