John Dean Says Bush Could Pardon Himself

[kpete]

Kall: Is that possible? He can pardon himself ?

Dean: Absolutely.

Kall: Even for something he hasn’t been charged with yet?

Dean: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Kall: So, he can say “I, George Bush, pardon myself for any possible charges that can ever be brought against me.”

Dean: That’s right. It’s inherent in the pardon power. People were worried that Nixon was going to do that. He didn’t, but he could have.

**end**

(of course, he's already done it once through the Detainee Bill in 2006 in regards to treatment of detainees dating back to Sept. 11)

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34837

[spanone]

1. i dare him.

[damntexdem]

13. There's a simple solution to that eventuality:

a one-way plane ticket to the Hague.

[cliffordu]

16. Yep. The Hague is what we need. I want to see THAT perp-walk.....

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Yes he can and probably already has n/t

[Turbineguy]

3. Undulgences

were one of the things that led to the Reformation.

I say, let Bush destroy the Republican party.

[HereSince1628]

4. The ICC doesn't recognize such pardons.

The possibility of justice exists.

[bryant69]

5. What are the odds that they would hand Bush over to the ICC?

Or, should he be arrested while traveling abroad, what would be the reaction of the United States to his imprisonment and trial?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[TexasObserver]

10. The ICC will never get their hands on Bush.

Between the US and Paraguay, Bush will never stand for his crimes.

[damntexdem]

14. If he likes to travel, he would always be at risk.

And governments can change, in Paraguay as well as in the U.S.

It might not be right away -- but remember Pinochet.

[cobalt1999]

18. No risk for him.

No country would dare.

He might be turned down for a visa from a few places, but he is in no risk of a foreign power arresting him.

Paraguay isn't in the same league as the USA.

[zbdent]

21. and he has a history of not travelling ...

remember, his only real international travel experience was the hookers, er, tequila in Mexico ...

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. That's the last thread of hope, but I don't see anyone taking him there.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

6. Wouldn't that be admitting he did something wrong? He's not too good at that.

[cobalt1999]

8. I'd like to see that just for the admission

I doubt he'll ever see justice, but just the fact that accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt would be nice.

[lame54]

7. Hopefully he'll fuck that up too

[TexasObserver]

9. I believe Bush will pardon himself.

And Cheney, and a bunch of others. He knows if he pardons them, the ability to pursue criminal prosecutions is cut off.

Why wouldn't he?

[damntexdem]

15. Maybe he'll try to fool everybody --

and wait till January 30 to do it. ;-)

[shadowknows69]

11. Then we have a monarchy, will someone with nuts in the media just come out and say it?

[Postman]

12. It would be a de-facto admission of breaking the law. It would be an admission that he's a criminal.

Which we all know and so does he.

[lurky]

22. I'm sure he and his supporters

would blame the mean Democrats who are "persecuting him for partisan gain" or some such. He has made much more ludicrous statements and people have bought it.

[housewolf]

17. A pardon doesn't remove an offence or a conviction, does it?

Doesn't it just release the person from serving the sentence or paying the penalty?

The record remains, doesn't it?

A pardon doesn't say "he never did it, the conviction was in error."

Isn't what we really want ... a record of all the mis-doings and a judgement that they are wrong for our own satisfaction and for historical purposes?


I'm just sayin'.... I'd love to see GWB in prison here or somewhere else, but it's just never gonna happen, not in my lifetime... I would have loved to have seen him & Cheney impeached and forced out of power in disgrace but that's not gonna happen at this point, so I don't really cares if he goes to jail or not. But I do care about is uncovering the truth of all that he has done and undone, and setting it aright. And for the lessons it all provides to history. GWB will pay through his reputation and his legacy and his reputation. He's not gonna go to jail anyway so it doesn't matter if he partdons himself. That would just add to his disgrace. He and his cohorts can still be investigated and an evaluation rendered, right?

[Imagevision]

20. Bush is aware of this which is why he's so damn cocky...