Presidential pardons

[historian]

Can a president pardon someone who hasnt been charged yet? Kenneth Lay comes to mind. Of course Skilling who is currently out on bail will be pardoned. His pardons will be a direct slap in the faces of americans who have lost everything thanks to him and his bunch of thugs.

[Dookus]

1. Yes

Nixon hadn't been charged with any crimes when Ford pardoned him.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon.

Nixon had not yet been charged with anything. It was right after Tricky Dicky resigned because of Watergate.

[bluestateguy]

3. Yes

The power to pardon is wide and absolute. It cannot be overturned by any judicial or political body. Despicable as it would be for Bush to pardon the Enron criminals on his way out of the White House I would strenously argue against curtailing the president's power to pardon.

[Dookus]

4. I would support a constitutional amendment

curtailing the power of pardons. In fact, I wrote all my reps on the subject after Bush I pardoned all his cronies on the way out the door.

I suggested the following changes:

No pardons can be given pre-emptively. A pardon can only be granted in case of a conviction of a crime. (The way it currently stands, a blanket pardon can be given for unknown crimes. What if Nixon had strangled a girl scout with his bare hands, but nobody knew? People should be charged, tried and convicted before receiving a pardon.)

No President can pardon a member of his administration without approval of 2/3 of both houses of congress. (this prevents presidents from using their cronies to break the law for them, then using the pardon as a free pass.)

[leetrisck]

5. I believe bushe I pardoned Casper Weinberger

and he hadn't been charged but probably would have been. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but think that happened.