In our view Dec. 1: Easy on the Pardons

Pardon us, but we’d like to compliment President George W. Bush for holding down the number of pardons and commutations issued during his presidency … so far.

Pardons offer people forgiveness for a crime after a sentence is served or, sometimes, when a conviction is anticipated. Pardons can restore certain liberties, such as the right to vote, but often they simply serve to make those pardoned feel better about themselves or vindicated of their wrongdoings. Commutations, meanwhile, grant people a sort of “get out of jail free” card.

Bush has been tightfisted with pardons and commutations to date. Thank goodness. These presidential actions most often undermine the judicial process and usually reek of nepotism, favoritism or cover-up. Just hearing the name I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former vice presidential chief of staff whose sentence was commuted by Bush in 2007, and Marc Rich, the fugitive financier who received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton on Clinton’s last day in office, requires one to stifle the gag reflex.

Last week, the outgoing president granted 14 pardons and two commutations, bringing his total to 171 pardons and eight commutations. To put that into perspective, that’s less than half as many issued by Presidents Clinton or Ronald Reagan during each of their two-term presidencies.

Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, was stingy with pardons like his son, with just 74 pardons issued in his single term. But the first President Bush received a lot of criticism for his pardons of individuals who had ties to the Iran-Contra affair. His saving clemencies in such cases to announce on Christmas Eve was seen as an attempt to minimize news coverage of his highly unpopular action.

Recent pardons handed out by George W. Bush weren’t outrageous, as far as pardons and commutations go. Individuals relieved had been convicted of misdeeds that ranged from tax evasion to drug offenses and wildlife violations, The Associated Press reported.

We caution Bush against issuing any preemptive pardons before he leaves office, as tempting as it might be. It would be highly controversial and a perverse use of power for Bush to grant any pardons to individuals who authorized or engaged in improper interrogations of suspected terrorists after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Some human rights groups want President-elect Barack Obama’s administration to investigate possible war crimes. Obama has said there is little, if any, chance that his administration would bring criminal charges. Still, offering any sort of protection plan to those who could potentially face criminal charges would not only rob Americans of the right to see justice served if such charges were warranted, it would imply the guilt of pardoned players.

And even though Bush has issued a relatively small number of pardons and commutations during his reign, his commutation of Libby was a whopper. He’s already used up all of the public’s patience for pardons.

Just as Clinton was accused of abusing presidential power to an absurd degree for the clemency he issued Marc Rich and Clinton’s own brother, Bush will forever be stigmatized for Scooter’s escape clause. Many, including this editorial board, considered Libby’s 30-month jail sentence for his role in the leak of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame too lenient to begin with. Bush commuted the federal prison sentence in July 2007, calling it “excessive.” He did not erase Libby’s felony conviction, terms of probation or his $250,000 fine.

We hope pardons and commutations go down even further under President Obama.