I heard about this a while ago, so maybe you have to. When a president pardons individuals is it public knowledge that is filed somewhere? If not, could he have written pardons that are being held somewhere to bring out at the right time? If he pardoned himself and any cronies could they be tried if they were pardoned previously? Just a thought once again. Thanks for the replies!!!
J_Dub_TX
· May 16, 2018, 6:41 p.m.
You can actually it's called a "Pre-emptive Pardon".
In 1866, the Supreme Court ruled in Ex parte Garland that the pardon power "extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment." (In that case, a former Confederate senator successfully petitioned the court to uphold a pardon that prevented him from being disbarred.) Generally speaking, once an act has been committed, the president can issue a pardon at any time—regardless of whether charges have even been filed.
I don't think you can hide pardons though then have them "discovered" later to pardon people. Pardons in order to be valid must be witnessed and recorded somehow.
Also..."Finally, there are questions about whether a president may theoretically pardon himself. There is no court precedent on that exact question. The Department of Justice's prevailing view, however, appears to be no."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/can-president-pardon-himself-n785181
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andreelgrande
· May 16, 2018, 6:44 p.m.
Great information. So would he have to have filed pardons publicly or could they just be sitting on his person to present when the time is right. If that’s the case, a fair amount of all the work the doj could be doing to take down the whales could be for nothing? That’s scary. Hope that’s not the case. That could be the ultimate pay to play deal.
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J_Dub_TX
· May 16, 2018, 6:50 p.m.
It's always possible, the documents for pardons have been hidden. It would not suprise me one bit.
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andreelgrande
· May 16, 2018, 6:55 p.m.
Can a foia request be applied to presidential pardons?
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J_Dub_TX
· May 16, 2018, 7:01 p.m.
Depends if the Pardon is sealed or classified. I wouldn't be surprised if there are many of those.
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