of course the white house won't rule out an eventual pardon for libby. the only reason they didn't pardon him yesterday is because they need to keep him in legal jeopardy. if he was pardoned, he could be forced to testify before congress.
there's no fifth amendment right unless there's a chance of criminal prosecution. because libby has a pending appeal, he is still theoretically in jeopardy of further prosecution if the case gets reversed and a new trial is ordered. that means he can't be forced to testify before congress. i expect libby will get his full pardon just before bush leaves office, the period when every president issues his most unsavory pardons.
the pardon power is absolute and unreviewable, and so it's inevitable that it will be used for corrupt purposes. the anti-federalists were right. it's better to let the judiciary do its job, reviewing cases based on the law and the evidence.
we should amend the constitution to abolish the pardon power. that includes the ability to commute sentences, with one exception. presidents and governors should maintain the ability to commute death sentences into life prison sentences. sometimes you need to keep someone alive to give the judiciary a chance to correct its own errors.
