[mbraynard]

Bush cannot do anything until the DOJ makes a decision in this matter

Uh, no. He can pardon anyone he wants, regardless of what the DOJ does or doesn't do.

[Lancey Howard]

He can pardon anyone he wants, regardless of what the DOJ does or doesn't do.

Well, the full assertion in the article reads:

Bush cannot do anything until the DOJ makes a decision in this matter, although he can ask for a review and recommendation expedite. As POTUS, Bush can then make any decision he desires in this matter, with or without regard to the DOJ-OOP’s recommendations.

...Which, as you stated, is incorrect. Bush can issue pardons anytime he wants. He does NOT have to wait ("Bush cannot do anything until...") for DOJ recommendations.

[flattorney]

>> He (Pres. Bush) can pardon anyone he wants, regardless of what the DOJ does or doesn’t do. <<

You are correct. There is a typo in the sentence. It should begin with the word “Formally” - - -

Formally, Bush cannot do anything until the DOJ makes a decision in this matter, although he can ask for a review and recommendation expedite.

Yes, posters are correct. POTUS Bush can “over-reach” at his discretion in commutations and pardons as he partially did in the Libby case.

Of interest, months ago, Pres. Bush publicly stated that he had never been asked to pardon Ramos and Compean. This statement was expressed despite previous formal pardon requests from a number of U.S. Congress members along with significant request petitions and letters from the public-at-large. One can only presume that Bush also accidentally left out the word “formally” in his statement. Formally meaning a pardon request by the border agents attorneys via the DOJ-OOP.

To quote...........

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power to pardon. There aren’t many limits to the president’s pardon power, at least when it comes to criminal prosecutions under federal law. The president’s clemency power has its origins in the practices of the English monarchy, and as a result, the Supreme Court has given the president wide leeway under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, with some exceptions. Virtually every presidential pardon comes in response to a pardon petition, filed with a special Department of Justice office. If the request has merit, the office interviews the prosecuting attorney, sentencing judge, and other law enforcement officials involved with each case. FBI investigators also compile a dossier on the applicant. The DOJ then completes a report on the request and offers a recommendation to the president on whether or not to grant a pardon.

The final decision belongs to the president, who could theoretically pardon an individual who had not filed a petition. Occasionally, a president will pardon someone who hasn’t even been convicted. Anticipatory pardons of this sort are generally given in the belief that they serve some national interest, such as when President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon or when President Carter pardoned the Vietnam draft-dodgers. President H.W. George Bush also pardoned Caspar Weinberger after he’d been indicted, but before he’d been tried, which effectively short-circuited a trial. It makes sense that this power rests with the executive rather than the judicial branch, since it’s an explicitly political decision. - FlA

TAB