Trump Pardons Ex-Cheney Aide Who Lied to FBI

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump has issued a pardon to former Dick Cheney vice presidential aide Scooter Libby who was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in 2007, the White House said in a press release on Friday.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) to I. "Scooter" Lewis Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Richard Cheney, for convictions stemming from a 2007 trial," the release said.

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The release said Trump believes Libby is worthy of a pardon because before his conviction he served the country for more than a decade at the State Department, Defense Department and White House.

"I don't know Mr. Libby, but for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly. Hopefully, this full pardon will help rectify a very sad portion of his life," Trump is quoted as saying in the release.

The release said President George W. Bush commuted Libby's prison sentence, but Libby still paid a $250,000 fine, did 400 hours of community service, and served two years of probation. One of the key witnesses against Libby recanted her testimony in 2015, and Libby was allowed to resume practicing law in 2016, the release added.

Libby was convicted in connection with the investigation into the leaking of the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame. The special counsel responsible for the probe of Libby was appointed by then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey. Comey, who was appointed to FBI Director by Obama in 2013, was fired by Trump last May amid a probe into the New York billionaire’s ties to Russia.