The American Spectator

How the President Should Play It

Proclamation of the President of the United States

Pursuant to my authority under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, I hereby bestow a full and irrevocable pardon upon I. Lewis Libby, Jr., for any and all charges, current or future, related to the matter of the investigation into the release of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, including all charges of perjury and/or obstruction of justice concerning the same. I do so because, notwithstanding a jury finding to the contrary, I fully believe that Mr. Libby is not guilty of the charges leveled against him.* I further believe that Mr. Libby’s predicament is entirely the result of a political dispute emanating from his service to the nation under my direction, and that the proper focus of contention should be my conduct, not his own. I cannot in good conscience allow a man to serve a prison sentence for a crime I do not believe he committed, for duties undertaken at my behest.

To this pardon, I affix my official signature under the Seal of the United States.

p> em>George W. Bush br> President of The United States of America /em> /p>

*An explanation of this conclusion will be released by my press office.

p> Explanation of the President’s Belief in the Innocence of I. Lewis Libby * br> * Not a part of the official pardon statement, but an explanation thereof for distribution to the American public via the working media. /p>

I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, believe that I. Lewis Libby is not guilty of perjury or of obstruction of justice. In saying this, I do not say that the jury necessarily erred on the basis of the evidence presented to it, nor do I say that the judge necessarily made (or did not make) a mistaken ruling on the law. But I do believe, regardless of the legal admissibility of evidence the defense was not allowed to present to the jury, that had the disallowed evidence been presented at trial alongside all the other evidence that was admitted, a fair-minded jury would certainly have concluded, as I do, that Mr. Libby is not guilty.