Politico's Allen ignored polling data showing Libby pardon to be extremely unpopular

Written by Simon Maloy

Published

In a June 17 Politico article on the "[p]ressure" Republicans and conservatives are putting on President Bush to pardon former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, chief political correspondent Mike Allen quoted an anonymous adviser to a 2008 Republican presidential candidate explaining that it would be “politically good” for Bush to pardon Libby because "[t]he very bedrock of believers in conservativism" are “united around” a pardon. At no point in the article, however, did Allen report the most recent polling data on the issue, which indicate that the vast majority of Americans opposes a pardon for Libby.

On March 6, Libby was convicted on federal charges of perjury and obstructing justice in connection with the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 on June 5.

In his June 17 article, Allen wrote:

Libby pardon politically good?

At first, the presidential contenders shied away from the topic, but former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said during their last debate in New Hampshire that the sentence was “grossly excessive,” and others said a pardon should be considered.

“When Scooter first got indicted, the reaction was that it was unthinkable to consider a pardon -- everybody was in the Marc Rich mode,” said an adviser to one of the Republican presidential campaigns, referring to the controversial last-minute pardon for the fugitive billionaire by President Bill Clinton.

“Now, it's about 75 percent there that it would be politically good. The only people who aren't going to like it are people who slam you every day, anyway.”

The adviser explained a possible political upside for the president, who is at historic lows in the public opinion polls, this way: “The very bedrock of believers in conservativism -- across the spectrum, from the religious to the intellectual to the ones who care about national security to the federalists and libertarians -- have been disappointed in some way by this administration. This is something they're all united around.”

The lobbying is subtle, according to participants. They say that making the case directly to the president or his top aides would be insulting and could backfire. Instead, friends of Bush and Libby have been quietly working cocktail parties and other venues, laying out their logic for a pardon.

When these people do talk to presidential aides, they confine their remarks to what they consider safe ground -- how hard the ordeal has been on Libby and his family.

Allen quoted several other Republicans and conservatives supporting a Libby pardon, as well as Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who “said the brouhaha over heiress Paris Hilton would make it easier to get traction for charges that Libby was getting special privileges.” Allen also cited two other articles on the subject of conservatives pushing for a Libby pardon -- a June 7 New York Times article by reporter Jim Rutenberg and a June 14 article by Slate.com chief political correspondent John Dickerson -- writing that “Libby's friends cooperated with” these articles in order to “get their messages to the top echelons of the White House.” None of the three reporters, however, mentioned polling data in their articles indicating just how unpopular a Libby pardon would be. According to the most recent polling on the issue -- conducted after Libby's conviction but before his sentencing -- two-thirds of Americans oppose a pardon for Libby.

  • A March 9-11 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 69 percent of Americans believe Bush “should not give a presidential pardon to Libby,” compared with 18 percent who believe he should.
  • A March 9-12 Time magazine/SRBI poll found that 72 percent of Americans think Bush “should not” pardon Libby, compared with 18 percent who think he should.
  • A March 11-14 Gallup poll found that 67 percent of Americans believe Bush “should not issue a presidential pardon for Lewis 'Scooter' Libby,” compared with 21 percent who believe he should.