Pardons

In recent days I have heard commentators on the news say that Bush, and Clinton, undermined the "rule of law" when they granted pardons/commutations. This strikes me as funny since Article 2, Section 2, of the United States Constitution states:

"and he [the president] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment"

Notice that the Constitution gives the President of the United States the right to pardon/reprieve those who have committed "offenses against the United States". That goes against what one commentator said on MSNBC the other day. This person, and I forgot who it was, said that pardons were for innocent people who were found guilty. Yet the Constitution, our rule of law, does not say that. It is very clear that the President of the United States has the power to reprieve/pardon those who have committed "offenses against the United States". There are no conditions, ifs, ands, or buts, added to this power.

Therefore Bush had the right to give Libby a commutation. Congress need not hold hearings and the news commentators need to stop saying that the rule of law has been undermined. The rule of law, the United States Constitution, gives the President of the United States the right and the power to do what Bush did. Period, end of story. We don't have to like it, we don't have to agree with it, but the Constitution gives him the power to do it.

I am not a fan of Bush, Cheney, or anyone in this administration. However we must be fair and stick with the rule of law.

 

==Where is that stated in the constitution? I can't find it. The constitution grants the President of the United States this power and only limits the power in cases of impeachment. There is nothing about "extraordinary situations" mentioned/implied.

==I am more outraged that the prosecutor in this case spent all of our money and obstruction of justice is the best he could come up with. He should be thrown in jail to pay back the American people. I am even more outraged that our political leaders live like kings/queens while they send our soldiers to war. They throw millions of dollars away on useless projects while small communities lose their hospitals because there is not enough money to keep these small hospitals open. They also refuse to protect our borders. So I have much more important things to be outraged about then a president doing what the constitution allows him to do.