Bush Won't Say No to Libby Pardon

President Bush will not eliminate the possibility of a full pardon for Scooter Libby, he said today. Under fire from supporters for not pardoning the VP's ex-chief of staff and from critics for commuting the 30-month prison sentence—a decision he described as "very difficult"—he said he will "rule nothing in and nothing out."

Bush reiterated yesterday's statements that Libby's background and service to the country were important elements in the decision, which press secretary Tony Snow said took weeks, the Washington Post reports. Earlier, Snow conducted an unusually contentious briefing during which he dismissed suggestion that Bush acted at Dick Cheney's behest, Bloomberg reports. (More Lewis Scooter Libby stories.)