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Rep. Nadler Moves to Prevent Pre-Emptive White House Pardons

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Chris:
Rep. Nadler Moves to Prevent Pre-Emptive White House Pardons

--- Quote ---WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, introduced a Resolution in the House of Representatives demanding that President Bush refrain from issuing pre-emptive pardons of senior officials in his Administration during the final 90 days of office.  H.RES.1531 is in response to President Bush’s widespread abuses of power and potentially criminal transgressions against our Constitution.  The Resolution aims to prevent undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the President’s unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants.


“This Resolution declares that we will not tolerate a last minute attempt by President Bush to shelter his cronies – cronies who may well be guilty of serious criminal offenses – from the full force of the law,” said Rep. Nadler.  “President Bush must not excuse his own officials from possibly illegal acts committed outside the context of their official duties.  Such pardons would merely obfuscate the truth and amount to a gross miscarriage of justice.”
--- End quote ---

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Chris:
Too bad it's in the Constitution, and has been upheld by previous courts.


--- Quote ---Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the president "Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."  A reprieve reduces the severity of a punishment without removing the guilt of the person reprieved.  A pardon removes both punishment and guilt.

As judicially interpreted, the president's power to grant reprieves and pardons is absolute.  Individual reprieves and pardons cannot be blocked by Congress or the courts.  The Framers of the Constitution envisioned the pardon power has having a narrow purpose in times of war and rebellion.  The president might offer pardons to rebellious factions as an inducement for a laying down of arms and national reconciliation.  Alexander Hamilton argued  in the Federalist Papers (No. 74) that "in seasons of insurrection or rebellion, there are often critical moments, when a well-timed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquillity of the common wealth; and which, if suffered to pass unimproved, it may never be possible afterwards to recall."
--- End quote ---

http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/pardon.html

formerlurker:
Oh Mr. President, you have to do it now. 

Nadler you total jackass.   :bigbird: 

Chris_:


What an idiot and a jerk.

Eupher:
The irritating thing about those POS stupid-ass resolutions (besides the fact they're useless documents except that the jerks who write them can point to them and say, "Look Mommy! See what I did! I made poopy!") is the bullshit phrase, "It is the sense of the......"

If the ****ing House of Representative had any SENSE they wouldn't be writing these useless documents on the taxpayer's dime.

****ing asshats.  :bird:

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