Can she?? The answer is addressed in a recent law article from Dan Abrams. Here are some bullet points:
- A president can only pardon federal crimes. Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution provides, “The President … shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Hillary's potential crimes regarding Top Secret emails and/or pay-for-play schemes with the Clinton Foundation would likely all be federal, so YES these are crimes she could pardon.
- There is no precedent for a Presidential self-pardon. As bad as things have been, it's never been that bad. Yay, America ...
- GET THIS: If Hillary pardons herself, the House of Representatives would then have no basis for impeachment! Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution provides “The President… shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” So we'd be stuck with this mess. Maybe ... (see below)
Schuyler Colfax Not to mention, the President can ONLY be impeached for crimes committed while IN office. This is the precedent established back in 1873 when the House tried impeaching the Grant's Vice President, Schuyler Colfax.
You know your presidency is off to a great start when it's already drawing comparisons to that of Ulysses S. Grant.
Here's an interesting question. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House on allegations of obstruction of justice based on his lying about Monica Lewinsky. Andrew Johnson, incidentally, was impeached based on allegations he had violated the Tenure of Office Act. After the House impeaches, proceedings continue to the Senate which conducts a trial of the impeached. Both Presidents Clinton and A. Johnson were acquitted by the Senate ... somehow. Now, get this, if a President Hillary were to be convicted and then self-pardoned, her impeachment could not proceed to a trial by the Senate! Why? Double Jeopardy. She could not be tried twice for the same offense. That's my two cents, anyway. HINT to the House: Don't wait for a conviction.
And lest we forget, the Clintons have already exercised the pardon power under suspicious circumstances. Remember Marc Rich? Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office. The FBI certainly doesn't want us forgetting about him. They recently released additional files on Mr. Rich. Already, the Clintons seem to believe in a broad interpretation of power of the presidential pardon. The plot keeps thickening ...
Marc Rich |
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