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Scooter Libby arrives at Emancipation Hall of the US Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Scooter Libby’s pardon lawyer, Victoria Toensing, was still nervous right up until the last minute prior to the full presidential pardon. Toensing told Axios she just got off the phone with President Trump, and then she said: “Hold on. Scooter’s calling. Let me call you back.”
Behind the scenes: Toensing said the president told her, “I’ve heard about him a long time and he got screwed." She added, "It was very Trumpian.” And Libby? He's “just thrilled,” she said.
Toensing told me she submitted the request for Libby’s pardon last year. President Trump recently considered adding Toensing and her husband Joe diGenova to his Russia legal team. He ultimately decided not to, and his team cited conflicts, given Toensing had represented Mark Corallo, the president’s former legal spokesman.
"My family and I are immensely grateful to President Trump for his gracious decision to grant a pardon. For over a dozen years we have suffered under the weight of a terrible injustice. To his great credit, President Trump recognized this wrong and would not let it persist. For this honorable act, we shall forever be grateful."— Statement from Scooter Libby