In a July 3 Washington Post article on President Bush's decision to commute former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby's 30-month prison sentence, staff writer Michael Abramowitz reported that a “senior administration official ... said there is 'comfort' at the White House that the decision will not hurt [Bush] politically despite the Democratic outcry.” According to Abramowitz, his source “spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about the president's thinking.” Abramowitz offered no indication as to why his source deserved anonymity to assert the White House's “comfort” with the decision.

Moreover, while the article reported that “Democrats portrayed the decision as an example of Bush acting above the law and not holding members of his administration accountable for misdeeds,” it quoted only Republicans and conservatives reacting to Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence. Abramowitz quoted former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol praising the commutation, as well as GOP lobbyist Vin Weber and an anonymous “Washington conservative who is close to Libby” criticizing Bush for not pardoning Libby. The article did not contain a single quote from a Democrat, progressive, or anybody who opposed pardoning Libby or commuting his sentence.

In addition, the article quoted Simpson without noting that he is a member of the Libby Legal Defense Trust's "Advisory Committee." According to a June 25 Associated Press article, the trust was formed with the goal of “rais[ing] more than $5 million to help finance” Libby's legal defense.

Media Matters for America has documented several instances (here, here, and here) in which the Post has allowed Bush administration officials to praise the president or attack his critics behind the shield of anonymity.

From the July 3 Washington Post:

One senior administration official said Bush quickly made his decision yesterday after hearing that the U.S. Court of Appeals had refused to keep Libby out of prison while his appeal ran its course. This source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about the president's thinking, said there is “comfort” at the White House that the decision will not hurt him politically despite the Democratic outcry.