Steve Benen examines questions about preemptive presidential pardons to which I would like to add more questions for my panel of experts:
Would Chimpy's pardons still be valid if he himself is indicted? Can he preemptively pardon himself? Even for war crimes?
UPDATE: Dday has no doubts.
3 comments:
I'd say the answers to your questions would be "Yes" and "No."
Yes, even an indicted president would have the power to issue pardons. And No, he could not pardon himself. It was left up to Ford to pardon Nixon.
I wouldn't for one minute put it past him to try, though. And of course the difference between Bush and Nixon is that Nixon's crimes had already been exposed. The Bush administration, with the eager help of the Democratic Congress, has been busily covering up and stonewalling investigations into their abuses.
"I wouldn't for one minute put it past him to try, "
He certainly has no compunction against claiming utterly wild-ass powers. Executive powers, not like invisibility, at least not yet.
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