presidential pardon

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Obama, It's Time to Pardon More Regularly

No more last-minute or Christmas pardons: PS Ruckman Jr.

(Newser) - President Obama is "one of the least merciful presidents in the history of the United States," writes PS Ruckman Jr. for CNN . He's so far granted just 52 pardons, which puts him ahead of the first two US presidents (one of whom only served one term), a...

How One Decision Drove Bush, Cheney Apart

The pardon of 'Scooter' Libby was apparently the last straw

(Newser) - In the final days of George W. Bush's presidency, Dick Cheney lobbied the president and lobbied him hard—for the pardon of Lewis "Scooter" Libby. President Bush dreaded facing Cheney about it, and once he did, their relationship would never be the same, reports Peter Baker in the...

Manning Asks Obama for Pardon

Amnesty seeks clemency as longshot request submitted

(Newser) - Chelsea Manning has formally put in a request for a presidential pardon, though few believe the private formerly known as Bradley has any chance of success. When Manning was sentenced to 35 years last month for the biggest intelligence leak in American history, her lawyer said the request would include...

Manning Will Ask Obama for Pardon

Tells defense team: 'It's OK ... I'm going to be all right'

(Newser) - With his 35-year sentence for leaking military secrets, Bradley Manning should be eligible for parole in seven years, reports the Guardian . But the 25-year-old is hoping for an even shorter stay: His defense team will formally ask President Obama for a pardon next week. The chances of success are right...

Clinton&#39;s 11th-Hour Pardon Dead at 78
 Clinton's 11th-Hour 
 Pardon Dead at 78 
obituary
Jun 26, 2013 2:50 AM CDT

Clinton's 11th-Hour Pardon Dead at 78

Marc Rich, 'King of Commodities' trader, died in Switzerland

(Newser) - Marc Rich, the trader known as the "King of Commodities" whose controversial 2001 pardon by President Bill Clinton just hours before he left office unleashed a political firestorm of criticism in 2001, died today. He was 78. Rich died of a stroke in a hospital in Lucerne, Switzerland, near...

Sea Turtles 'Pardoned' by President Obama on Hawaii Vacation
 Obama 'Pardons' 
 Sea Turtles 
Dec 28, 2011 8:10 AM CST

Obama 'Pardons' Sea Turtles

President, daughters, friends release four of them in Hawaii

(Newser) - Apparently it’s not just turkeys that are eligible for a presidential pardon—sea turtles are, too. President Obama "pardoned" four of them yesterday during a visit to Hawaii’s Sea Life Park, releasing the 18-month-old turtles into Hanauma Bay. The president was accompanied by his daughters and a...

In Presidential Pardons, It Helps to Have the Right Pals
In Presidential Pardons, It Helps to Have the Right Pals
propublica investigation
Dec 6, 2011 7:17 PM CST

In Presidential Pardons, It Helps to Have the Right Pals

It also helps to be white: ProPublica

(Newser) - ProPublica has wrapped up a two-part investigation into the very subjective world of presidential pardons, and one thing is not so subjective anymore: If you are white and happen to know someone in Congress, your chances of getting a pardon just went way up:
  • Minority odds: Part one of the
...

President Obama to Pardon Turkeys 'Liberty,' 'Peace' for Thanksgiving
 Obama 
 Pardons 
 'Liberty' 
Nov 23, 2011 11:54 AM CST

Obama Pardons 'Liberty'

Thanksgiving turkey catches a break

(Newser) - Two lucky ducks, er, turkeys dodged a dark fate this year. Liberty, who is 19 weeks old and weighs 45 pounds, received a presidential Thanksgiving pardon; her alternate, Peace, also got one, USA Today notes. President Obama said it was his latest “executive order” that didn’t require Congressional...

Turkey Pardon as Barbaric as Death Penalty

Thanksgiving tradition a reminder of 'arbitrary' punishment: Justin Smith

(Newser) - On the surface, the annual presidential pardon of a turkey may be all in fun, but it’s also a disturbing reminder of the continued existence of the death penalty in this country. The pardon makes light of “the strange power vested in politicians to decide the earthly fates...

Obama Pardons 9, Including 'Coin Mutilator'

They're the first pardons (of humans) in his presidency

(Newser) - Proving his mercy isn’t limited to Thanksgiving turkeys, President Obama exercised his pardon power for the first time today to erase the criminal pasts of nine individuals convicted of various crimes, some dating as far back as the 1960s. The most unusual case appeared to be that of a...

Obama Spares Turkeys 'Shellacking'

Birds will head to George Washington's estate

(Newser) - It's official: President Obama has pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey. Continuing a decades-old White House tradition, Obama issued pardons today to a gobbler named "Apple" and its alternate, “Cider.” The two 21-week-old, 45-pound turkeys were raised on a California farm. Obama said it “feels pretty good...

Malawi Leader Pardons Jailed Gay Couple

He orders their immediate release

(Newser) - Malawi's president says he has pardoned and ordered the release of a jailed gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison. President Bingu wa Mutharika made the announcement today during a press conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital. A judge earlier this month convicted and sentenced...

Cheney's Libby 'Crusade' Strained Ties With Bush

(Newser) - Dick Cheney pursued a pardon for former aide Scooter Libby so doggedly in his final days in office that he pushed the bounds of his 9-year relationship with George Bush, reports Time. It wasn't so much a political issue as a moral "crusade" for Cheney, write Massimo Calabresi and...

McCain Asks Obama to Pardon Boxing Champ

Wants to overturn racially motivated conviction

(Newser) - John McCain has introduced a resolution requesting a posthumous presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world, the LA Times reports. Johnson suffered what McCain calls a “racially motivated conviction” in 1913 for dating a white woman. Prosecutors said he’d violated the Mann...

Cheney Furious at Bush for Not Pardoning Libby

Ex-VP pushed prez for reprieve 'til he left DC

(Newser) - Dick Cheney is furious that President Bush wouldn’t listen when he repeatedly pushed for a last-minute pardon for Scooter Libby, the New York Daily News reports. The ex-VP “went to the mat and came back and back and back at Bush” for a full pardon, said one close...

Bush Rejected Pardons for Milken, Other 'High Rollers'

'He seems to go out of his way to deny the high rollers, the prominent people,' source says

(Newser) - George Bush formally denied pardons for several prominent politicians and businessmen on his last day in office, the Justice Department told the Los Angeles Times today. Among those whose pleas fell on deaf ears were Michael Milken, a businessman convicted of insider trading and stock evasion, and Randall Cunningham, a...

Cheney Says Bush Erred in Not Pardoning Libby

(Newser) - Dick Cheney believes disgraced former chief of staff Scooter Libby, convicted in the CIA leak investigation, deserved a pardon, the Weekly Standard reports. “He was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice,” the former vice president said. “Obviously, I disagree with President Bush.” Bush’s...

Sen. Murkowski Asked Bush for Stevens Pardon

Friends say former senator would rather clear name through courts anyway

(Newser) - Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked President Bush to pardon former Alaska Republican colleague Ted Stevens, the Anchorage Daily News reports. But Stevens would rather fight his corruption conviction in court, friends say, because he felt a pardon would taint his legacy. Murkowski wrote that she did not want to see Stevens,...

Bush Commutes Sentences of Former US Border Agents

Pair was convicted of shooting drug dealer

(Newser) - In his final acts of clemency, President Bush today commuted the prison sentences of two former US Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration. Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover...

Handicapping Last-Minute Bush Pardons
Handicapping Last-Minute Bush Pardons
OPINION
Jan 19, 2009 9:39 AM CST

Handicapping Last-Minute Bush Pardons

Scooter Libby? Alberto Gonzales? The entire CIA? Speculation swirls

(Newser) - President Bush has shown no inclination to go on a Clinton-esque pardon binge, but that won't stop Josh Gerstein of Politico from speculating. Here are the potential pardon/commutation prospects, and the odds:
  • All CIA and military interrogators: Bush could make a big splash with a blanket pardon to anyone who
...

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