How Many Liberals Know And UNDERSTAND the Constitution ?

Question

The founding fathers gave the president the exclusive right to pardon or commute the sentence , of anyone he saw fit .

Need I Say Another Word ?

What is the purpose of asking if he should be impeached or charged with a crime ?

I disagreed with many pardons that Clinton handed out , but never for a second questioned his legal right to do so .

Gross - Thank you for a logical cogent statement . In fact that's nearly verbatim what the CNN Analyst said . Ya see , some Liberals are convinced that my friends and I only watch FoxNews and amount to nothing more than the 'sheeple of the flock' . I hate that when they use personal insults to diminish the veracity of a particular view that just doesn't fit or agree with their own personal observations . And I do hope that many people are reading my response to you . I want them to see what an example of what a logical answer looks like. . . credit to you . And what many of us Conservatives really think . .. . and think on our own . Maybe at least one somebody learned something today .

btexpress - LMAO . You're kidding , right ?

CORRECTION - I must post a correction . There are cases where a president cannot grant a pardon or commutation . I had ignored that when posting this question . But clearly this case is not one of them .

Answer 1

I am a liberal and have a fair understanding of Constitutional law.

You are right. The presidents pardon power is absolute and without limitation for all crimes and misdemeanors except impeachment. Bush did nothing illegal by commuting Libby's prison term.

In 1866 the Supreme Court said that the President’s pardon power “is not subject to any legislative control. Congress can neither limit the effect of his pardon, nor exclude from its exercise any class of offenders.”

The pardon of Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford was even more questionable. Nixon had not even been indicted, let alone convicted and was granted a blanket pardon. And in that case it was reaffirmed that the presidents power to pardon is without limit or legislative check.

But Liberals can still say how they feel about Libby's pardon. I am a bit upset that Scooter Libby should do less jail time for obstruction of justice than Paris Hilton. But I still have no recourse outside the ballot box.

Answer 2

Do NOT insult my intelligence!
Presidential pardons were placed because historically, the King of England was notorious for severe punishments for sometimes trivial crimes. The founding fathers added the clause so that the death penalty if given could be turned around.

There are, however, things that a pardon cannot cover. The first and most obvious is impeachment, since it is specifically excepted in the Constitution. Civil liability cannot be excused - a harm against another can still be considered a harm even if there is no longer any criminal liability. Contempts of court cannot be pardoned, as they are offenses against the dignity of the court, and not necessarily offenses against the law.

Answer 3

Yes, the pardon power is very broad.

If people (of all stripes) only posted when they had the facts, this board would be almost empty!

If I don't know something, I try to state that. In fact, in many of my posts I end up by saying I have more questions than answers.

PS I FINALLY heard the Symphonic Pink Floyd record. Awesome! They have a Led Zeppelin one too, which I also enjoyed. All the best.

Answer 4

The implications of this particular commutation makes you wonder whether Scooter could have implicated Cheney or Bush in any of the charges Scooter took the fall for. I know that the President CAN pardon whomever he feels like but I'd have felt better if he had pardoned people like Officers Ramos and Compean, who are languishing in prison for shooting a drug smuggler in the butt when the smuggler crossed into Texas with 700 lbs. of pot in his van. That would be a great use of the power to pardon or commute sentences. Not using it to keep your buddy from going down on a perjury charge. That is petty behavior that is unbecoming of a President.

Answer 5

With out a doubt, you are 100% correct. Also President George W. Bush has used his right to Pardon, or Commute, very sparingly, unlike others before him.

The Communists are Hippocrates, and Cowards !

Answer 6

If we go back in time it is amazing the people pardoned by each party when they held the White House but again the full blown left wing is off on a tangent making it like no other president had done this, when there are countless examples of commuting sentences and pardons that most can never understand. Libby was a result of a political witch hunt and should never have been on trial let alone convicted.

Answer 7

I haven't brought it up once myself.. Libbey was a scape goat... for who is a matter of opinion.. not fact.. but anyway you look at it even the jury members were wondering why he was there and not someone else.. the pardon is no surprise.. the only thing that surprised me is that Bush did it so soon.. I would have expected it at the end of his term. I think what actually irks me the most is that people are showing their ADD and bouncing from topic to topic.. stay focused people.. the fact that Bush is refusing to submit subpoenaed documents is MUCH more interesting and worthy of more than just yesterday's news.

Answer 8

Those who understand the Constitution do not dispute the exclusive right the President...ANY president...has in this type of situation.

They are also guaranteed the right to disagree with the President's decision, just like you disagreed with some of Clinton's pardons.

You really need to address this question to the EXTREME Americans who want nothing better than to just get rid of this President simply because they don't personally like him.

Answer 9

I am a believer in the original intent of the Constitution.
Liberals believe it lives and thus make it up as they go along.
There is no ESTABLISHMENT of Religion, Separation does not exist, however because the Liberals were in charge of the court in 1960 we have Separation. Outrage over pardons is selective.You should see the gems presented to me for Perjury. One Liberal stated the Bill Clinton did not commit a Felony for Lying to a Judge. Libby and Clinton have and will give up their respective Law License. Clinton Pardoned His Cronies. That is Democrats for you.

Answer 10

When Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, not one word was said about his right to pardon someone who contributed millions to hillarys campaign.

This who commutation hubbub is nothing more than pure hypocrisy by the leftists, they have no shame, they have no moral compass, right and wrong to them is what ever feels good at the moment, pure nihilistic hedonism. Animals.