"Bush Pardons Everyone Who Ever Worked in His Administration"
Will that be the headline on January 19th, 2009? Before he leaves office, will President Bush use his power to pardon to shield the members of his administration from legal action? If so, his pardons will be a last effort to avoid accountability.
We know that every president grants pardons in the final weeks of their term. And sometimes the people on those lists are surprises and they're controversial. Jimmy Carter pardoned Patty Hearst. Bill Clinton did the same for Marc Rich.
Who may be pardoned is outlined in Department of Justice guidelines:
Under the Constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those obtained in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the president. In addition, the president's pardon power extends to convictions obtained in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the president cannot pardon a state criminal offense.
As described by Robert Longley, before a pardon is granted, the president follows a procedure:
While the Constitution places no significant limitations on them in granting pardons, we have certainly now witnessed the grief that can come to presidents or former presidents who appear to grant them haphazardly, or show favoritism in the act. Surely, presidents have some legal resources to draw upon when saying, "I granted the pardon because..."
Operating under the guidelines of Title 28 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 1.1 - 1.10, the U.S. Pardon Attorney, of the Justice Department's Office of Pardon Attorney "assists" the president by reviewing and investigating all requests for pardons. For each request considered, the Pardon Attorney prepares the Justice Department's recommendation to the president for the final granting or denial of the pardon. Besides pardons, the president may also grant commutations (reductions) of sentences, remissions of fines, and reprieves.For the exact wording of the guidelines used by the Pardon Attorney in reviewing requests for pardons, see: Presidential Pardons: Legal Guidelines.
Keep in mind that the recommendations of the Pardon Attorney to the president are just that -- recommendations and nothing more. The president, bound by no higher authority than Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, is in no way required to follow them and retains the ultimate power to grant or deny clemency.
President Bush has said repeatedly that he feels a kinship with Harry Truman. A president with end-of-term low public approval numbers, Truman has been vindicated by history. Mr. Bush believes that he also will be vindicated. What we consider his failings -- Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, the financial collapse, the housing debacle, the world's low opinion of America, his failed energy policy, no health care plan, attacks on the regulatory system -- will be regarded favorably in the future.
If that is what's in his mind, then he will want to protect all those in his administration from what he would perceive as the partisan attacks by over-zealous prosecutors. For eight years his administration has sought to work in secrecy, using the claim of executive privilege to prevent Congress and the Justice Department from investigating members of his administration. Would he really leave office on January 20th without first protecting everyone from a Democratic Justice Department?
Won't he pardon Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney? Will Ted Stevens make the list now that he has lost his Senate seat?
What about the countless others that we don't know about? Won't President Bush pardon them as well? As we learned when the New York Times reported about the Bush administration's warrantless wiretaps, there are many things this government has been doing that we know nothing about.
His tenure in the Oval Office has been characterized by efforts to redefine the Constitution and create an Imperial Presidency. In the spirit of pushing the boundaries of presidential power, won't he also claim that his pardons cover state crimes as well? If there are protests that he has misrepresented his authority, then he can walk away from the controversy and allow the courts to decide, thereby muddying the prosecutorial waters for decades after he has left office.
If President Bush believes that he is the heir to Harry Truman, he won't care that the public and press will tar and feather him if he issues pardons willy-nilly.
So, the question of the hour is: Who will President Bush pardon before he leaves office? Will he put himself at the top of the list?
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Impeachment Invalidates Pardons.
This precedent CANNOT be set.
If it is, that would mean that the Corleone crime syndicate could take over the WH, commit crimes for 8 years, and then everybody just gets to retire in Florida.
But wait, I think its already happened.
Accountability would help make it so it can't happen again.
The precedent was already set 16 years ago.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DD1230F936A15751C1A964958260
I would like to encourage everyone who was outraged enough to comment here to support H.R. 1531. (Link: http://www.democrats.com/nadler-pardon-resolution). While this bill is rather toothless, it's a decent start, however I also urge each and every one of you to call your representatives and senators to urge them to bring up and/or support impeachment.
I haven't heard anyone answer one simple question: is it possible to pre-emptively pardon someone? I don't think it is.
Many of these criminals have yet to be charged, but they very well could be, once they're out of office and can no longer pressure people to stay silent. I think the statute of limitations on most offenses is seven years. That's plenty of time to gather up evidence.
To answer your question, Ford pre-emptively pardoned Nixon. It has happened, therefore it's possible. If said pre-emptive pardons do happen, a Supreme Court ruling might be able to strike it down.
alexis_d asks: "haven't heard anyone answer one simple question: is it possible to pre-emptively pardon someone?"
YES. The president's power to pardon is absolute "except in cases of impeachment."
Section 2 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon after he resigned in disgrace, but before any charges could be filed against him.
George HW Bush pardoned Casper Weinberger two weeks before his perjury trial was due to start.
Bill Clinton pardoned Mark Rich who was technically a fugitive. Rich was an American expatriate living in Europe and was indicted in absentia by Rudi Gulianni, but refused to come to the U.S. and surrender for trial.
How can this pardoning even be allowed? The whole concept is a mockery, especially in the case of appointees in one's own administration.
And yet I have not heard one suggestion that we should cancel this.
It encourages felonious behavior.
The only aspect of this controversy I find legally dubious is the self-pardon. That move has never been tried before, and doubtlessly, it will be challenged in court.
A poster is correct: The article is wrong: Both Nixon and Weinberger were pardoned. Clinton pardoned Susan MacDougal. The Constitution is VERY broad in its pardon power and it's even possible that Bush could pardon himself (But that would clearly raise a Constitutional challenge).
The poster who guessed that Bush could resign in favor of Cheney had his/her timing off: At noon on 20 January 2009, Obama becomes President.
However, if Bush is uncharacteristically far-sighted, he'll realize that any of his admin that he blanket-pardons can then be summoned to testify in either criminal or Congressional hearings, but won't be able to hide behind the 5th Amendment protections against self-incrimination. Therefore they will have to resort to playing the "executive privilege" card, or perjury--which, occurring after 20 Jan 2009, won't be covered by the blanket pardon.
I think he COULD pardon himself. His father managed to effectively do just that by pardoning every one below him on the chain of culpability for the Iran Contra scandal. Stopped special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh dead in his tracks.
Actually, that could work against the Bush Crime Family. If he pardons people who were complicit in his crimes, then they couldn't invoke their Fifth Amendment rights -- since they would be immune from prosecution. Then, they could be forced to testify or held in contempt.
Besides -- none of his pardons would carry a bit of weight in The Hague.
In order to be pardoned, you must first be convicted.
Preemptive pardons don't carry much weight.
Not true.
Ford pardoned Nixon and he wasn't even INDICTED for anything, more or less TRIED and CONVICTED. Presidents have way too broad of powers to pardon people.
Here is what I think will happen;
1) Bush pardons Cheney and Scooter Libby, and everyone who EVER worked in the White House for him along with Stevens, Tom DeLay, and Jack Abramoff.
2) Bush resigns on his last day in office at Noon.
3) Cheney becomes President at 12:01 PM and pardons Bush at 12:05 PM, then launches an attack on Iran at 12:10 PM.
Quid Pro Quo all around.
Tell that to Casper Weinberger.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/29/reviews/iran-pardon.html
There are lot's of headlines on this Blogotube that evoke my morning DUH? (with a rising tone)
This one of those moments. BTW, has everyone forgotten that the Bush family purchased something approaching 100,000 acres in Paraguay right after they passed a law that no American charged with war crimes can be extridited?
http://www.thepowerhour.com/news2/bush_paraguay.htm
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={EBA55617-2676-4091-ABBC-20650EB6FEE1}&language=EN
I don't care if Bush pardons himself and his entire cabal of criminals! The only issue I care about is whether a President Obama will honor an international arrest warrant for Bush, Cheney et al to be tried by the International Crimes Court at The Hague.
It seems to me someone has to be charged before they can be pardoned. If the charges come after he leaves office, what can Bush do?
In theory, a president can pardon someone for any federal, not state, crimes that he has, or may commit...
Scary, isn't it..
I think Bush has more in common with OJ Simpson than he does Harry Truman
Great blog, but how, how, HOW could you forget Katrina??
Bush really doesn't deserve to have that kind of authority. In fact, no President should have that authority. I hope that President Obama rescinds all of Bush's pardons. His eight years of screw ups should not be covered over with free passes for himself and others.
To paraphrase Rachel Maddow as closely as my memory permits, I prefer pardons at the beginning of a President's term to pardons at the end of a President's term.
I'd also like legislation prohibiting even Presidents from offering pardons to their personal associates.
Mr. Bush believes that he also will be vindicated. What we consider his failings -- Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, the financial collapse, the housing debacle, the world's low opinion of America, his failed energy policy, no health care plan, attacks on the regulatory system -- will be regarded favorably in the future.
President Bush is deluded.
Of course he's deluded. He believes that he's in the White House because God The Allmighty Creator of The Universe put him there.
Therefore, all things done by him and his administration were His will. He will protect his underlings for doing God's work.
I'm so glad that man is nearly gone! I'm just wondering what other mischief he can brew in the few months he has left.
AMEN. It was a total catastrophe. Absolutely total. the man and his entire administration did not get one thing right. Not one single thing. 100% wrong on everything.
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