Thread: Bush Pardons 14. Guess who is not on the list

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=topnews

Bush pardons 14 and commutes 2 prison sentences
By DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press
Monday, November 24, 2008; 5:50 PM

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others, The Associated Press learned Monday. The new round of White House pardons are Bush's first since March and come less than two months before he will end his presidency. The crimes committed by those on the list include drug offenses, income tax evasion, bank embezzlement and violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Bush has been stingy during his time in office about handing out such reprieves.

Including these actions, he has granted a total of 171 and eight commutations. That's less than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their time in office. Both were two-term presidents.

On the latest pardon list were:
_Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo.
_Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D.
_Richard Micheal Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill.
_Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas.
_Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va.
_Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga.
_Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C.
_Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla.
_William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas.
_Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla.
_Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala.
_Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles.
_Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas.
_Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark.

Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit.

Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled.

Some high-profile individuals, such as Michael Milken, are seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption _ former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards _ are asking Bush to shorten their prison terms.

One hot topic of discussion related to pardons is whether Bush might decide to issue pre-emptive pardons before he leaves office to government employees who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some constitutional scholars and human rights groups want the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.

If Bush were to pardon anyone involved, it would provide protection against criminal charges, particularly for people who were following orders or trying to protect the nation with their actions. But it would also be highly controversial.

At the same time, Obama advisers say there is little _ if any _ chance that his administration would bring criminal charges.

Shameful!!!!

FREE RAMOS AND COMPEAN NOW!!!!

Who are these people? His cocaine buddies from college?

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Who are these people? His cocaine buddies from college?

W

He probably threw up some names on a dart board took a shot of jack spun around five times and threw the dart!!! Then he threw a couple more back and addressed the nation on the economy!!! Liquorhead!!!

On the latest pardon list were:

_Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo. She was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

_Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.

_Richard Micheal Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill., who was convicted of making false statements to the federal government.
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_Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas, for reporting or helping cover up a crime.

_Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va. Harley was convicted of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine.

_Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.

_Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C., who was convicted of income tax evasion.

_Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla., convicted of bank embezzlement.

_William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas, who was sentenced for making false entries, books, reports or statements to a bank.

_Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla., who was sentenced for misapplication of bank funds.

_Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

_Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles, who was convicted for unlawful use of a telephone in a narcotics felony.

_Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas, convicted of illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit.

_Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark., who was convicted of aiding and abetting the theft of government property.

drop the ole prez an email and give him a piece of your mind

comments@whitehouse.gov

my letter

I FIND IT UTTERLY DISGUSTING THAT today you issued 14 more pardons and apparently you have to be the most dumb f**g a hole to serve as the president of MY COUNTRY.

HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!! still not pardon former border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. This is going to be your legacy. you stupid jackass.

Your lack of compassion leads me to believe that you have no problem with illegal drugs being smuggled in to MY COUNTRY and poisoning and even killing AMERICAN CHILDREN AND ADULTS.

Your lack of compassion for these two men, who are sworn to uphold the law on the dangerous southern border shows me you do NOT CARE about AMERICA or the laws of this great country that you have run into the ground.

Your stupidity towards this case shows me that your friendship with US Attorney Johnny Sutton is too strong that you do not think he and his office is capable of lying.

Your comment that he is a "Close, dear, good friend" might be okay to you, but to the rest of America, we could care less what kind of friendship you have with anyone.

I find it utterly disgusting that you and your administration think that an illegal alien drug smuggling parasite has more rights than sworn US law enforcement.

I find it utterly disgusting that you tell the American people through your press spokesman, or spokeswoman, "to get the facts and learn the facts of the case as your friend presented them."

HOW ABOUT YOU GET OFF YOUR backside and learn what the facts are. Listen to the interviews. Read the newspaper and TV reports on this case. Read the trial transcripts.

YOU, sir (with no respect intended) are the one who needs to STOP BEING SO F BLIND to your loyalty of Johnny Sutton is shameful.

PLEASE, as a native born Texan, I speak for Millions of other Texans who say "stay the f out of texas. we dont want your sorry (donkey rear) here." and we mean that.

I DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY OR WHAT YOU THINK. THESE TWO ARE NOT GUILTY.

Junk-bond king among those seeking Bush pardon
By LARA JAKES JORDAN,Associated Press Writer AP

Sunday, November 30
WASHINGTON - Some high-profile convicts past and present are among more than 2,000 people asking President George W. Bush to pardon them or commute their prison sentences before he leaves office.

Junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black and American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh have applied to the Justice Department seeking official forgiveness.

But with Bush's term ending Jan. 20, some lawyers are lobbying the White House directly to pardon their clients. That raises the possibility that the president could excuse scores of people, including some who have not been charged, to protect them from future accusations, such as former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens.

Those who have worked with Bush predict that will not happen. The White House has declined to comment on upcoming pardons.

"I would expect the president's conservative approach to executive pardons to continue through the remainder of his term," said Helgi C. Walker, a former Bush associate White House counsel.

"There would also be a concern about avoiding any appearance of impropriety in the waning days of his administration _ i.e. some sort of pardon free-for-all," Walker said. "I don't think that is anything that is going to happen on this president's watch."

Last week, Bush issued 14 pardons and commuted two sentences _ all for small-time crimes such as minor drug offenses, tax evasion and unauthorized use of food stamps. That brought his eight-year total to 171 pardons and eight commutations granted.

That is less than half as many as President Bill Clinton or President Ronald Reagan issued. Both were two-term presidents, like Bush.

A pardon is an official act of forgiveness that removes civil liabilities stemming from a criminal conviction. A commutation reduces or eliminates a person's sentence.

One Washington lawyer whose clients are directly pursuing the White House for pardons said Bush is expected to issue two more rounds of pardons: one right before Christmas, as is customary, and one right before he leaves office. The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid hurting the clients' chances.

Such an end-run around the Justice Department, which advises the president on who qualifies for pardons, signals that Bush may be open to forgiving people who are otherwise ineligible to apply.

Only people who have waited five years after their conviction or release from prison can apply for a pardon under the department's guidelines. Criminals are required to begin serving time, or otherwise exhaust any appeals, before they can be considered for sentence commutation.

The department is considering a pardon application for Milken, who was convicted of securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption _ former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards _ have applied for shorter prison terms. So has Lindh, convicted of assisting the Taliban, and Black, who is serving time for fraud and obstruction of justice.

Additionally, former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos is applying to have his prison sentences reduced. Ramos and his colleague, former agent Jose Compean, were convicted of shooting a drug smuggler in 2005 and trying to cover it up.

Justice spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said commutation applications for both Ramos and Compean were rejected in October because their cases were still in court. But Sweeney said Ramos reapplied in November after he was re-sentenced.

Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled _ meaning he can forgive anyone he wants, at any time.

Already, Democrats and other Bush critics are warning the president against getting overly generous with his power of forgiveness. Of particular concern is whether he will issue pre-emptive pardons to protect allies and some government employees from facing future charges for carrying out his policies.

Some of those people could include officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001. Critics want incoming President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.

Others to be pre-emptively pardoned might include advisers _ Gonzales or other Bush administration lawyers, for example _ who sanctioned potentially illegal policies or lied to Congress about them.

"If President Bush were to pardon key individuals involved in the misdeeds of his administration, from warrantless wiretapping to torture to the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, the courts would be unable to address criminality, or pass judgment on the legality of some of the president's worst abuses," Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., wrote in a Nov. 20 op-ed for Salon.com. "Issuing such pardons now would be particularly egregious, since voters just issued such a strong condemnation of the Bush administration at the ballot box."

Gonzales' lawyer, George Terwilliger, said Justice Department investigations have proved its former top boss did nothing wrong.

"As has been made clear from the results of months and months of investigation of Judge Gonzales' tenure as attorney general, there is no basis to even suggest that a pardon is needed for anything," Terwilliger said in a statement. "It is time for this to end."

Clemens is under investigation for his congressional testimony when he denied under oath that he ever used performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens was identified in former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball. He has maintained his innocence and filed a defamation lawsuit in January against his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who claims he injected the seven-time Cy Young award winner with steroids and human growth hormone.

Though absolute, the president's pardon power does not come without risks.

Clinton's 2001 last-day pardon to fugitive financier Marc Rich tainted Democrats who worked for him _ including then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder who is now awaiting Obama's nomination to run the Justice Department.

Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, pardoned Reagan-era Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, who was indicted in the Iran-Contra arms scandal. Weinberger's indictment by a special counsel days before the 1992 presidential election is believed to have contributed to Bush's defeat.

And President Gerald Ford narrowly lost re-election in 1976 after pardoning former President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal _ the most controversial pre-emptive pardon in U.S. history.

In his most high-profile official act of forgiveness so far, Bush saved I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby from serving any prison time in the case of the 2003 leak of then-CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstructing justice.

Libby, who was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, has not applied for a full pardon, Justice spokeswoman Sweeney said.

Margaret Love, former Justice Department pardon attorney under Clinton, said Bush has never seemed interested in flexing his power to pardon, going back to his days as Texas governor.

"His has been a very sparing, very regular and very conservative use," Love said. "There's no reason to think based on the pattern of his grants to date that there are going to be any irregularities or surprises at the end of his term."

http://sg.news.yahoo.com

Originally Posted by jamesw62

my letter

Great letter. I especially liked the "you stupid jackass" and "the most dumb f**g a hole" parts.

Bush sure has earned this email.

I fill that way to espcially the Jacka** part because that is what he is.
And he is being lead by the mexican government.

He has NO BALLS to stand up to anyone, I tell you I can NOT stand this pieace of work.