Shortly after a fed­eral appeals court said that Libby would not remain free while his case was on appeal, Bush announced that he was com­mut­ing Libby’s 30-month sen­tence. From the New York Times:

• Bush Spares Libby 30-Month Jail Term

It’s an inter­est­ing dis­tinc­tion that Bush did not actu­ally pardon Libby. I wonder if there was a legal reason for this (i.e. Bush is so close to this that it might be even more improper to fully pardon Libby.)

Although I don’t think that anyone is actu­ally sur­prised by this move, I find it hard to believe that it has actu­ally hap­pened. An edi­to­r­ial in The New York Times hits it spot on:

• Soft on Crime

It seems to me that given how close Bush and his cab­i­net are to this, it is entirely inap­pro­pri­ate for Bush to take a part in par­don­ing or com­mut­ing Libby’s sen­tence. Although from all accounts that I’ve heard, Bush did noth­ing ille­gal, it still reeks of dis­hon­esty and corruption.