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Pardon Me? A Congressional Pardon [Duncan Hunter]
NY Times ^ | May 7, 2007 | By Sarah Wheaton

Posted on 05/08/2007 11:58:06 PM PDT by Jim Robinson

The power to pardon traditionally belongs to the president. But Representative Duncan Hunter, who is seeking the 2008 Republican nomination, isn’t waiting for Inauguration Day.

Mr. Hunter introduced a bill in January to initiate an unprecedented Congressional pardon of two former border patrol agents currently serving 11- and 12-year sentences after shooting a drug smuggler on the Texas-Mexico border in 2005.

For Mr. Hunter and other immigration hardliners, their conviction is an “extreme injustice.”

While Constitutional objections are “very much a possibility,” said Joe Kasper, Mr. Hunter’s spokesman, he doesn’t see the measure threatening executive power. The president’s required signature on the bill “would obviously be synonymous with his authority to execute a pardon,” he said. “The Congress is doing nothing more than initiating a pardon.”

(Excerpt) Read more at thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; borderagents; borderpatrol; compean; duncanhunter; elections; immigrantlist; immigration; politicalstunt; ramos
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To: Jim Robinson

To the contrary not only does he serve a district close to me I find myself agreeing with him on many issues.

However, I do think his display on this issue has more to do with election year politics than his dedication to conservative principles like the rule of law and that is discouraging.

But my fancy for politicians has never lasted long. Most are whores either going in or coming out. Two thousand years ago Senators were stabbing Caesar to death on the floor of the (temporary) Senate. Things haven’t changed much...


21 posted on 05/09/2007 2:00:21 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: BykrBayb

So, you know a lot about this game?


22 posted on 05/09/2007 2:01:02 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Jim Robinson
Could get interesting.

Absolutely!

23 posted on 05/09/2007 2:04:34 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: Jim Robinson
Jim, they are long and tedious but if you really desire to have a grasp of this Ramos/Compeon issue you have to read the trial transcripts.

Supporters want to talk about everything except the trial itself because it is quite damning to the BPA's...and it doesn't further their border control issue.

24 posted on 05/09/2007 2:12:25 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Bob J
I responded to your post because it said Hunter believed the "convictions" were an injustice. I believe the convictions were justified considering the evidence and so do many others including the jury and several decorated BPA's. Making Ramos and Compeon the poster boys for the border control movement is akin to making OJ Simpson the poster boy for fine footwear and gloves. But, there's lots of money to be made and campaigns to be won.

Still shilling for the drug trafficker I see.

Comparing Compean and Ramos to OJ Simpson is deplorable. There is no comparison between what the two agents did under the circumstances to what Simpson did to his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. Period.

The only things these two cases have in common is that both verdicts were blatant travesties of justice.

25 posted on 05/09/2007 2:22:50 AM PDT by Cyropaedia ("Virtue cannot separate itself from reality without becoming a principal of evil...".)
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To: Bob J

Most are whores either going in or coming out


I’ve come to that sad conclusion myself.....though i still wouldn’t mind seeing the guys pardoned.....politics or not.


26 posted on 05/09/2007 2:27:21 AM PDT by chasio649
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To: Bob J
Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’ll take your word for it. They’ve been convicted of shooting an allegedly unarmed illegal alien drug smuggler in the butt and he got off scot-free while our BP guys are severely (maybe a bit too severely as you admit) punished as an example to other would be illegal alien drug smuggler shooters. I think the lesson is, don’t shoot illegal alien drug smugglers unless they shoot you first.
27 posted on 05/09/2007 2:28:04 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Our God-given unalienable rights are not open to debate, negotiation or compromise!)
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To: Cyropaedia
Still shilling for the drug trafficker I see.

No, shilling for the Constitution and the rule of law.

Comparing Compean and Ramos to OJ Simpson is deplorable. There is no comparison between what the two agents did under the circumstances to what Simpson did to his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. Period.

On the contrary, I think they are quite comparable. OJ killed his wife because she was making a fool out of him and his manhood, and the BPA shot Davila because he was making a fool out of them and their BPA-hood.

28 posted on 05/09/2007 2:43:55 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Jim Robinson
The devil is in the details.

R&C didn't shoot an illegal alien drug smuggler in the butt they shot some dude who took them on a short vehicle pursuit in the back. The fact he was an illegal alien and a drug mule wasn't know to anyone until after the shoot and they testified they were shooting to kill.

So, if you're good with this with this scenario, fair enough. I'm not.

29 posted on 05/09/2007 2:48:34 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: chasio649
The trick is managing your whores.

I guess that means we must become pimps...heheh.

30 posted on 05/09/2007 2:49:28 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Bob J

Yeah, I know. They didn’t know. It’s just worked out to be so.


31 posted on 05/09/2007 2:51:37 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Our God-given unalienable rights are not open to debate, negotiation or compromise!)
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To: Jim Robinson
But that is a critical piece of info, wouldn't you agree? If they were pursuing a known, violent and dangerous criminal, I say dust him. But they didn't know anything about Davila...and they shot him anyway.

That disturbs me.

32 posted on 05/09/2007 2:54:16 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Prokopton

The power to grant pardons does not appear to be exclusive, but I think it would set a bad precedent. Can one imagine Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hillary or Maxine Waters using such power?


33 posted on 05/09/2007 2:55:18 AM PDT by monocle
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To: Bob J

Damn tricky illegal alien drug smugglers anyway. If you can’t trust them, who can you trust?


34 posted on 05/09/2007 2:57:10 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Our God-given unalienable rights are not open to debate, negotiation or compromise!)
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To: Jim Robinson

LEO’s job is to apprehend criminals so our justice system can go to work and hopefully meet out proper punishment. Cops are not judge, jury and executioner and once we allow them to be so be are halfway to being the third world cesspools we despise here on FR.

I have a greater love for this country and our constitutional legacy and refuse to accept anything less. It may not work all the time but that doesn’t mean we should abandon the underlying ideals that support our beliefs in a a fair and just society.


35 posted on 05/09/2007 3:00:08 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: monocle

Hell, they’re busy conducting a coup d’état anyway. Doubt they’d have time to make a proposal urging the president to pardon anyone.


36 posted on 05/09/2007 3:00:17 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Our God-given unalienable rights are not open to debate, negotiation or compromise!)
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To: monocle

We may have a preview in how Bill Clinton handled his own pardons.


37 posted on 05/09/2007 3:00:59 AM PDT by Bob J (nks)
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To: Bob J

Yeah, I know. Our BP guys should back off a tad. You’d think they think we’re at war or something the way they’re acting.


38 posted on 05/09/2007 3:04:41 AM PDT by Jim Robinson (Our God-given unalienable rights are not open to debate, negotiation or compromise!)
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To: Bob J
Aldrete-Davila was committing a federal crime at the time. They realized what he was up to and went to stop him. He got into a fight with one of the agents, they believed that he was armed at the time and they opened fire. You simply don't want to give any credence to the possibility that Aldrete-Davila probably was armed at the time to justify Johnny Sutton's railroading of two good BP agents.

On the contrary, I think they are quite comparable. OJ killed his wife because she was making a fool out of him and his manhood, and the BPA shot Davila because he was making a fool out of them and their BPA-hood.

I'd say more like they way Andrew has been able to make a fool out of you on this issue...

39 posted on 05/09/2007 3:09:57 AM PDT by Cyropaedia ("Virtue cannot separate itself from reality without becoming a principal of evil...".)
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To: Jim Robinson

They may already be involved in illegal activities and there would be no way of preventing them from invoking this power to pardon themselves.


40 posted on 05/09/2007 3:10:18 AM PDT by monocle
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