Received by email 7/27. I've been away, but a search for a post in DU came up empty. Pardon this, if a repeat, but no pardons for Abrams, Rove, Libby or Card!
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No More Pardons for Traitor-gate Criminals
Convicted Previously of National Security Crimes, Elliott Abrams Joins Rove and Libby as Latest Figures Newest Figure in Traitor-gate
Dear ():
Did you know that Elliot Abrams, pardoned by the first President Bush for the Iran-Contra crimes he committed under the Reagan Administration, now works for the Bush White House? And has been implicated in the leak of Valerie Plame's covert identity?
I have sent a letter to President Bush asking him to say right now that he will not pardon anyone found guilty of criminal offenses related to the disclosure of Valerie Plame’s CIA cover. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald may indict senior White House officials in this case. Join me in demanding that the President not pardon anyone found guilty in his administration who compromises our national security! To send your own copy of this letter to President Bush by email,(click on link in text box below).
Our goal is to get at least 10,000 people to email the White House and we will post our tally updates daily on the JohnConyers.com website.
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7bB8736AFE-46F8-4994-81E7-7ECB674DE91D%7dDear Mr. President:
I write in order to seek your pledge that you will not pardon anyone who has worked or is currently working in your Administration pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution in the event that any such individual is either prosecuted for, or convicted of, a crime in connection or relation with the disclosure of Valerie Wilson's identity as a CIA operative or any related matter.
Your handling of the Valerie Wilson matter already demonstrates lowered standards of ethical and legal behavior. On July 18, 2005, you changed the threshold for terminating your staff from leaking the identity of Mrs. Wilson to the necessity for an actual crime to have been committed. Moreover, you have refused to respond to a request by Congressman John Conyers and 90 other Members of Congress that you ask Karl Rove, one of your top advisors, to either disclose his role in the outing of Mrs. Wilson or resign and, indeed, have allowed him to remain on your staff without doing so.
On repeated occasions, you have permitted your staff to mislead and/or lie to the American people in connection with this matter without disciplinary consequences. For several years, your press secretary, Scott McClellan, assured the American people that neither Mr. Rove, I. Lewis Libby, nor Elliot Abrams were involved in the leak; just this past month, however, we learned that both Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby were sources for Ms. Plame's identity. Mr. McClellan remains undisciplined for his statements. I am therefore concerned that these low ethical standards foreshadow future actions on your part that will allow individuals responsible for this breach of national security to evade accountability.
There is little doubt that outing an intelligence operative is one of the most serious offenses under our laws, as it endangers not only the operative, their family, and their employer, but jeopardizes other operatives and intelligence assets, and our nation's security. To do so during a time of war for purposes of a political vendetta makes the offense far worse. That is why when in connection with the drafting of our Constitution, Alexander Hamilton wrote, the "power of pardoning in the President has . . . been only contested in relations to the crime of treason."
I hope you agree with Mr. Hamilton that there is no justification for using pardon powers in any way to insulate those who would commit such acts of disloyalty against our nation.
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