President George W. Bush has received heat from both sides for pardoning Scooter Libby jail-time and saying that Libby’s sentence was too harsh. While Democrats criticized the action, Republicans are demanding a full pardon, an option the president has not ruled out. Scott Fredericksen, a partner in Foley’s Washington, D.C. office and a former federal prosecutor, was quoted by Associated Press (AP) in a story on July 3, 2007, titled “Bush declines to rule out full pardon for Libby after commuting sentence.” Several attorneys agreed that Libby’s sentence was appropriate and Fredericksen was quoted as saying that this sentence is commonly used for first-time non-violent offenders. Fredericksen also appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room on July 2 to comment on this.
