If forced to place a bet, it’s rather likely that most Americans would wager that Hillary has committed a felony or two during her political career. If she has, then she’s been fortunate so far not to have been charged. The question then becomes, will she be charged with any crimes by Trump’s Department of Justice? And if so, will she be convicted?
For the next three weeks, Mr. Obama is still president and could issue pardons to Hillary.
In dashing through his last few weeks in office, will one of Obama’s final acts be to pardon Hillary Clinton for any violations of federal law she might have committed while she was secretary of State?
It’s an interesting and complex question.
We should first note that the Obama administration’s decision not to prosecute Clinton would not bind the Trump administration. Until relevant statutes of limitations have expired, she could still be prosecuted by the new administration. It is possible, in my opinion, for Clinton to be prosecuted for either her improper handling of classified information on her “home brew” email server or allegations of “pay to play” arrangements between the secretary of State and donors to the Clinton Foundation, which could constitute bribery.
Obama could pardon her. But there’s a snag with that.
But there is a downside, and it isn’t trivial. A pardon must be accepted by the person who is pardoned if it is to effectively stymie any prosecution.
Furthermore, there is solid legal precedent that acceptance of a pardon is equivalent to confession of guilt. A U.S. Supreme Court case from 1915 called Burdick v. U.S. establishes that principle; it has never been overturned.
If acceptance of a pardon by Clinton would amount to confession of guilt, would she nevertheless accept it? A multitude of factors would go into her decision.
She, together with her attorneys, would have to decide how likely it is that the Trump administration would prosecute her, and, if it did decide to prosecute, how likely the administration would be able to prove she had committed crimes.
There are a lot of “what ifs” there for Hillary and her team of attorneys to contend with. About the only thing she can know for sure, is that if she is charged, tried, and convicted, Donald Trump is not going to pardon her.
Maybe she’ll decided to pack in her oversized ego, take the safe route, and admit guilt while accepting a pardon from Obama. Whatever she decides to do, she had better make it quick. Three weeks does not allow much time to waste.
Source: The Hill
Jail for both of them.
The real problem is that Hillary doesn’t deserve a pardon. She has commit too many crimes and violated multiple protocols and lied about everything. She needs to be accountable for her illegal activities.
If she didn’t do anything wrong, why would she need a pardon?
Why does she need a pardon? Obama is gone, Trump already reneged on his promise to investigate. She was never in any danger of investigation let alone anything further!
News flash Wayne Berg, it’s both parties that are crooked
Ford pardoned Nixon before any criminal charges or conviction. Look it up.