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Put These Two Limits On Pardon Power Now!
Presidents are not kings by design. They are not supposed to be above the Law. They swear an Oath to Uphold the Constitution for what it’s worth. This means they are to honor the Separation of Powers afforded the Three Branches of government. That said, they are given one king-like power which can supersede the other two branches—that of the Pardon.
The Pardon is a sweeping, unchallengeable “get out of jail card” for those that are pardoned. This is not always a bad thing as there are MANY instances of injustice, changing facts in cases such as DNA evidence proving innocence or laws changing or other extenuating circumstances which absolutely merit a pardon. The pardon cuts through all the BS and red tape to instantly right a wrong and we all can get behind that.
All that said, there are two important cases where the Pardon Power should be reined in and revoked:
- The Run-up to an Election and the 2-month Lame Duck period
- Self-pardoning or pardoning of co-conspirators in a President’s Crime
Revocation #1: Election Time
As a President faces the unknown of potential Re-election (or not) or the known of their last term in office they can become “pardon happy.” We’ve seen it many times—the end of term mad dash to pardon everybody on…
