presidential pardon

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President Obama to Pardon Turkeys 'Liberty,' 'Peace' for Thanksgiving
 Obama 
 Pardons 
 'Liberty' 

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

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
...

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon
 Libby Deserves 
 Bush Pardon 
OPINION

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon

Conviction a 'miscarriage of justice,' writes Fred Barnes

(Newser) - “Simple justice” should compel President Bush to pardon Lewis “Scooter” Libby, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. “Libby has either been punished far too severely for a very small offense,” writes Barnes “or he is an innocent man.” Libby was convicted of perjury...

Libby Hasn't Asked to Be Pardoned
Libby Hasn't Asked to Be Pardoned
OPINION

Libby Hasn't Asked to Be Pardoned

Supporters look to Cheney to sway Bush in final week

(Newser) - President Bush has less than a week to pardon Lewis “Scooter” Libby for his role in the CIA leak case, and at this point it’s unclear if he will, writes Byron York for the National Review. Dick Cheney's former chief of staff hasn't applied for one through the...

Former Fugitive Marc Rich Lost With Madoff

Disgraced financier's latest victim is a disgraced financier

(Newser) - Many of Bernard Madoff’s former clients are seeking legal recourse to recover their money, but onetime fugitive Marc Rich likely won’t be among them, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times. Rich, who lost $10 million to $15 million through a third party who invested with...

Bush Retracts Pardon for Son of Big GOP Donor

White House cites new information in halting process for developer Isaac Toussie

(Newser) - President Bush withdrew a presidential pardon today after it emerged that the father of a convicted Brooklyn developer donated $28,500 to the Republican Party, CNN reports. The president’s counsel approved clemency for Isaac Toussie on charges of mail fraud and false statements to federal officials, White House spokeswoman...

Bush Pardons 19 More, But Not Libby (Yet)

President's tally still pales in comparison to Clinton, Reagan

(Newser) - Another round of presidential pardons today might not be the last, the Washington Post reports. “The president has maintained his authority to do that until his last day,” a spokesman said. No big names, such as Scooter Libby, were announced, but President Bush did issue a rare posthumous...

Bush's Pardons Favor Gun Lovers
Bush's Pardons
Favor Gun Lovers

Bush's Pardons Favor Gun Lovers

President restores right to bear arms to convicted felons

(Newser) - Second Amendment enthusiasts seem to have a better-than-average chance of winning a presidential pardon as the Bush presidency nears its end, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of the 14 felons pardoned in the last week, seven are fans of hunting or shooting and five say they specifically mentioned their desire...

Stevens Won't Rule Out Pursuing Prez Pardon

Convicted senator may seek clemency from Bush

(Newser) - Even as Ted Stevens appeals of his seven-count felony conviction, the disgraced senator isn't ruling outthe possibility of seeking a pardon from President Bush, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "If I were counsel to him, I would encourage him," says Alaska's former US attorney, a Stevens supporter. "...

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