Posted on 12/20/2016 7:36:47 AM PST by luke1825
Do not know if you can issue a pardon if there is not a conviction.
I’m sure you can....it’s just semantics...
Nixon was pardoned...but never convicted.
Poor Bowe has been in the spotlight for so long and his trial is not until next spring, he deserves a break.
Members of his former unit should be allowed to take him on a week camping trip, far from civilization, to catch up on old times.
If,by chance,I'm correct it seems possible that this pig's case won't even go to trial.So it could be that the pig walks whatever happens.
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." (In that case, a former Confederate senator successfully petitioned the court to uphold a pardon that prevented him from being disbarred.) Generally speaking, once an act has been committed, the president can issue a pardon at any timeregardless of whether charges have even been filed.
Source: Preemptive Presidential Pardon
Obama may pardon Bergdahl, but the public and those that served with him will never do it. Bergdahl even if pardoned will remain Pariah for the rest of his life.
If Obama pardons Bergdahl for crimes under the UCMJ; Bergdahl should be tried for treason under Federal Statute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.