Record Numbers Seek Last-Minute Pardons From President Bush

Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress at 6:59 AM on November 17, 2008.

A record number of felons are seeking presidential pardons or commutations from George W. Bush.

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As President Bush enters his final months in office, a record number of felons are seeking presidential pardons or commutations from him, causing “one of the largest backlogs in clemency applications in recent history”:

A number of high-profile felons have already sought clemency, among them Michael Milken, the junk-bond king and financier convicted of securities fraud in 1990; John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban; Randy “Duke” Cunningham, the former California congressman who was convicted of tax evasion; and Edwin Edwards, the former governor of Louisiana convicted in 2000 of racketeering, according to the Justice Department.

In his presidency thus far, Bush has “taken a stingy stand on pardons,” granting fewer of them than any president in modern history. But Bush’s use of his clemency powers has not been without controversy. In 2007, Bush commuted former vice-presidential assistant Scooter Libby’s 2 1/2 years prison sentence for lying to federal prosecutors. Libby has not submitted a pardon request to Justice.

Tagged as: bush, pardons, felons, final days

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Surprised? [Report this comment] Posted by: andrushka on Nov 17, 2008 8:30 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Are you really surprised? GWB has already pardonned what-s-his name "Scooter". [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Surprised? Posted by: OldRedleg Interesting! [Report this comment] Posted by: bobtr900 on Nov 17, 2008 10:13 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] It will be very interesting to watch who GWB pardons, as well as who he does not pardon. I am sure the little corrupt Texas twit will commit further dirty deeds with his pardons of what will prove to be his henchmen. And as usual, Bush still doesn't and will not 'get it', that what he and his cronies have done is terribly damaging to our nation. Bush has damaged himself, his family, the GOP, and religion as well as our nation and a lot of the world. I'd say he has made a near perfect sweep of yet another round of screw-ups. Once again, Bush has totally failed at everything he has done in his entire life. His record of f-ups is a perfect one. How much more damage can this one guy perpetrate on everyone else. Maybe he will screw up the baseball league next if his daddy makes him commish of baseball. After all it's our national pastime, so he should perpetrate yet another nation wide screw-up. Maybe the right wing voters will then begin to understand what GWB, their hero, is really capable of doing. And we Dems/liberals won't get the blame for him, his family and the GOP's endless list of horrors. I'm sure the comedians will have a good time with Bush's pardons. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Interesting! Posted by: sam3 Yes, he's been "stingy" in giving out pardons so far... [Report this comment] Posted by: Quannah on Nov 17, 2008 12:26 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] but that's only because he had to SAVE THEM UP to use at the end to save the asses of all his henchmen working in his Executive Branch! He's got a big staff! He's got cabinet officials and their underlings to think of! And all of it has to happen as close to the end of his term as possible, so as not to get people screaming bloody murder over it! Anyone wanna make a bet as to whether or not he sets record numbers of pardons before this is all said and done??? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] won't be pardoning himself or dickhead cheney [Report this comment] Posted by: aislinnluv on Nov 18, 2008 4:56 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] since the congress refuses to take action on charging them with the crimes they have committed against the Constitution and the people of the US [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Reminds me of an old joke... [Report this comment] Posted by: NickJones on Nov 18, 2008 6:01 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Nixon and Ford are walking down a White House hallway, just before Nixon resigned. When Nixon accidentally stepped on Ford's foot, he said, "Pardon me," - and Ford did. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Midnight pardons & other W bloopers [Report this comment] Posted by: socrates2 on Nov 20, 2008 5:26 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Not a betting man, but I am laying even odds that January 19, 2009, will long be celebrated in Repug circles as "Liberation Day." 'Nuff said. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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