I just read about some of the Presidential Pardons that have happened over the course of our nation's history. Some I knew about; some I didn't. The significance of one in particular caught my attention as I was reading through the list at this site:
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-famous-presidential-pardons?cmpid=Social_FBPAGE_HISTORY_20160731_529852693&linkId=27103832
" Richard Nixon famously resigned from office in August 1974 amid accusations of malfeasance related to the Watergate scandal. But while there was a possibility that Nixon could have been prosecuted and even jailed, he was granted a full pardon by new President Gerald Ford only weeks after stepping down. Ford’s offer of clemency came before Nixon had officially been charged with any misdeeds, and covered all federal crimes the former president had “committed or may have committed or taken part in” during his terms in office. "
And me, I'm going, 'What the heck. That kind of sets a dangerous precedence, doesn't it? Just in case somebody finds out something that somebody did, they can just have the president pardon them before anybody gets a chance to prosecute. Even if they did get caught and convicted, so what? Presidential pardons clear the slate. No wonder presidents want to hand-pick the next one, huh? Or to be the one hand-picked. Just in case, you know ... "
I wonder if presidents can pardon themselves for any crimes they ... “committed or may have committed or taken part in ...”
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