Wonder if a blanket pardon will be issued for anyone associated with the torture cases. And there is also the case of the two border patrol agents who shot the drug dealer and then covered it up. A few weeks ago Bush pulled back one pardon after some additional info was discovered. How does that work? Is it just a filing deadline or can a president always change his mind? And how does that work with a presidential transition? If the same thing happened today/tomorrow, could Obama overturn a bush pardon? I know he can't but Bush wouldn't be able to either.
He didn't pardon them, cinchhorn; he commuted their sentences. So they've still been convicted, just won't do any more jail time.
Commuting their sentence is the right move as opposed to pardoning them. They were wrong and the conviction should stand. You can't have agents shooting people running away from you.
Bush just commuted the sentence of a couple of cold blooded shooters with badges. For a president whose legacy is a redefinition and word and dismantling of the concept of freedom, this is an appropriate pardon for his presidency.
You'll have to excuse me on the pardoning/commuting, I read the headline before their was an article. "You can't have agents shooting people running away from you. " BA93, who do you believe the drug runner or the agents? Both parties had some wrong doing, but ultimately who are you going to believe? LE shoot people running all the time, TN v. Garner gave that tool, its all about articulation. Congrats to Ramos and Compean!
Fried Just to be clear the drug dealer who got shot in the butt is alive and managed to commit many more crimes after he got shot. Do you feel as much contempt for the man who got the FALN terrorists pardoned/ commuted? You know the same Holder that was part of the clinton admin and is now part of the obama administration?
I don't really get commuting the sentence. It seems like you either give them a full pardon (so that they don't have it on their record) or you let them serve their time. What has been done now is say that the jury was right but we only punish the guys a couple of years in the slam. I don't like the middle ground. I'm not saying they deserve a pardon or not, but it seems to me that they should either be pardoned or do the time sentenced to them for the crime. Kinda strange to my perspective.
It's common knowledge that Bush pardoned much fewer criminals than Clinton. Pardoning these guys would be wrong. Is it right to pardon 2 LE officers for covering up after shooting someone?
Regardless of how impressed you are about Bush's record of pardons, his commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence is tantamount to obstruction of justice. Libby did not serve a single day of jail time - a reward for his omerta to protect his boss. The commutation instead of a pardon ensures that Libby's right to plead the 5th remains intact so that he can't be compelled to testify to Congress under further penalty of perjury to implicate his bosses. and FWIW, indications are that with the border patrol matter out of the way, Bush is done with pardons:
Triple, that didn't sound like praise. Aren't you impressed, especially after all those pardons given by Clinton including some involved in the Whitewater investigation? Seems to me like a nice turnaround. Can I hear a "yeah" Bush?
Summer- yep. see my post at the bottom of page one. There's a calculated difference between Commuting Libby's prison term versus an outright pardon, and that calculated difference has to do with Bush and Cheney covering their own asses. Uninformed - I will be more than peasantly surprised if Bush offers no more 11th hour pardons or commutations. .
W has nothing to lose. He could/should pardon or commute with no guilt given the list of the guy before him. I don't see W doing anywhere close to as many as Clinton though. We'll see. Maybe he will forgive Saddam for coming after his daddy too. Oh, wait, too late for that dirt breather.
Just saw a report on the news that Bush has pardoned 1/2 of the number of people Clinton did. Take that for whatever its worth. I'm assuming the official numbers will be out soon.
