Is Bush able to issue "blanket" pardons on his way out?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

What's the law on this? Can he pardon people in his administration for crimes they may have committed but not been formally accused of (yet)?

IF this IS possible, wouldn't this be a license for any administration to commit crimes knowing that one would never be held accountable?

I think Presidential pardons should only be allowed for crimes one has been CONVICTED of committing.

[Hawkeye-X]

1. He'll TRY to..

But the congress will override his pardon, reversing it as soon as he's done as Chimp-in-Chief. Promise.

[msongs]

3. pardons cannot be reversed -> details on pardons here ->

http://people.howstuffworks.com/presidential-pardon.htm

Msongs

[gateley]

4. Oops - your post after I posted my question. Thanks. Good to know that

Congress can override.

[tritsofme]

10. No they can't.

The poster was incorrect.

[gateley]

11. Damn! For a moment there I had hope.

Well if Bush ignores little things like the CONSTITUTION, couldn't we ignore whatever it is that makes pardons sacrosanct?

[tritsofme]

6. The power to pardon is absolute and final.

Article II Section 2:
"and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

There is no remedy for Congress to reverse a pardon.

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. "...except in cases of impeachment."

I don't know if that means that congress can file for impeachment AFTER someone has already been pardoned - if so, I reckon that would mean that the impeached person could only suffer such punishments as authroized to congress, such as removal from office and forbidding further office holding, but the person could not then face criminal charges.

The safe way to handle it, of course, would be widespread impeachments BEFORE he can pardon.

Fat chance.

[tritsofme]

26. Impeachment is a political act.

As you noted.

Before the president is convicted and removed he can issue pardons in any direction he wants.

Congress could go on an impeachment frenzy, but it would do nothing to bring about criminal prosecution.

[RaleighNCDUer]

29. But, as noted above, he CANNOT pardon anyone who is under

impeachment. IOW, once the house files impeachment against someone, the President (even the pResident) cannot pardon that person - the impeachment takes precedence. If the impeachment does not result in conviction by the senate, then the President can pardon that person. If it is still under consideration when he leaves office, he can do nothing.

Of course, he can pre-emptively pardon if he believes the house is about to impeach, getting it in before the impeachment - then we get to find out how that "except in cases of impeachment" will be interpreted - if impeachment (with or without subsequent criminal charges) can take precedence over an already issued pardon.

[tritsofme]

32. You're speaking in absolutes in a much less than clear issue.

Many view that clause as nothing more than preventing the president from using the pardon to overturn or prevent Congress' ability to impeach.

Your theory has never been tested, and seeing as impeachment and criminal prosecutions are completely separate, I don't see how a pardon would interfere with the political act of impeachment.

[RaleighNCDUer]

36. Well, I said it so it must be right.

You are right, it hasn't been tested and as things are, I strongly suspect we won't see it tested. More's the pity.

[Gman]

20. Congress has no say in pardons

Pardon power is exclusively the executive branch.

[gateley]

2. And, if it IS possible, can anything be done to rescind the pardons after the

president has left office?

What's up with Presidential pardons, anyway? Should the entire issue be revisited?

[thunder rising]

5. He can only pardon "charged and convicted" sentences. He's not the Pope ya'know.

(just a joke...nothing against Catholics at all)
So he can't give indulgences.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. Then how did Ford pardon Nixon? nt.

[tritsofme]

8. The Nixon precedent says that he can

When Ford pardoned Nixon for crimes he may or may not have committed, and was not challenged, it created a new precedent that would probably allow for this scenario to play out.

[thunder rising]

12. Nixon was impeached and resigned. Nobody sought to test the "may or may not"; he was gone.

It kept Nixon out of jail, but nobody was looking for him anyway.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

14. "He was impeached"

Really? I think not.

Boy, even recent history is up for grabs.

[tritsofme]

15. Nixon resigned and was pardoned.

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only presidents to be impeached, neither was convicted.

The text of the acting language in the Nixon pardon:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

[Gman]

21. There was no precedent set with Ford pardoning Nixon

the president can pardon whoever he/she wants to pardon and doesn't need a reason.

[tritsofme]

23. It is my understanding that there has never been a pardon of that sort before or after.

The manner in which Ford issued the blanket pardon was controversial.

[Gman]

40. No incoming president had ever pardoned an outgoing president before

Ford pardoned Nixon. But that is more a study in history rather than any precedent because the president has exclusive and unlimited pardon power.

[Crabby Appleton]

27. dup

[Crabby Appleton]

28. Not true, Bush 41 pardoned Weinberger before trial or conviction.

[bluestateguy]

9. Yes

Pardons are absolute. They cannot be overtunred. They are final, case closed, and that is it.

A presidential pardon has never been overturned by the Supreme Court.

[thunder rising]

13. I would like to see him pardon himself and his cronies. The list of names would be interesting.

[shraby]

16. A president can't pardon war crimes because

they are an international crime and there is no statute of limitations on war crimes. TaDA

[merh]

17. so very true

What will be interesting is to see if Bush will try to pardon himself, to dodge any attempts to impeach after he leaves office. Can't see how he could, but who knows, its never been done before like so many things this pressie has done and gotten away with.

[Eric J in MN]

18. Presidents can't pardon themselves. He could resign early,

...to have Cheney pardon him.

[tritsofme]

25. I see no reason why a president couldn't pardon himself.

What would prevent him from doing so?

[Eric J in MN]

30. It depends if its related to impeachment.

"he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

I guess if Bush pardons himself on January 20, 2009, one couldn't argue that it was to avoid impeachment.

[tritsofme]

34. Such a pardon would not avoid impeachment.

It would only relieve him of criminal prosecution.

The existence of a pardon takes nothing away from the impeachment power of Congress.

[Gman]

19. you betcha he can do it

he can even pardon himself and Cheney and anyone else he wants to pardon. The number of pardons and the people he'll pardon will absolutely cause jaws to hit the floor.

[merh]

22. Same thing I was thinking.

But won't that hurt the one thing he is most concerned with, his legacy. I mean, how would it go down in history that the war monger was so bad and did such a shit job, he had to be the first and only president to pardon himself before he left office.

And, depending on how he worded his own pardon, would that prevent impeachment for the high crimes, if he were charged with war crimes. Remember, impeachments wipe out retirements and all of the perks that go with office (to include Secret Service detail) and would strip him of the title.

[Thothmes]

31. No true

Impeachment does not wipe out retirements and all of the perks that go with office. Clinton was impeached and still gets his presidential retirement, secret service protection, taxpayer funded office etc.

[tritsofme]

33. Upon conviction the Senate could stipulate all those variables

Clinton was impeached but not convicted.

[merh]

35. Impeached and found guilty and removed from office, I should have clarified.

Clinton was impeached and faced impeachment proceedings and was found not guilty, thus he maintains his title and the retirement and perks.

Check out Hasting and Nixon, US District Court Judges removed from office.

[leftofthedial]

37. pretty much

but not to himself

[tritsofme]

38. Why not?

I tried and failed to get an explanation earlier.

[leftofthedial]

41. having never been done and never been litigated,

it is a matter of dispute. Technically I don't think the law prohibits him from pardoning himself, but I suppose there might be legal challenges to it. Certainly nothing other than his arrogance and ego would prohibit him from resigning and letting Cheney pardon him. Under the specific terms of the law, only impeachment would prevent him from pardoning himself.

[tritsofme]

43. That is the same basic conclusion I have come to.

A plain text reading of Article II Section 2 does not seem to prohibit in any way the power of the president to pardon himself.

While it would be highly irregular and shameful, and I very much doubt it will happen, I see no reason why it couldn't happen.

[SoCalDem]

39. Yup.. all will be "wiped clean" and pure again..

They will retreat to a bog somewhere, lick their wounds, make speeches for big bucks, and will swoop back in when the next republican administration is filling slots for the new crop of slugs..

and by then, the public will be "ready for a change".."wanting something new"..and will have forgotten all of the evils this crew foisted on them..

because we did not prosecute the Iran Contra crew, we ended up with GHWB and because we had HIM, we ended up with his idiot son.

[merh]

42. How true, how sad

because we did not prosecute the Iran Contra crew, we ended up with GHWB and because we had HIM, we ended up with his idiot son.

[billky]

44. Bush pardons

After 7 years, do you even wonder what Bush can or cannot do? 
He can do anything he wants to, he makes his own laws.