Where in all of Washington DC today is there the wisdom and insight the framers of the constitution possessed 200+ years ago? Where is the collective respect for the rule of law? Why on the eve of this year's celebration of freedom and liberation from tyranny are we forced to swallow such behavior from this selected White House?
From Dan Froomkin.
It's true that the Constitution grants the president unlimited clemency and pardon power. But presidents have generally used that power to show mercy or, in rare cases, make political amends -- not to protect themselves from exposure.
The Framers, ever sensitive to the need for checks and balances, recognized the potential for abuse of the pardon power. According to a Judiciary Committee report drafted in the aftermath of the Watergate crisis: "In the [Constitutional] convention George Mason argued that the President might use his pardoning power to 'pardon crimes which were advised by himself' or, before indictment or conviction, 'to stop inquiry and prevent detection.' James Madison responded:
"[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty. . . .
"Madison went on to [say] contrary to his position in the Philadelphia convention, that the President could be suspended when suspected, and his powers would devolve on the Vice President, who could likewise be suspended until impeached and convicted, if he were also suspected."
Mr. President you make the nation collective wistful for the days of Kenneth Starr. You make Nixon look like a rank amateur and have insulted the very men whose portraits hang in your hallways and office. You are not fit to carry the title and behave in a manner more befitting a mob boss... minus the effective approach to true punishment. You question what your legacy will be. I think you just answered your own question. A myopic self-serving ass.
Posted by kerry at July 3, 2007 05:30 PM