But it is unclear whether such a pardon would be recognised by an international tribunal.
Saudi Arabia's Justice Minister Abdullah Bin Mohammad al-Sheikh told al-Jazirah newspaper that the king felt the pardon would be in the best interests of the Saudi people, and the decision did not reflect any lack of confidence in the Saudi justice system.
But, he said a pardon for Libby would be "worth looking at" because the special prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, "clearly abused prosecutorial discretion" by going after Libby when Fitzgerald knew he was not the original source of the leak.
The victim's husband told CNN he has not received an official letter regarding her pardon, but considers it to be legitimate since it was announced in an official Saudi newspaper.
Stephen Benjamin, former director of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, is poised to be the first African-American elected to statewide office since the Reconstruction era.
Earlier calls by Lord Sharkey for Mr Turing to be granted an official pardon were turned down in February, when Justice Minister Lord McNally dismissed a similar motion in the House of Lords.
The former official also said he was confident a flap over Clinton's pardon of commodities trader Marc Rich would not be a major hurdle for Holder with a Democratic Congress.
Meanwhile, petitions have been begun at the White House website both to pardon Swartz posthumously (the details of which would be difficult, as his case never came to trial, but would presumably involve a statement that he should not have been indicted) and t o remove Carmen Ortiz, the US Attorney responsible for the prosecution, who was being mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate late last year.
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The right to vote can be restored, usually by a governor's pardon, but the report points out that most ex-offenders are either unaware of this or do not know how to set about obtaining clemency.
Mr Wahid has promised to pardon Mr Suharto if convicted, as long as any money he may be proved to have stolen is returned.
Justice Minister Chem Snguon was quoted as saying that the royal pardon would not extend to the fine -- meaning Ranariddh would effectively be kept out of the country.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott on Friday questioned the wisdom of a suggestion by a fellow Republican that former President Clinton be called to Capitol Hill to explain his last-minute pardon of fugitive billionaire Marc Rich.
However, in recent years Venezuela offered Mr Perez a pardon for his misdeeds, which he rejected saying he had done nothing to be pardoned for.
The former president also said respected Republican lawyers had advocated the pardon, and that he understood the position of the Deputy Attorney General to be "neutral, leaning for".
Kennedy became the first U.S. President to "pardon" a turkey at the White House -- a tradition that's grown to be known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.
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