Posted on 07/22/2017 12:33:57 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi today wrote to White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn, calling on him to publicly disclose all pardons issued by President Trump. Rep. Krishnamoorthi's letter comes in response to the Washington Post’s report that President Trump and his legal team have explored his power to pardon as a means of disrupting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The signed letter is available here and the text follows:
July 21, 2017
The Honorable Donald F. McGahn, II
Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20006
Dear Mr. McGahn:
It was reported on July 20, 2017, that President Trump has asked his legal team about the extent of his pardon powers: whether they extend to White House aides, family members, or even the President himself.
While most pardons are handled by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, the President still retains the right to issue pardons to any person, at any time, for any cause. The Office of the Pardon Attorney makes their documents available, but there is no guarantee that all pardons issued by the President will be made public. The President can grant pardons after an individual has been incarcerated, before the sentence is imposed, or – as President Ford’s pardon of President Nixon confirms – before a charge is brought.
The power of the pardon extends far beyond the individual who receives it. An individual with a secret pardon has a pre-emptive grant of immunity from prosecution and is under no obligation to make that fact public until charges are brought. This person would be unlikely to cooperate with an ongoing investigation or testify against co-conspirators in exchange for leniency.
Special Prosecutor Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is a matter of utmost importance to the health of our Republic. Americans deserve to know the full extent of this meddling and the harm it caused. Those who aided and abetted it must be brought to justice. Pre-emptive pardons will only serve to further obfuscate the truth behind a fog of deceit.
I respectfully ask that you commit to making public all pardons issued by the President. Robert Mueller’s team – and all Americans – need to know who will be cooperating with the ongoing investigation
Sincerely,
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress
Right after BO publishes his list.
Has this congressman ever read the Constitution?
A pardon need not be made public unless it is used as a defense in court. But I’m not aware of any surprise pardons showing up when someone has been federally prosecuted.
Secret pardons would not seem to be needed, as a sitting president can simply order ‘no prosecution’ and then issue a normal public pardon on his way out.
The Trump Administration is so prone to leaks that it is inconceivable that any pardons could remain secret.
NOTE: Hillary left SoS office on February 1, 2013. The five year federal statute of limitations runs out on Feb. 1, 2018.
The hypocrisy is absolutely disgusting.
The more this BS moves along,the more I self delete how I feel about Obama,Clinton and every other scumbag leftist in this country.
President Trump really needs to take the gloves off because the leftards are slowly trying to build momentum to pull off this coup.
Moreover, in accordance with the ruling by the federal court of the District of Columbia in Lardner v. Department of Justice, 638 F.Supp.2d 14 (D.D.C. 2009), affirmed, Lardner v. United States Department of Justice, No. 09-5337, 2010 WL 4366062 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 28, 2010) (unpublished), the Office of the Pardon Attorney is obliged to release existing lists of the names of persons who have been denied executive clemency by the President to anyone who requests such records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
Privacy Statement for Commutation of Sentence
I recognize that this is in reference to commutation, not pardon; and that the statement only covers clemency action that has been requested, not clemecy granted sua sponte. Also, it is limited to federal clemecy actions.
-- Hillary left SoS office on February 1, 2013. The five year federal statute of limitations runs out on Feb. 1, 2018. --
Good information. Prevailing belief is that Comey's presser closed the file. It didn't. DoJ was never given an opportunity to weigh in, so the case is open as a matter of law. The case was improvidently but temporarily sequestered by Comey.
The White House has an established procedure for pardon requests. They are handled through the DOJ ‘Office of the Pardon Attorney’.
But the OPA is not a limitation on a president’s pardon power, and court rulings that apply to the OPA do not necessarily affect a president’s personal power.
“Nuts!”
I thought our back and forth was in relation to the existence of secret pardons, not limits on pardon power. Of course a null prosecution has the same effect as a "secret pardon," but I was thinking about cases that proceed at least to indictment, which as far as I know can't be done in secret.
Maybe there are thousands of secret "prosepctive pardons" in DoJ files, which act to preclude indictment. Man, would that be a scandal or what!
Deep State stonewalling and the statute of limitations are as good as a pardon without a president’s direct involvement at all. Very little use for secret pardons outside of something military or extreme national security.
Yep. And that sort of action is in place by the thousands, I am sure. Protecting their own and their friends if nothing else.
Beofre I was simply musing about the vision of thousands of secret prospective "do not prosecute" orders from POTUS past and present. I'm sure such a thing does not exist, but if it did, SCANDAL!
So,, is this guy a rep for India or what??
I fail to recognize much of anything American anymore when it comes to supporting this nation instead of seeking to tear it down like good little partisan pirates.
But I live in Valifornia so I guess I’m used to idiotic statements by “elected” officials.. Kamala’s base is solid here in the Bay Area.. Death Row inmates back her 100%.. and I have a feeeling, this rep does too.
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