Pardon Us: This Needs Some Rules

For example, pre-emptive pardons are not OK.

I realize there’s an ongoing … issue … that may be more interesting, but I don’t have any new thoughts on that problem that I want to write today and this topic has been bothering me for a while.

We need some rules around executive pardons.

As things stand right now, the President’s pardon ability has no constraints on it other than that it only applies federally.

This basically gives the President the ability to send minions out to commit (federal) crimes with impunity, since they can always be pardoned. Heck, we even allow them to be pardoned in advance.

Which is less than ideal.

So, when the current crisis is behind us or when we start writing the constitutions of whatever State(s) come into being after the U.S. dissolves, we need to consider some boundaries to the executive pardon.

Here’s my list:

no pardoning yourself
pardons can only be issued for acts of which a person was convicted
pardons must cite specific acts which are being pardoned
pardons must be announced publicly to take effect

There are probably more ways this power can be abused that no one’s even thought of yet, but this list at least addresses the ways it’s been abused (or suggested it could be abused) lately.