Can A President Pardon A Traitor?......

[global1]

It seems to me if Rove is indicted and then convicted of what could be interpreted as a 'traitorous' offense - that even a President (this pResident) may not want to go down that path of pardoning him.

Treason, Obstruction of Justice, Perjury - all under the *WH would be a scandal of proportions never before seen - even Watergate.

If * has plausible deniability" on this and skates - would he pardon Rove and whomever else may be implicated?

As an aside - if Rove and others go down - the RW talking heads will all come out and make some sort of a case for 'leniency' in sentencing.

If this turns out the way it's looking that 'maliciously outing Plame to get back at Wilson - not only endangered Plame but her colleagues and ultimately the American People - because it's made us less safe - they should lock those implicated up and throw away the key. The American People should settle for no less.

Remember those currently being investigated are the same people that called us 'unpatriotic'.

I'm just outraged.

[JuniperLea]

1. didn't bush I pardon all the guys

who could pin him down for iran/contra?

[karynnj]

6. Yep and his son was able to place them in the government

[liberalfriend]

9. yeah

but he did it more to protect Baker (who was becoming emotionally unhinged due to the flap made over the Clinton passport debacle) and end Walsh's investigation more than anything else. By the time Bush Sr. lost the election he was extremely bitter at Walsh who he blamed for costing him the election (at the tail end of october Walsh issued some indictments that looked very politically motivated) so it was a two-fer, stop the investigation and get back at the guy he considered to have ruined him. Read Bob Woodward's book "Shadow" its absolutely amazing. (Well up till Bush, I haven't finished the second half which looks at the Clinton years)

[MrBenchley]

2. The President Can Pardon Anyone at Anytime for Anything

But what it would say about Chimpy if he pardoned a traitor?

[politicaholic]

3. He WILL pardon Rove because he's that callous...

And you know what? It won't be remembered in the history books. The only things that last in history are triumphs and scandals involving sex.

[MemphisTiger]

4. He can, but he may not want to while it's fresh on everybody's

mind. He will probably pardon them his last day in office.

[DemoTex]

5. Bu$h will pardon Cheney, Rove, and others, and then resign in late 2008.

Then President Cheney will pardon Bu$h. It is their only chance to escape the ultimate reckoning that is their due. Rove might be pardoned sooner if threatened with jail time. Rove has to be pardoned by Bu$h, because Rove knows the truth about the AWOL, the cocaine bust, the Iraq war, and much, much more.

[liberalfriend]

7. Bush can pardon whoever he wants to

but the interesting thing is, if you look at the language concerning the presidents power to pardon, it states that for the person to accept the pardon they intern implicitly state that they have committed a crime. During Watergate and when Ford was deciding whether to pardon Nixon or not, much of the negotiating between FOrd and Nixon's people delt with the issue of the implicit acknowledgment of a crime. Nixon at the time was extremely depressed (some say to the point of suicide) and was more willing to go down in flames in a costly court battle. If you go back and look at Nixon's statement after he accepted the pardon, the language in his statement takes great pains to "try" and throw of the acceptance of a crime.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. Yes

I doubt Rove will be indicted for treason. Look at the constitutional definition of treason (it's the only crime defined in the Constitution) and ask yourself seriously if you can make that stick to Rove. I don't think so.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Rove will probably be charged with something, but not that.

[liberalfriend]

10. True

But didn't Fitzgerald already state that Rove was not a target?

[Jack Rabbit]

11. That's unclear

A lot of the less reputable right wing press (e.g., NewsMax) are saying that, but more reliable sources say something else. We don't really know who Fitzgerald's targets are.