From Think Progress:

Bush’s term is winding down and he is now officially a lame duck. We know this because right-wingers are already talking about a pardon for Scooter Libby, the VP’s chief of staff who was indicted for lying under oath to a federal grand jury. A pardon could come sooner rather than later.

One attorney familiar with the Plame case said Bush might find that it is in his interest to pardon Libby sooner rather than later.

A pardon before the trial could could cut off the disclosures and spare Vice President Dick Cheney from testifying as Fitzgerald’s witness about Libby, his former chief of staff.

But the timing of a pardon, the attorney suggested, likely would depend on the outcome of the midterm elections.

If Republicans retain control of Congress, Bush could act swiftly. But if Democrats win control of the House or Senate, Bush might wait, and use Libby’s trial as an excuse not to cooperate with any congressional investigations into the leak.

The counterargument to a pardon this year or next, however, is that it would be a political bombshell and distract from Bush’s agenda.

DiGenova predicted that Bush, like other presidents, would issue controversial pardons on his last day in office.