On his last day in office, President Bush likely won't be pardoning former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens or anyone else, a White House spokesman said today.
"We don't expect any more," said Stuart Siciliano, a White House spokesman, referring to pardons and commutations.
A pardon essentially erases a crime from a defendant's record, while a commutation lessens the sentence. Both types of leniency are afforded under the constitution through a president's clemency powers.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski had sought a pardon for her former colleague. Her press secretary, Michael Brumas, said the senator was traveling on Monday and that he didn't know whether she had been notified one way or another.
Brumas declined to say whether Murkowski consulted with Stevens before seeking the pardon.
"It's kind of a sensitive time right now so we are not commenting," Brumas said.
Read the complete story at adn.com