On Hardball, O'Donnell suggested that commutation of Libby sentence shows he is not "above the law"

On the July 2 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, reporting that President Bush had commuted the 30-month prison sentence of former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell claimed that "[p]olitically," the commutation "allows the president to split the difference." O'Donnell then said, "A full pardon could have been viewed by critics as really allowing someone who worked for the president to be above the law." O'Donnell did not explain why "critics" would not view the commutation itself as "allowing someone who worked for the president to be above the law."

Libby's sentence stemmed from his conviction on charges of perjury, lying to the FBI, and obstructing justice in the CIA leak investigation.

From the 5 p.m. ET hour of the July 2 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

O'DONNELL: So the president is doing something short of a pardon, which would wipe the slate clean, take away the convictions. And in this case, he is sparing Libby from jail time, but he remains a convicted felon, as I mentioned, will likely lose his law license, will have to pay $250,000 in fines that were deemed by the court, and he will continue to be on probation.

Politically, this allows the president to split the difference. A full pardon could have been viewed by critics as really allowing someone who worked for the president to be above the law. At the same time, many conservatives were pressuring the president to take some sort of action. And when, today, the appeals court said that Libby's prison time could not be stayed while he appealed, the president decided to take this action.

It is a two-page statement from President Bush clearly laying out the criticism, his consideration of what happened, and this dramatic step that he is taking today. Reverend Al [Sharpton, guest host]?

—B.A.