July 23, 2008
Question of the Day
Posted by
Jonathan Zasloff
Jacob Leibenluft has a useful "Explainer" today on the Presidential pardon power, but then comes up with this clunker:
If someone hasn't yet been charged with a crime, how does the president know what to pardon them for? As in Nixon's case, President Bush could issue a pardon that applies generally to any crimes that may have been committed within a certain range of dates. More likely, a pardon could apply only to actions surrounding a single policy or place—say, the detention or interrogation of suspected al-Qaida members.
"More likely" says who?
Put another way: is there any reason to believe that this President will refrain from protecting his political friends because it would constitute an abuse of power or is "just not done"?
Any reason at all?
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