Will the president pardon his friends? His answers during the campaign for the presidency have been vague. But his power is absolute
Article Abstract:
The power to pardon was one of the few monarchical prerogatives which the drafters of the Constitution retained, and it is subject to only one limitation, namely that it cannot be used in cases of impeachment. All recent presidents have granted some pardons which have had media coverage, but Pres Clinton has continued a trend toward fewer executive pardons. As governor of Arkansas Clinton was also parsimonious with this power. Clinton has said that any pardon request from Jim and Susan McDougal and former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker would be handled under standard Department of Justice rules.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Pardoning Weinberger was right
Article Abstract:
George Bush's pardon of Caspar Weinberger during the last month of his presidency was in accordance with his constitutional pledge to protect the separation of powers from undue politicization. The justification for the pardon was the lack of a crime. In view of the special prosecutor's excesses, the only constitutionally proper path Bush could take was to pardon the alleged crime. From its beginning the Iran-Contra affair was little more than a political dispute with the legislature. Presidents are constitutionally empowered to keep some things secret from Congress.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Pardoning Weinberger belittles democracy
Article Abstract:
President George Bush's pardon of Caspar Weinberger on charges of lying to Congress with regard to the Iran-Contra affair was wrong and subverted the independent counsel function. Bush had a conflict of interest due to his involvement with the events resulting in Iran-Contra. It is also very rare and very inappropriate to grant a pardon before trial. Moreover, the pardon is a bad precedent due to the incentive it provides for future coverups.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: The political parties and campaign finance reform. A government for our time? Business improvement districts and urban governance
- Abstracts: Not enough hours; making the most of the time we have. The secret of success; need balanced lives, not necessarily more billable hours
- Abstracts: Employers increasingly rely on the 'same-actor inference' as a defense in some bias lawsuits in which the hirer and firer are the same person
- Abstracts: The revised proxy rules: an unfinished effort to improve shareholder communication. Shareholder initiatives, institutional investors and the SEC: 14A-8 proposals and new proxy rules
- Abstracts: A reluctant witness ducks, then testifies; he saw a cop killing, hems and haws on testifying, and sues city for lack of protection