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Procedurally, does Congress have any influence at all over pardons? I thought that the president has completely discretion over them.
by fhdkweig 7mo ago
Procedurally, does Congress have any influence at all over pardons? I thought that the president has completely discretion over them.
- Terr_ 7mo agoTrue, the content makes it clear that this isn't about Congress as a whole, nor about official congressional actions. Rather, it discusses particular Republican party legislators who are getting lobbied in the hopes that with their support the idea informally filters down to Trump. Better to say "falls flat among Republican politicians."
- Simulacra 7mo agoNone. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power to grant “Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
- mothballed 7mo agoAlthough congress can in effect commute his sentence by passing a bill that effectively reduces the sentence of anyone who just happened to be convicted of the exact same crime at the exact same moment as SBF. They have done this more generally before by retroactively changing sentencing guidelines coupled with legislation for re-evaluation of sentences.
- Terr_ 7mo agoReminds me of the Terri Schiavo controversy [0], and now what congress did feels like a rather quaint little scandal compared to the last couple years. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_Compromise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_Compromise