Slate: The top prospects for a last act of Bush clemency

[OmahaBlueDog]

http://www.slate.com/id/2204984?y=1

<<Attention, convicts: Time is running out to get applications to the pardon attorney at the Justice Department if you're hoping President Bush will be your decider. Few of you should get your hopes up—Bush has rejected a record number of requests for pardons and commutations. In the last eight years, he has pardoned 157 people—a miserly sum compared with his predecessors. But you don't have to give up entirely: More are expected in the coming months, most notably for Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. >>

The article is interesting, although I disagree with some of their assessments. Most notably, I think Ted Stevens is a lock to get pardoned. (Warning: you won't like what I have to say next). If Bush doesn't pardon Stevens, I think Obama will. The Senate is a pretty clubby place, and the old guard Dems(most notably Robert Byrd and Danniel Innouye)as well as most of the GOP will make the case that Stevens can't / won't run again (and the pardon could certainly be made conditional on that point), and will argue that, despite his failings, he is a living part of Alaskan history and deserves to be cut some slack.

Notably absent from the Slate article is another touchy pardon topic -- Jonathan Pollard. Many have argued that Pollard has been somewhat of his own worst enemy in the effort to gain release from prison. Nevertheless, if he were granted a conditional pardon/clemency(read: leave the US and don't come back), it would greatly please Israel. Bush might see it as a final bone to throw them for their assistance in the war on terror, and to reinforce the notion that the GOP -- not the Dems -- are Israel's friends.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. I don't give a rat's ass about any of then except the two border

patrol agents.

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. And you'd be for or against pardoning the agents?

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

6. I'm for pardoning the agents----don't care about the rest.

[OmahaBlueDog]

7. That's what I thought you meant. Just checking

For the record, I agree with you -- they should be pardoned.

[Warpy]

2. I agree about the Stevens pardon

and retribution might best be served by the old crook having to spend his remaining days with the "entitlements" that ended up costing him everything. I don't imagine he'll be quite as pleased with them once their true cost has been realized.

As for Scooter, yes, he'll be pardoned. However, future charges might still be brought against him. A lifetime of experience has taught me that most men who escape justice will end up facing it again, sooner or later. Look at O.J. Simpson for an example of that.

What remains to be seen is whether Stupid will try to issue blanket pardons for himself and everyone in his administration for any illegal acts they might have committed during the eight years of his reign and whether such pardons will be judged legal by the USSC. My own guess is that the Nixon precedent won't stand if the Democrats have the will to pursue it, especially if the Democrats remind the wingers on the court that the precedent could theoretically work for both parties.

I'm afraid we will continue to live in interesting times.

[OmahaBlueDog]

5. I see this as an issue with several levels

In terms of blanket amnesty, my guess is that you'll see some kind of pardon or executive order allowing the firms like Blackwater and Halliburton to use "obeying orders" as a defense for actions involving Iraqui detainees, preceived threat to truck convoys, etc.

In terms of the higher ups, it gets more problematic. Regarding Cheney; If you've ever seen "A Few Good Men", you'll remember the scene where Tom Cruise tells his fellow lawhers that Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicolson) really wants to tell his story on the stand. I think, at a certain level, Cheney won't want to be pardoned because he wants to dare someone to prosecute him or, better yet, haul him up in front of Congress.

Libby, I suspect, will be pardoned for Plamegate, and I suspect Rove may get a pardon for "crimes that may or may not have been committed" for Plamegate and Attorneygate. There is a danger in this wit Rove; without the threat of prosecution (i.e. yhe 5th Amendment) as a defense against talking, he might be compelled to actually answer questions about what happened.

To me the big question marks are for the group of Neocon advisors who may or may not have willfully ignored or tailored intelligence and led us to the war in Iraq as a result. This group would include, but nor be limited to, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, and Douglas Feith. There will be big arguments over whether they did anything that rises to the level of illegality that can be proven in front of a jury. Why pardon people who can't / won't be prosecuted?

...and then there's George. I have a question for anyone who knows: do ex-Presidents receive Diplomatic Immunity when they travel? My guess is that George can't pardon himself and have it stand up in court. Bush might be able to convince Obama that, just as his administration saw no point in pursuing charges against Bill Clinton, and Ford pardoned Nixon, that the good of the nation would be best served by Obama issuing him a pardon. I also suspect that there will be some effort by the GOP to pass some kind of legislation giving ex-Presidents diplomatic status if they don't already have it; the idea will be to keep Bush from having to put in an appearance in front of the World Court.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Stevens hasn't asked for a pardon from anyone,

and won't until his appeal plays out. By that time, he may no longer be with us. He is convinced that he did nothing wrong, and asking for a pardon would be an admission that he did.

I don't really care one way or another. I would derive no personal pleasure from seeing an old man in prison. As long as he's out of the Senate and Alaska can move into the 21st Century, that's all that matters to me.

Lots of tributes to Ted in this morning's Anchorage Daily News. No matter what, he can't be denied his place in Alaska's history. Love him or hate him, he was a force to be reckoned with.

http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/598816.html
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/story/598819.html
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/story/598821.html
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/story/598818.html
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/story/598817.html