Posted on 11/21/2008 12:51:50 PM PST by re_tail20
An unpardonable use of power
By Sen. Russ Feingold
Nov. 20, 2008 |
If President Bush cares about his place in history, he should think twice before issuing pardons that call his judgment, and the integrity of the rule of law, into question.
A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history. At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different. With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left for the current president to affect how he will be viewed. But there is one power left -- the power of the pardon -- that could, if it's abused, create a controversy that both the president and the public could live without.
The power of the pardon is close to absolute. Short of interfering with their own impeachment, presidents can pardon whomever they choose. At the end of his term, however, this president should think twice before issuing pardons that call his judgment, and the integrity of the rule of law, into question.
If President Bush were to pardon key individuals involved in the misdeeds of his administration, from warrantless wiretapping to torture to the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, the courts would be unable to address criminality, or pass judgment on the legality of some of the president's worst abuses. Issuing such pardons now would be particularly egregious, since voters just issued such a strong condemnation of the Bush administration at the ballot box. There is nothing to prevent President Bush from using the pardon in such a short-sighted and self-serving manner -- except, perhaps, public pressure that may itself be a window on the judgment of history. Everyone who can exert that pressure, from members of Congress to the press and the public, should express their views on whether it would be appropriate for President Bush to use his pardon power in this way.
Controversial pardons are nothing new, of course. President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, which was a source of furious national debate, is perhaps the most famous of these. More recently, President Clinton issued a series of last-minute pardons that were highly criticized. Yet the power can also be used to show mercy -- Clinton used the pardon power a number of times to lessen the impact of draconian mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenders.
The use of the pardon power throughout history has been just as varied. Presidents Andrew Johnson, Buchanan and Carter used the pardon power to try to heal national divisions and promote unity. Buchanan, for instance, in return for an oath of loyalty to the nation, pardoned Mormon settlers in Utah who had been accused of treason. It was Johnson's extensive use of pardons after the Civil War that prompted Congress to try to limit the pardon power, which led to the Supreme Court's seminal decision, Ex parte Garland, confirming its nearly unlimited scope. The pardon power outlined in the Garland decision is sweeping -- "it extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission." But that doesn't mean that all pardons are appropriate or serve the common good. The current president's own father, George H.W. Bush, pardoned six participants in the Iran-Contra plan, including Caspar Weinberger, Elliott Abrams and Bob McFarlane, whose trials might have exposed his own involvement.
Writing in the Garland case, the Supreme Court said of presidents' pardon power that "the benign prerogative of mercy reposed in him cannot be fettered by any legislative restrictions." The history of the use of the presidential pardons shows that while presidents sometimes exercise the benign prerogatives of mercy, that is not always their motivation. Nonetheless, while there may be almost no legal limits on presidential pardons, there certainly are limits to what the public will see as a reasonable use of the power. The current president, who has shown such disrespect for the rule of law during his term, will have a chance to show to all of us, and to history, whether he respects it enough not to short-circuit the judicial process after he leaves office.
There are millions of us that aren’t Leftist and we won’t acquiesce quite that easily. Granted there are millions of Leftist domestic terrorists with a fair share in the Congress, but they will face the rest of us before we roll over and are conquered. The American spirit isn’t totally dead nor will it ever be, IMO. I understand your negative sentiments and anger for it is shared by millions that watched a corrupt campaign aided by the mainstream media. The Messiah-elect won because of millions of dollars in illegal contributions aided by massive voter fraud. As I said before, this election was a national disgrace of epic proportions. We have dishonored our forefathers as well as our own parents who died to protect and defend this nation. God will judge harshly those that put personal power and ego above their country. You know the names of the guilty ones.
Never have liked that mean arrogant s.o.b..
Oh yeah, once again you can add the moniker of LOSER and McLame and RINO to that.
....shuuuush remember the official story goes like this..Holder, Obambi's new AG is the one who clinton went along with when it comes to Rich...see clinton didn't do anything...shuuuush
Just to get her goat he should issue her a pardon.
Translation: Don’t you dare spoil all the great hearings and trials and stuff we’ve got planned for your staff and Cabinet members.
Yes Russ you commie-loving pecker, why not the same warning to Clinton when he pardoned Marc Rich and a bunch of other pro-Clinton cronies?
Such a hypocrite. I can’t stand the Dems. Two sets of rules for everyone. One set for the dems and their whores, and backers. Another set for everyone else. So much quarter given to their friends and themselves, none given to enemies and non inner-circle folks.
I’m glad I will not have to answer for the things Russ has done with his power. Glad I am not him.
Looking but didn’t see any condemnation for Clinton, Did I miss it?
Don’t you love these arrogant %&@*$???!!!
and what did the mass media say?
and what did the people hear?
“95% tax cut”
a few thousand hits on the you tube are MEANINGLESS,
sadly MSNBC coupled with McCain’s INCOMPETENCE worked wonders in concealment.
Remember, McCain did not want to use joe the plumber.
Rule of law! From a democrat.
Now this is getting funny.
Tell it to Bill, Russ.
Go spew your holy Lefty morality to the Klintons and while you're on your knees before the unbuckled Bubba, ask him about the terrorists and assorted scum he pardoned.
That little fascist swine feingold must think everyone is as stupid as him.
Well, yes, Feingold is a worthless POS.
Bush needs to pardon the Haditha Marines who haven't been formally cleared yet, and the border guards who were railroaded by that sick, corrupt scumbag Johnny Sutton. Then he needs to pardon everybody in his administration past and present who the rats have left the faintest hint they want to conduct political witch hunts against.
Or....
Bush can sit there like the cowardly punching bag he's been for the past eight years and continue to slap his supporters across the face by never having the guts to stand up like a man and defend himself against the scumbag liberals.
I guess we'll see.
A Democrat does not have the standing to lecture anyone on integrity.
Russ, baby.
Meet me in the alley. I’ll show you a legacy you won’t soon forget.
Colmes is very consistent. He is consistently an apologist for terrorists. One of the best moments on H&C was when Brent Bozelle flat out accused him of it.
Idiot. That power is damned near absolute. And a resignation and a deal with the VP makes it ABSOLUTE.
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