Bush spares Libby from prison

By Andy Sullivan and Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday spared former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby a prison term, enraging Democrats who accused Bush of abusing power in a case that has fueled debate over the Iraq war.

Stalwart conservatives in Bush's Republican party had pressured him to pardon Libby -- Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff -- and saw him as the victim of an overly zealous prosecutor when he was sentenced last month to 2-1/2 years in prison for obstructing a CIA leak probe.

Bush stopped short of an outright pardon, leaving intact a $250,000 fine and Libby's two-years' probation. A senior White House official said Bush felt it was important to respect the jury process that convicted Libby of perjury.

"I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive," Bush said in a statement. "Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend 30 months in prison."

The announcement came at the start of the Independence Day holiday week with Congress in recess and at the end of a day in which the news was dominated by Bush's high-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Democrats who have launched several investigations into Bush administration actions immediately blasted the decision.

'DISGRACEFUL'

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called Bush's action "disgraceful." He said Libby's conviction was "the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq war."