Mr. Bush and the Pardon Power

NY Times Editorial

With the Bush administration drawing to a close, it is presidential pardon season. Presidents have become increasingly shameless about issuing pardons to insulate political cronies from prosecution, even to protect themselves. We hope President Bush will not abuse the pardon power by putting his appointees, political supporters or friends above the law.

The Constitution gives the president sweeping authority to grant pardons. The founders intended for presidents to use this power as an “act of grace” or to promote the public welfare. It was never intended to be a get-out-of-jail-free card for people close to the president who stretched, bent or broke the law.

The three most recent presidents have used it in just that way. George H. W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams and others involved in the Iran-contra scandal. Had they been prosecuted, Mr. Bush’s own actions might have come under scrutiny.

Bill Clinton, in his final hours in office, pardoned Marc Rich, whose ex-wife contributed heavily to his presidential library; his brother, Roger Clinton; his former housing and urban development secretary, Henry Cisneros; and Susan McDougal, an old friend and a key figure in the Whitewater scandal.

President Bush has issued one troubling commutation, of I. Lewis Libby’s 30-month prison sentence. Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, was convicted of lying and obstruction of justice in the Valerie Wilson leak investigation.

This week, Mr. Bush granted 14 pardons and commuted two prison sentences, none for high-profile defendants. He has until Jan. 20, however, to grant more. And his record of stonewalling inquiries into his administration’s legally questionable behavior — the torture policy that led to the Abu Ghraib nightmare; illegal wiretapping; the politically motivated firing of federal attorneys — justify concern that he may be considering pardoning officials involved in those misdeeds.

The framers envisioned that presidents would be discouraged from misusing the pardon power by the threat of impeachment. But it is a fairly empty threat when they issue pardons in their final days in office.

The main check on misuse of 11th-hour pardons is the verdict of history. Mr. Bush will be leaving office with extraordinarily low approval ratings. If he wants to try to reclaim his reputation, he can start by not abusing the pardon power on his way out the door.