The Briefing Room

General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: mystery-ak on April 21, 2014, 03:23:54 pm

Title: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: mystery-ak on April 21, 2014, 03:23:54 pm
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/21/Obama-Plans-Pardons-of-Hundreds-Perhaps-Thousands-of-Drug-Criminals (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/21/Obama-Plans-Pardons-of-Hundreds-Perhaps-Thousands-of-Drug-Criminals)

 by Charlie Spiering 21 Apr 2014, 8:11 AM PDT

President Obama wants to expand the executive pardon system, according to a new report from Liz Goodwin of Yahoo News.

A senior administration official told Goodwin that the President could grant clemency to "hundreds, perhaps thousands" of non-violent drug criminals.

Additionally, Goodwin wrote that Obama has spent time during his second term examining the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Department of Justice, working with Eric Holder to devise a system more capable of handling large numbers of pardon requests. Holder has already composed a memo describing a “more robust use of the pardon power” as part of Obama’s effort to reform the criminal justice system.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: EC on April 21, 2014, 03:30:28 pm
Just no.

Pardoning should be the prerogative of the Governor of the state. The only people the President should be permitted to pardon are federal officials.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: Relic on April 21, 2014, 03:39:56 pm
He can do as he pleases. No one has the will, nor the guts to stop him.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: Chieftain on April 21, 2014, 04:32:16 pm
Just no.

Pardoning should be the prerogative of the Governor of the state. The only people the President should be permitted to pardon are federal officials.

The Constitution grants the President unlimited power to pardon. 

Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: Oceander on April 21, 2014, 05:00:14 pm
The president cannot pardon people convicted under a state's criminal law; from the horse's (i.e., Holder's DOJ) mouth, courtesy of the Office of the Pardon Attorney (http://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardon_instructions.htm):

Quote
2. Federal convictions only

Under the Constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those adjudicated in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the President. In addition, the President's pardon power extends to convictions adjudicated in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense. Accordingly, if you are seeking clemency for a state criminal conviction, you should not complete and submit this petition. Instead, you should contact the Governor or other appropriate authorities of the state where you reside or where the conviction occurred (such as the state board of pardons and paroles) to determine whether any relief is available to you under state law. If you have a federal conviction, information about the conviction may be obtained from the clerk of the federal court where you were convicted.
(Emphasis mine)

Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: Fishrrman on April 22, 2014, 12:49:24 am
Oceander wrote above:
[[ The president cannot pardon people convicted under a state's criminal law ]]

Prediction:
Watch him try to do it anyway.
And then dare anyone to stop him.
And then accuse anyone who -does- try to stop him as being a "racist"...
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: evadR on April 22, 2014, 02:07:25 am
And people wonder why we have lost faith in this lawless government.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: evadR on April 22, 2014, 02:10:19 am
The power to pardon is one of the least limited powers granted to the President in the Constitution. The only limits mentioned in the Constitution are that pardons are limited to offenses against the United States (i.e., not civil or state cases), and that they cannot affect an impeachment process.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: ABX on April 22, 2014, 02:22:06 am
The power to pardon is one of the least limited powers granted to the President in the Constitution. The only limits mentioned in the Constitution are that pardons are limited to offenses against the United States (i.e., not civil or state cases), and that they cannot affect an impeachment process.

When has something being unConstitutional ever stopped him? 
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: evadR on April 22, 2014, 03:44:09 am
I rather doubt the warden of the state prison in which such a person resides will simply let the pardonee walk.
Somebody, somewhere, anywhere, has to take a stand against this lawlessness.
I feel the tipping point coming.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: evadR on April 22, 2014, 03:45:29 am
When has something being unConstitutional ever stopped him?
True dat.

I M P E A C H A B L E

Yeah, I know, it won't happen.
Title: Re: Obama, Holder Looking into Pardon of 'Perhaps Thousands' of Criminals
Post by: Oceander on April 22, 2014, 03:51:07 am
Lu-lu Bell Obama can pardon whomever he pleases, but no state warden is going to let a prisoner convicted of state crimes free because of that and no state court is going to lift a state-law convict's civil disabilities because of that, and won't seal his or her case.