What is a Pardon?
A
pardon is legal forgiveness for a crime, removing guilt and punishment. The
president's right to issue pardons in federal cases is spelled out in Article II,
Section 2 of the Constitution, which describes the "Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in cases
of Impeachment." A president has wide discretion to use the pardon, and it
is not subject to congressional approval. The one exception: Pardons may not be
used to halt impeachment proceedings. The framers of the Constitution intended
the pardon power to be used to preserve "the tranquility of the
commonwealth."
Unlike
commutation, a pardon may be granted at any time before or after trial and
conviction. A person who is granted a pardon returns to the legal status he
held prior to the crime, may vote, and may hold a passport. Some states,
however, prohibit pardoned people from some activities, such as holding local
office.
Here
is an account of pardons and commutations using figures from the United States
Department of Justice (USDOJ) going back to the year 1945, and starting with
Harry S. Truman. The USDOJ also has the figures for how many were denied
pardons and commutations and everything is broken down by year. You can visit
their Web Site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/actions_administration.htm
if you would like to see a more detailed breakdown.
l Harry S. Truman: 93 mos.
Pardons 1913, Commutations 118
l Dwight D. Eisenhower: 96 mos.
Pardons 1110, Commutations 47
l John F. Kennedy: 34 mos.
Pardons 472, Commutations 100
l Lyndon B.
Johnson: 62 mos.
Pardons 960, Commutations 226
l Richard M. Nixon: 67 mos.
Pardons 863, Commutations 60
l Gerald E. Ford: 29 mos.
Pardons 382, Commutations 22
l Jimmy Carter: 48 mos.
Pardons 534, Commutations 29
l Ronald Reagan: 96 mos.
Pardons 393, Commutations 13
l George H.W. Bush: 48 mos.
Pardons 74, Commutations 3
l William J. Clinton: 96 mos.
Pardons 396, Commutation 61
l George W. Bush: as of today
Pardons 113, Commutations 4
A
couple of weeks ago President Bush commuted I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison
sentence. Bush said he agreed with the jury and their verdict, but Bush said he
felt that the thirty month prison term was too much, so he removed the prison
time, but left in place the four guilty verdicts and a $250,000 fine.
The
thirty month prison term is the going sentence for perjury and obstruction of
justice. Bush said, "I made a judgment, a considered judgment, that I
believe was the right decision to make in this case, and I stand by it."
You
would think that since Bush said the verdict was right, that some prison time
was appropriate, but not even ONE day was warranted in President Bush’s mind.
There are Currently
3000 People
in Prison for the Same Crimes
Will
President Bush commute all their sentences? After all Bush said that the
sentence does not fit the crime.
The
other day President Bush when asked by a reporter if he may pardon Libby in the
future, Bush said, "As to the future, I rule nothing in and nothing out."
Scooter
Libby’s verdict culminated a nearly four-year investigation into how CIA
official Valerie Plame's name was leaked to reporters in 2003. The trial
revealed that top members of the administration were eager to discredit Plame's
husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of
doctoring prewar intelligence on Iraq.
In
President Bush’s 2003 State of the Union speech, Bush said then, “The British
Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant
quantities of uranium from Africa.”
Director
of the CIA George Tenet said that they could not confirm the report, but the
Whitehouse inserted these words in the 2003 State of the Union speech anyway
against the wishes of Tenet.
Ambassador
Wilson found no evidence to support the Whitehouse claim and later wrote a
story for the NY Times about his findings, after which the Whitehouse leaked
Valerie Plame’s name to the newspapers.
Eight
days after Wilson's account appeared in The New York Times, syndicated
columnist and CNN contributor Robert Novak identified Plame as a CIA operative
in a column, citing two senior administration officials.
The
article suggested Plame was responsible for sending her husband to Niger.
Libby
was convicted of one count of obstruction, two counts of perjury and one count
of lying to the FBI about how he learned Plame’s identity and whom he told.
Prosecutors said he learned about Plame from Vice President Dick Cheney.
Federal
prosecutor Patrick Fitzpatrick discovered that Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage leaked Valerie Plame’s name to the media inadvertently at
first to Robert Novak a reporter. But it
was Karl Rove, VP Dick Cheney and I. Lewis Scooter Libby who used her name in
order to discredit her husband’s finding about the yellow cake, and it was
these three who called seven different reporters including Novak.
Bush Said in 2004
that Anyone Working at the Whitehouse Who is Found to be Involved in Leaking
the Name of a CIA Agent Would Immediately be Fired
The
investigation discovered that along with Libby, Karl Rove and VP Dick Cheney
were directly involved with leaking Valerie Plame’s name to reporters, yet
neither was fired.
There
have been rumblings that if Libby was sent to prison, he was going to name
names. Names the Whitehouse did not want to be known, which is why Bush
commuted his prison time. And Bush will most likely give Libby a full pardon
before he leaves office.
As
you see Pardons and Commutations are very common, they have been given by both
Democrats and Republicans alike.
So what is all the
Fuss about This Particular Commutation?
Well,
there appears to be a strong indication that if Libby went to jail he would
further implicate senior Whitehouse officials, such as Cheney and Rove.
And
if you look at the pardons of previous Presidents you will find the names of
many unscrupulous people, but you won’t find the names of anyone who could
implicate high ranking Whitehouse officials.
If
this had been any other Pardon or Commutation nothing would have been said by
anyone, and it most likely would never have been noticed by the media, but this
was a Senior Whitehouse official who in my opinion should have been tried for
Treason along with Armitage, Rove and Cheney for leaking the name of a Covert
CIA agent.
So
when Republicans say look at all the pardons by Clinton, what they don’t say
is, none of his pardons were to people who leaked the name or names of Covert
CIA agents, or who could implicate Senior Whitehouse officials, and that is why
this case is different from any other Presidential pardon or commutation.
David Phillips is a Vietnam Era Veteran, a Democratic
Party Activist, and David is also the Publisher and Editor of the online
political magazine YodasWorld.org. E-Mail Questions or Comments: oneyoda@aol.com