Posted on 01/19/2009 6:47:50 PM PST by Justaham
In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies, President Bush has decided not to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for his 2007 conviction in the CIA leak case, two White House officials said Monday.
On Bush's last full day as president, Bush did commute the sentence of two former Border Patrol agents—Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos—for shooting a Mexican drug dealer and then lying about it. But White House press spokesman Tony Fratto told NEWSWEEK "you should not expect any more" pardons and commutations from Bush before he leaves office Tuesday. Another senior official, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive matters, confirmed that no more pardons would be granted.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
My Bush gives Fitzgerald a pat on the back. You’re do’n a great job Fitzy.
Libby must have been deficient in the sucking up department.
Scooter’s sentence was commmuted a while ago: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287780,00.html
Libby’s sentence was commuted - not pardoned. A pardon totally expunges your record.
I find it incredulous that George Bush did not pardon him. It was clearly politically motivated and the reason the Presidential pardon ability is in the constitution. Bush claimed to honor loyalty only to be void of it himself.
Newsweak and Isikoff needs to remember REAL history, not just
their made up stuff..... Idiots all
Shame in GW and his underachiever Justice Department for letting this “which” hunt go on.
I’m probably going to get flamed, but I think that President Bush is respecting the Constitutional balance of power by commuting sentences rather than granting pardons.
But Scooter did not request a pardon. So how could the prez pardon someone who hasn’t requested one?
What...What did Clinton do for Marc Rich?....and the FALN terrorists?
Alas, the way they bungled their cases they'll have to do that without voter support ~ and sure as heck no one wants them mucking around with traditional countryclub Republican trades such as party organization and fund raising.
Instead, these young men have been identified as RINOs to be purged as soon as possible.
"W"'s just refusing to pardon these men because he screwed up and let them get prosecuted needlessly.
He's too embarrassed to admit it. He will be haunted by that fact until the day he dies.
Tomorrow is going to be another day that will live in infammy.
Pardons are one of Constitutional powers of the Presidency. The founders gave it to him in the NAME OF BALANCE. He would be disrespecting that balance BY GIVING IT UP.
They deserve a clean slate, so does Libby. My point is that Bush respects the Constitution and our justice system. They were found guilty by a jury of their peers.
He just figured the punishment did not fit the "crime."
There is no "constitutional balance of power" when it comes to pardons. The President's power to pardon is unlimited. "W"'s just refusing to pardon these men because he screwed up and let them get prosecuted needlessly.
Yes, I know that. I also know that he respects our system of justice.
Bush has been a disappointment in MANY ways. In his first term, he couldn’t find his VETO pen, then he had to have remedial training to learn how to use it.
It’s not surprising that Bush won’t pardon Libby. He probably won’t pardon Ramos and Campeon, either!! I think that 15 years hence, he will wax nostalgic and admit that maybe he should have pardoned those guys.
(Adjusting asbestos undies) Flame away.
Maybe Bush is afraid to hurt his popularity ratings.
When you have outcomes like that something may be wrong.
He probably should have prosecuted his father's friend, Colon Powell first, and blown the whistle on the Plame dame himself.
Here's the deal, "W" has a mental block ~ we know he thought the moral thing to do with the illegal visitor problem was to just offer them "a path to citizenship". Alas, the moral thing to do was to assist them in going home as soon as possible ~ certainly this nation has enough buses for that.
The 13th Amendment ABOLISHED SLAVERY and peonage! Yet, the people hiring the illegals were re-establishing both! Certainly didn't respect our fundamental laws all that much to cater to the slavers eh.
Bush is VERY stubborn! He is out of touch with citizens! The border agents should have been pardoned! Bush? GRRRR!
No request is necessary. From the Washington D.C. paper The Hill:
Legal experts say a person does not need to request a pardon to receive one from the president.Margaret Colgate Love, the U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, said: “Historically, most people who have been pardoned have asked to be pardoned, but there have been exceptions.”
Love said President Clinton commuted the sentences of Puerto Rican nationalists without receiving requests.
“I understand there were a number of people who were the beneficiaries of final grants who didn’t ask.”
President Clinton also pardoned former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) for mail fraud even though the ex-lawmaker did not solicit clemency, according to a media report at the time.
Bush wanted to leave Scooter Libby twisting in the wind. What a disgraceful way for him to end to his presidency.
.........”What...What did Clinton do for Marc Rich?..............
Well, first off, he most certainly serviced his wife, Denise, with the bent ‘Willy’ and with a huge Rich check in his hand, before he reached for her ample ta-ta’s to seal the deal.
Meanwhile, Hillary was looking through Facebook, before she contacted Huma, who continues to be her around the world “aide” as she accends to SOS!
This is idiotic, unpatriotic, and wrong.
WRONGO.
The Constitution (unfortunately) gives the President unfettered power of pardon.
The pardoning power is a part of our system of justice. Why do you think the founders gave it to the office?
I understand that it is the president’s constitutional power. That wasn’t the point I was trying to make. I was only saying that Bush wasn’t going to override the courts’ decisions, only their sentences. I would’ve liked to see full pardons too. I’m not trying to justify the commutation of their sentences over being pardoned, just trying to understand it.
A pardon doesn’t override the court’s decision. A pardon FORGIVES the offense.
The granting of a pardon to a person who has committed a crime or who has been convicted of a crime is an act of clemency, which forgives the wrongdoer and restores the person’s Civil Rights.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pardon
Thanks for clearing that up. I honestly thought a pardon wiped out the court’s decision. I take great pains to identify the gaps of my ignorance and try to fill those gaps, but sometimes I speak before I research.
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