Bush Rejected Flurry of Requests for Clemency

[RiverStone]

Source: Washington Post

High-Profile, Well-Heeled Prisoners Frustrated by Former President's Decision Not to Grant Pardons


By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 27, 2009; 3:16 PM

In his last days in office, President George W. Bush formally rejected clemency requests from a host of prominent business and political figures, including junk bond king Michael Milken and former California lawmaker Randy "Duke" Cunningham, according to newly released Justice Department records.

Bush's decision frustrated several well-heeled felons and the expensive Washington lawyers they hired to make their case. Over the past several months, lawyers with GOP ties and veterans of the White House counsel's office signed on to advocate for convicts at sums that at times exceeded $500,000, according to lawyers who received solicitations.

In many instances, legal advocates made their pitches directly to the White House, bypassing Justice Department staff members who can take 18 months or longer to process clemency applications.

Yet Bush left office last week with the most tight-fisted clemency record in recent history, according to scholars of the pardon power. Bush granted 189 pardons and shortened 11 prison terms.

Former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, serving a 10-year prison term on racketeering and public corruption charges, was among the petitioners whose hopes were dashed last week even though he had secured a personal letter of support from the then-president's father, George H.W. Bush.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012701806.html?hpid=moreheadlines

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Why Shrub did not give release papers to any of these cronies (particularly Libby) is a surprise, but a good one. :shrug:

Maybe stepping down from the bully pulpit cleared his head a little on the way out the door.

[Nye Bevan]

1. 8 years in office and he finally does something right

Commuting those 12 year sentences for the border guards who shot the drug dealer in the ass seemed like the right thing to do, but none of these other cases seemed really deserving. Especially that crook Edwards.

[Demeter]

23. I'm Sure It Was a Dog in the Manger Response

"If I can't pardon myself, then I'm not pardoning any of you guys!"

[aquart]

2. That's our George, unempathetic to the end. LOL!

[DCKit]

8. It's not his lack of empathy, it's his lack of loyalty.

Loyalty has always been a one-way street in the maladministration. He hung them all out to swing in the breeze.

Now, watch them turn on their former masters.

[bmbmd]

16. No.

He's just too lazy to bother.

[EFerrari]

3. Somewhere in the sewer of his soul, he knows what a terrible failure he was

and he blames everyone else for that failure. Not handing out pardons is punishment, resentment on wheels.

[housewolf]

4. GWB is about as mercy-less as they come

He just doesn't have an ounce of mercy in his being.

[davepc]

5. I doubt if he let off a bunch of right wing crooks on his way out you'd be espousing his 'mercy'

[Politicalboi]

6. Bush is gonna need friends in jail

Why let them all out when you can all sit around and talk about the good old days. Sing with me now. By Mary Hopkins 1968
Those were the days my friend we'd thought they'd never end we'd sing and dance for ever and a day. LOL! I dedicate that song to Bush. It was either composed or written by Paul McCartney. Wish I knew how to make a video of it.

[TheTimmer]

10. Sir Paul only produced it

"Those Were the Days" was released on 30 August 1968. It was Mary Hopkin's debut single. It is credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian song "Дорогой длинною" ("Dorogoi dlinnoyu"), written by Boris Fomin (1900-1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_Were_the_Days_(song)

[Politicalboi]

13. Thank you

[musiclawyer]

7. You beat me too it. I was going to link LA Times version

My perspective is that W is not that dumb. He knows that his legacy is crap, and he knows that letting some rich guys beat the system would have smelled even more foul than Clinton's pardons. Trying anything to better serve his legacy. But this will be merely a footnote in the history books.

[santamargarita]

9. Bush is everybody's asshole now

Aside from a few hundred fascist pigs, who likes this prick?

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

11. Pretty much sums up his entire approach for 8 years: " F 'em "

[skypilot]

12. "Sorry, I'm outta all those little pens."

*

[TygrBright]

14. He never commuted any death sentences in Texas, never signed a clemency order or pardon there either

He's a sociopath who likes watching (and thinking of) other peoples' suffering-- even his supposed "friends" and supporters.

It's not admirable restraint or ethical conduct on his part, it's just one final chance to watch others squirm in misery and beg for mercy.

dismissively,
Bright

[Journeyman]

Bush won't admit his Administration committed crimes . . .

so it doesn't surprise me he won't pardon people whom he believes did no wrong. All part of BushCo's hubris.

[RiverStone]

18. Your theory has merit - and in particular, Shrub can't see himself as the most criminal n/t

[catzies]

20. Agreed. n/t

[chelsea0011]

15. Does anyone really think Bush was up to doing any work at the end?

All that reading and thinking? The Decider went home and took the easy route.

[Johnyawl]

17. It does kinda make me giggle to think of some of those assholes...

...spending $500,000 to get a door slammed in their face. Bushies motives aside, those crooks deserve this.

[RiverStone]

19. Yep, they earned their jail time

Assuming they really are there, I doubt any are capable of regret or apology.

[ozu]

21. agreed

I have a nice bit of schadenfreude for people trying to buy their way out of a conviction only to have it backfire.

Of course that money just ends up going to the scummy lawyer trying to do the buying anyways, so maybe it's not a complete win.

[HopeHoops]

22. Face it, he was drunk - any number greater than 3 was simply "many"