Every President exercises their
right to commute sentences and grant pardons. While they can and do exercise
that right at any time during their tenure, it seems they often leave the most
controversial ones to the end of their term.
Take for instance the highly
controversial pardon by Bill Clinton on his very last day in office of fugitive
financier Marc Rich. Rich was on the lamb in Switzerland at the time of his
indictment for tax evasion and making controversial oil deals with Iran during
the Iran hostage crisis. He never returned and eventually died in Switzerland.
Oh, but that was merely the wound,
Clinton then couldn’t resist rubbing salt in it by commuting the sentences of
16 members of the Puerto Rico terrorist organization FALN. Congress condemned
this action by President Clinton, with votes of 95–2 in the Senate and 311–41
in the House. In all Clinton commuted sentences of 41 people and pardoned 151.
During the terms of both Bushes,
daddy Bush granted 71 pardons and only 3 commutations. The son pardoned 190
people and commuted the sentences of only 11 people.
During the last eight years, Obama
has been quietly undermining the sentencing prerogatives of the courts. He has
granted 1,176 commutations – including 395 life sentences – and 148 pardons.
Most individuals granted executive clemency by Obama had been convicted on drug
charges, and had received lengthy and sometimes mandatory sentences at the
height of the War on Drugs
Obama has said he has been
motivated to exercise his clemency power by a belief that the sentencing system
in the United States was used to lock up minor criminals — often minorities —
for excessively long periods of time.
On this December 19, Obama granted
153 commutations and 78 pardons, making that a record for the largest
single-day use of the clemency power. He still has until January 20 to go. I
have to wonder what other pardons or commutations could come.
The big questing on many minds is
whether he will pardon Hillary Clinton for her email indiscretions and outright
lies. If he doesn’t will President Trump keep his pledge to jail her?
And what are the odds Obama’s final
parting shot might be outright pardon for Black Panther and cop killer Mumia
Abu-Jamal, or the deserter Bowe Bergdahl for whom he traded five high-level
terrorists held at Gitmo to the Taliban?
Makes you ask why we even bother
having laws and sentencing.
