Libby drops appeal as Bush pardons 29 others

The Patriot Post

I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby has dropped the appeal to his conviction for perjury in the so-called outing of so-called CIA operative Valerie Plame. If he pushed the matter, he could risk a new jail sentence and another fortune in legal fees—not to mention the years-long legal burden it would heap upon the Libby family. President Bush commuted Libby’s two-and-a-half-year prison sentence earlier this year but left him on the hook for the $250,000 fine and two years of probation. Then there’s Libby’s status as a convicted felon.

President Bush’s lack of loyalty here stings all the more because this past week, observing a yearly presidential tradition, he pardoned 29 convicted felons ranging from crack dealers to moonshiners and carjackers. The President still managed to skip over Scooter, who nearly went to prison to defend the administration against baseless liberal claims of corruption. Given this President’s reputation for loyalty, we expected better for Mr. Libby.