Bush Pardon thread

[gdnp]

The pardons that Bill Clinton handed out on his last day in office were certainly one of the low points of his presidency, the Mark Rich pardon being the most notorious. So what do people think? Can George W. Bush outdo Clinton? What high profile people will be on Bush's pardon list?

Scooter Libby had his sentence commuted. I would not be surprised to see a full pardon.

I would also not be surprised if Bush preemptively pardoned Cheney, Rumsfeld, and those in the White House and Justice department responsibly for the torture memo. I doubt that the Democrats would go after them, but Bush may wish to remain doubly sure. It seems he can even preemptively pardon himself.

Any other high profile political figures? Ted Stevens?

Here is Newsweek's take on the topic.

I'm guessing that based on his tenure as Texas governor that there won't be any death row inmates on the list.

William Ayers, perhaps?

 

[Oliver]

Could you explain why a pardon matters? - I mean in a legal sense?
Is this a way to avoid persecution after leaving office?

 

[gdnp]

Once someone is pardoned their crimes are wiped off the books. If they have been convicted they are released. If they have not been tried they cannot be tried on those charges. If they have served their term they have their right to vote restored: in many states convicted felons cannot vote, even after release.

 

[moon1969]

Duke Cunningham is seeking a presidential pardon. If Bush pardons Duke Cunningham he will be just like Bill Clinton who pardoned Marc Rich. Bush should not pardon Duke Cunningham or Conrad Black.

 

[moon1969]

Michael Milken is seeking pardon but so is John Walker Lindh. Edwin Edwards is also seeking a presidential pardon.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I thought a pardon couldn't be issued unless and until the recipient were convicted of a crime?

 

[ktesibios]

I thought a pardon couldn't be issued unless and until the recipient were convicted of a crime?

If you are old enough you may remember President Ford pardoning Richard Nixon immediaely after taking office, at a time when Nixon had not been convicted of nor even indicted for any crime. It didn't add any luster to Ford's presidency but it was apparently legal and effective.

 

[davefoc]

Duke Cunningham is seeking a presidential pardon. If Bush pardons Duke Cunningham he will be just like Bill Clinton who pardoned Marc Rich. Bush should not pardon Duke Cunningham or Conrad Black.

Michael Milken is seeking pardon but so is John Walker Lindh. Edwin Edwards is also seeking a presidential pardon.

What's more likely a pardon for Duke Cunningham or John Walker Lindh?

Both seem like remote possibilities but a pardon for John Walker Lindh might be a real act of compassion. The guy seems to have gotten caught up in a mess that wasn't completely of his own choosing.

And what about the Border guards that were convicted in that shooting incident involving a Mexican drug dealer? What are their chances? Even if you accept that they acted inappropriately it seems like their sentence was tough given what they did.

 

[Dragoonster]

The ability for governors and presidents to pardon/commute has always struck me as bizarre and completely ridiculous.

Scooter Libby had his sentence commuted. I would not be surprised to see a full pardon.

Yeah, this seems very likely. And doubly shameful.

I wish I could say I was surprised to see Marion Jones on the Newsweek list. Really hope she isn't pardoned, not with her public defense of doing anything wrong prior to being proven to have done things wrong. She's struck me as very disingenuous since then too.

 

[quarky]

Let he who is without pardon-worthy sins be the first to cast stones at the un-pardonable?

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

Let he who is without pardon-worthy sins be the first to cast stones at the un-pardonable?

Australia seems to get along just fine without our head of government to pardoning a pile of criminal mates every four to eight years just before they leave office.

I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of how many recipients of the last-minute Presidential pardon were actually victims of a miscarriage of justice, and how many were just well-connected crooks.

 

[gumboot]

Australia seems to get along just fine without our head of government to pardoning a pile of criminal mates every four to eight years just before they leave office..

Maybe that's because your Head of State only leaves office every fifty years or so, and does so in a box?

Still when Good Queen Bess goes the way of the Pearly Staircase perhaps her Will will include an extensive list of pardons for her various realms.

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

Maybe that's because your Head of State only leaves office every fifty years or so, and does so in a box?

Still when Good Queen Bess goes the way of the Pearly Staircase perhaps her Will will include an extensive list of pardons for her various realms.

I wrote "head of government" rather than "Head of State" for a reason.

 

[gdnp]

I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of how many recipients of the last-minute Presidential pardon were actually victims of a miscarriage of justice, and how many were just well-connected crooks.

The president has essentially unlimited authority in granting pardons. Fortunately, it has not been abused too terribly.

Ideally someone guilty of a miscarriage of justice should have their sentence overturned. Pardons should be for guilty people who were sentenced unduly harshly or who have lived such an exemplary life that they have somehow redeemed themselves. I suppose you could also argue for those in extenuating circumstances: those who although technically guilty were serving some greater good, like those engaged in civil disobedience.

It is possible that some day a president opposed to the death penalty could commute the death sentences of all prisoners on death row to life imprisonment. A few years ago the Illinois governor did.

 

[Beerina]

It seems he can even preemptively pardon himself.

Well the Constitution puts no limits on who he can pardon -- but you can bet the first president to pardon himself will cause an amendment preventing that.

 

[gdnp]

Well the Constitution puts no limits on who he can pardon -- but you can bet the first president to pardon himself will cause an amendment preventing that.

I think that is only the most egregious abuse that might induce an amendment. I think it is something of an anachronism, at least in giving the president absolute power with no checks. As long as the abuses do not exceed the Marc Rich level I doubt they will go to the trouble to modify it. Were Bush to try to pardon all of those involved with torture and other war crimes, we might see an attempt, but as this would be seen as a partisan issue I doubt there would be sufficient consensus to amend the constitution.

I guess pardons come in the last week because the only recourse available is impeachment.

 

[davefoc]

The president has essentially unlimited authority in granting pardons. Fortunately, it has not been abused too terribly.

Can a president grant a pardon for a state crime?

On the Marc Rich pardon:
It just recently came up that the prime minister of Israel made a special request to the Clinton administration for Marc Rich's pardon. Apparently Marc Rich is an orthodox Jew although I'm not sure how he got the prime minister of Israel to make the request. I was surprised that H. Clinton wasn't hit with more questions about Bill Clinton's pardons. I recently read through a list. A lot of them looked very shady. An interesting question for H. Clinton would have been how she felt about the pardons and whether she would consider it an appropriate use of presidential pardon power to make similar pardons if she were president.

On how the US president ended up with this power:
Do you suppose the story in the new testament about the possible pardon of Jesus served as an inspiration for the founders to give that power to the US president?

The Libby Commutation:
Before the Libby commutation, I hadn't realized how the pardon powers of the US could be used as part of a process that codified a US president's ability to break the law. In that case, it is very likely that Libby refused to testify about details of the case that pointed to Cheney or even Bush because he was made aware that Bush would act to prevent him from going to jail in the event of a conviction. I think the Bush presidency has made clear is that as a practical matter the US president can engage in fairly lawless behavior without much risk and the presidential pardon power seems to be a useful tool for the president to make that so.

ETA: If somebody hasn't seen it this is a good article on the prospects of various miscreants for pardons:
http://www.slate.com/id/2204984/

 

[CptColumbo]

IMO Sen. Stevens will be pardoned.

 

[gumboot]

I wrote "head of government" rather than "Head of State" for a reason.

I doubt the US "Head of Government" (that would be Dick Cheney or Steny Hoyer) can issue pardons any more than the Australia Head of Government can issue pardons. Pardons are traditionally only something the Head of State can issue.

 

[Puppycow]

Bush's pardons 14 individuals.
Includes a famous hip-hop star:

Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit, Mich. Both were convicted of cocaine offenses.

Forte, a well-known hip hop artist, worked with the Fugees, Wyclef Jean and Herbie Hancock.

Pardon orders never give a reason, but NBC News' Pete Williams reported that in Forte's case, it is likely the mandatory minimum sentences required in drug cases. Here's how fans of Forte's put it on a Web site dedicated to him:

"John Forte's life was forever changed in July of 2000. He agreed to transport a package, and in turn was arrested on a drug trafficking charge. He did not accept the plea bargain offered him, as he maintained that he was innocent of the charges against him.

"In 2001, John Forté stood trial in a Texas court and was convicted of this non-violent crime. It was his first offense. Due to the outdated mandatory minimum sentencing laws currently in place, he received the only prison term available for the judge to hand down — 14 years in a federal penitentiary. John is not eligible to be released until he is at least 38 years old."

Kind of highlights how draconian the war on drugs really is. I wonder if being famous helped?

Not on the pardon list is Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted in 2007 of obstruction of justice and perjury during an investigation into the leaking of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence.