"I've Got Friends in High Places....."

This might be the song I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is singing after the grant of the executive clemency by President Bush, just hours after a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected Libby's petition to remain free while he appealed his conviction. Libby was convicted in March on two counts of perjury, lying to Federal agents, and obstructing a federal investigation of whether members of the Bush administration disclosed the name of CIA employeeValerie Plame in violation of federal law. CBS reported that Bush did not consult the justice department before granting clemency to Libby. Prosecutor Fitzgerald's comments on the grant of clemency can be seen here.

For more information on Executive Clemency, you may want to read the following:
Andrew B. Whitford, The Political Roots of Executive Clemency
U.S. Dept. of Justice, Presidential Clemency Actions by Administration (1945-2001)
U.S. Dept. of Justice, Rules Governing Petitions for Executive Clemency
R.A. Saliterman, Reflections on the Presidential Clemency Power, 38 OKLA. L.Rev. 257 (1985)