The Lewis Libby clemency controversy arose when U.S. President George W. Bush commuted the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a high-ranking official in his administration, on July 2, 2007. It resulted in a hearing, "The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials", held July 11, 2007 by the full Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives. The hearing was intended to "explore the grave questions that arise when the Presidential clemency power is used to erase criminal penalties for high-ranking executive branch employees whose offenses relate to their work for the President", as well as to assess the consequences of the perjury and obstruction of justice of which vice-presidential Chief of Staff Lewis Libby was convicted March 6, 2007.
Read more about Lewis Libby Clemency Controversy: Background, House Judiciary Committee Members, 110th Congress
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