Once again, 90 Miles From Tyranny provides the graphic:
Does no one on the Ninth Circuit remember that President Gerald Ford pardoned his Oval Office predecessor Richard M. Nixon without Nixon ever having been charged with a crime? Or does that pardon somehow “not count?” Sheesh!
3 comments
Fran,
Yesterday, my first reaction was precisely yours. But then I realized that nobody challenged President Ford’s pardon. Neither by the justice department, in GOP hands, or by the opposition in court. So the only reason it’s a precedent is that its legality was not yet challenged.
This was the first challenge. It has not yet fully played out. Let us pray that justice is served.
My thoughts exactly, @Pascal.
Don’t think it ultimately helps, though. The obvious venues would be DC, maybe NY, places like that. Whatever crimes Cheney pulled, they are not going to be prosecuted in Cody, Wyoming, where there is a chance of justice. These will all be held in the belly of the beast, with judges pre-selected for their bias. The absolute best outcome I can imagine is acquittal; the more likely, dismissal, probably with prejudice. Which sets the table for a malicious prosecution action.
They need to think this one through really carefully, or it’s a massive PR win for Team Blue at the very least.
So you may have inferred that the ruling by the notoriously Left-leaning Ninth Circus is bait for the Trump DOJ? Could be. Hence the recommendation for caution.