--- description: George W. Bush refused to pardon Scooter Libby, a former aide to Dick Cheney. Here's why. title: Why Scooter Libby Didn't Get a Presidential Pardon Until Just Now image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4445154edaa39864/69892da2929fad13e8bf043d/libby-scooter-cheney-bush-pardon-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Scooter Libby Didn't Get a Presidential Pardon Until Just Now  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 13, 2018 7:40 PM CUT  Lewis 'Scooter' Libby arrives for a federal courthouse hearing on Jun. 14, 2007 Lewis 'Scooter' Libby arrives for a federal courthouse hearing on Jun. 14, 2007Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 13, 2018 7:40 PM CUT President Donald Trump on Friday [pardoned](http://time.com/5239612/donald-trump-scooter-libby-full-pardon/ "undefined") former Vice President Dick Cheney’s onetime Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was convicted in 2007 of perjury and obstruction of justice in the investigation of the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. President George W. Bush had already been accused of [showing favoritism](http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=11688807 "undefined") to someone within his administration when he commuted Libby’s sentence, which saved Libby from serving two-and-a-half-years in jail. But pardons go further, restoring [some rights](http://time.com/4876374/donald-trump-joe-arpaio-pardons-history/ "undefined") that are usually revoked for those with criminal convictions as well as reducing the stigma that comes with the offense. That’s what Cheney wanted for his former aide. But Bush thought Libby didn’t deserve a pardon, and Cheney never forgave him. Here’s why, as TIME explained in its Aug. 3, 2009, [cover story on the feud](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1912414,00.html "undefined"): --- > “” --- [_Click here to read the whole article_](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1912414,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5239767/trump-george-w-bush-dick-cheney-scooter-libby-pardon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5239767/trump-george-w-bush-dick-cheney-scooter-libby-pardon/"},"headline":"Why Scooter Libby Didn't Get a Presidential Pardon Until Just Now","datePublished":"2018-04-13T19:40:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:58:05.254Z","description":"George W. Bush refused to pardon Libby, a former aide to Dick Cheney","url":"https://time.com/5239767/trump-george-w-bush-dick-cheney-scooter-libby-pardon/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4445154edaa39864/69892da2929fad13e8bf043d/libby-scooter-cheney-bush-pardon-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4445154edaa39864/69892da2929fad13e8bf043d/libby-scooter-cheney-bush-pardon-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"libby-scooter-cheney-bush-pardon-trump","caption":"Lewis 'Scooter' Libby arrives for a federal courthouse hearing on Jun. 14, 2007","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5239767/trump-george-w-bush-dick-cheney-scooter-libby-pardon/","name":"Why Scooter Libby Didn't Get a Presidential Pardon Until Just Now"}}]}] ```