http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...
Nadler, who two weeks ago introduced a resolution demanding President Bush not issue 'pre-emptive' pardons of officials in his administration, said his amendment would bar presidents from pardoning members of their own administration for official acts. The president would retain the power to pardon the secretary of state for, say, beating his wife, Nadler said, but not for actions taken in an official capacity.
Nadler added he is considering adding a section limiting the pardon power in the final months of a presidential administration.
"This is something the Congressman thinks is very important, and it's a priority for him," Nadler spokesman Ilan Kayatsky told TPMmuckraker today. Kayatsky said Nadler's office is still doing planning and research on how to structure the amendment.
The president's pardon power is drawn from Article II, Section II of the Constitution. Nadler's amendment would have to be passed by a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and the House and then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Now it may be too late to preempt Bush from pardoning his gang, but it's time to finally get this issue of Presidential Pardons resolved for future generations. Who would have ever thought 8 years ago, that we would have a president who willfully broke Constitutional law and then pardoned the people he asked to carry out the task? Well....all we had to do was look back at 1974 to answer that question when another Republican President did the same thing and issued a preemptive pardon to Richard M. Nixon.
At the very least, I'd like to see an amendment to Article II, section II is that would require an actual conviction before a pardon is issued. This would close off the use of preemptive pardons to thwart potentially embarrassing prosecutions and limit the President's power to order his or her underlings to commit unlawful acts, and then to pardon them for it.
Rep Nadler's original resolution notes:
http://thomas.loc.gov/...
President George W. Bush may have committed crimes involving the mistreatment of detainees, the extraordinary rendition of individuals to countries known to engage in torture, illegal surveillance of United States citizens, unlawful leaks of classified information, obstruction of justice, political interference with the conduct of the Justice Department, and other illegal acts
and that
Bush has been urged to grant preemptive pardons to senior administration officials who might face criminal prosecution for actions taken in the course of their official duties
Nadler's resolution urges Congress to investigate those crimes and any pardons relating to them, and urges the Attorney General (current or future) to appoint an Independent Counsel to prosecute those crimes. These are major steps towards holding George Bush, Dick Cheney, and other senior officials accountable for their crimes and thereby upholding the rule of law, rather than allowing Presidents to become dictators.
How about sending an email to Rep. Nadler expressing your support...
http://www.house.gov/...
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