Huma, her Weiner and Hillary can’t be pardoned, because they haven’t been charged with anything yet.
Can a president really pardon someone who hasn’t even been charged with a crime?
Yep. In 1866, the Supreme Court ruled in Ex parte Garland that the pardon power “extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.”
Doesn’t have to be charged. A president can pardon for any past conduct. He cannot pardon for future conduct, as that would be tantamount to changing the law, which the president cannot do unilaterally.
The pardon power is granted by the Constitution and therefore cannot be limited by Congress. Congress could not, for example, require that a pardon be published in the Federal Register in order to be valid.
Obama could issue a ‘secret’ pardon of Hillary. As long as the action was taken while Obama held the office of president, it is valid, even it has not been announced to the public at large.
Neither was Nixon.
Tell that to Richard M Nixon.