By DEANNA BELLANDI, Associated Press Writer
from Yahoo! News

CHICAGO - Republican president candidate Mitt Romney, who denied every pardon or commutation during his term as Massachusetts governor, said Thursday a pardon for former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby deserves a close examination.

“I took a careful review during my term as governor of the people that were brought forward. That doesn’t mean I pardoned them, but I took a careful review. I think this deserves a very careful review,” Romney told The Associated Press in a brief interview.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in March of lying to investigators and obstructing Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s inquiry into the 2003 leak of a CIA operative’s identity. A federal judge said Thursday he will not delay a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for Libby in the case.

Speaking with reporters earlier in Chicago, Romney was asked about the possibility of a pardon.

“I think the prosecutor may well have abused prosecutorial discretion by pursuing the investigation after he had learned that the source of the leak was Richard Armitage,” Romney said. “He knew that there was, therefore, not a crime committed and yet, he proceeded with the investigation knowing that there was no crime to pursue.

“That abuse of prosecutorial discretion justifies a very careful look,” he said.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera contends Romney is dodging a fundamental question.