Why consult the Justice Department when President Bush and his aides in the White House know all they need to know about Scooter Libby’s case?
That’s the position Tony Snow took in today’s press conference, explaining the administration’s decision not to consult the Justice Department’s pardon attorney or the prosecutor on the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, which is the normal process for such cases. Usually that consultation happens in order to refresh memories about the case, Snow said — but here, “it’s not like people’s memories are fuzzy about the details or the circumstances.”
As we pointed out at TPM yesterday, the president’s decision was a departure from the normal circumstances or process for a commutation in more ways than one.
