The Dead Guy

(more…)

In “George Bush … War Criminal” - I lay out one case in which I believe that President Bush and his cronies can be tried by the United States and International Courts.

Last night, over at Philadelphia Daily News, Will Bunch asked Senator Barack Obama a very important question about if he is elected President whether his Justice Department “would aggressively go after and investigate whether crimes have been committed.” Obama’s response?

What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that’s already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued … You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I’ve said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Now, if I found out that there were high officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in coverups of those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law — and I think that’s roughly how I would look at it.

Now Mr. Bunch takes the answer that Obama has ruled out impeachment, but I don’t see that. Obama says he doesn’t think it would be “fruitful” and follows up with “a basic principle … is nobody above the law.” That doesn’t say to me that impeaching Bush (or his cronies) is ruled out, but that he wouldn’t actively pursue it. However, if it is found that there are impeachable offenses found that impeachment would be an option.

I’ve been doing a bit of research on impeachment and Presidential pardons. A major source I have used is Brian C. Kalt’s article in the December 1996 issues of The Yale Law Journal - “Pardon Me?: The Constitutional Case against Presidential Self-Pardons.”

Can an ex-president be impeached? The answer is - Yes. Since a former President receives a pension and other resources from the Federal Government, Congress’s impeachment power can strip these benefits. So, when Bush leaves office in January 2009 - he is not free from possible impeachment.

Can Bush pardon his cronies? The answer is - Yes. But not if Congress decides to impeach them. A Presidential Pardon holds no power over impeachments.

Can Bush pardon himself? The answer is - it’s never been tested. Again, impeachment is a moot point since a pardon holds no power over impeachment. However, against Federal criminal cases this is a grayer issue. The decision would have to be determined by the Court System first. The Court would look at the entire Constitution, not just the Pardon clause for its answer.

What is pointed out is that the Constitution is written to prevent self-dealing, as in:

• Congress cannot give itself a raise (but it can give the next elected Congress a raise).
• The presidential salary cannot be raised until after a presidential election.
• No member of Congress cannot simultaneously hold another federal office and cannot resign from Congress to take a job that was created or whose pay was increased during that Congress’ term.
• During a presidential impeachment trial in the Senate, the Chief Justice presides not the Vice President as it normally would be. Reason? If a President is impeached and removed from Office - who becomes the President? Exactly. This also implies that the Vice President cannot preside over their own impeachment trial, but does preside over other impeachment trials in the Senate.
• “Without the Bill of Rights, a self-dealing Congress and President could control the press, take away guns, search houses, seize property, and jail people indefinitely, all in order to further their own interests at the expense of the will of the majority.” (from “Pardon Me? …”) - Huh, sound familiar?

So a President shouldn’t be able to give a self-pardon as it would bypass the right and responsibility of the Congress as it would be self-dealing and allows the enjoyment of the fruits of the office without control by Congress.

Now you’ll ask - okay, but let’s say Bush does pardon his cronies and no impeachment proceedings occur, but the future Attorney General considers Federal criminal proceedings. Wouldn’t the pardons of his cronies pretty much mean that President Bush is safe because there is nothing to use as leverage against his cronies for testimony? Well, the fun thing about that is - if they are pardoned, they are immune from prosecution and can’t hide behind the Fifth Amendment. So, if they decide to withhold testimony, they can be held for contempt of court - which they are not immune from. And we all know that if the chickenhawks are faced with falling on their sword for Bush or crowing at the sunrise, the sun can’t rise quick enough!

Also, another interesting note about Presidential Pardons. They only work on Federal crimes. Not on civil and not on state criminal charges. So if some plucky state Attorney General can build a strong case on state charges, the Presidential Pardon holds no power over those charges, either.

Thank you, Mr. Bunch, for asking a question that deserved an answer. Thank you, Senator Obama, for the courage and strength to stand up for the Constitution, the United States and the People by responding that President Bush will not escape scrutiny, nor will his administration.