Judge Greg Galler
Guest Columnist
Will he or won’t he? That is a question a lot of political commentators are asking about whether or not President Obama will pardon Hillary Clinton. Whatever the answer to that question is, other questions are equally interesting (and far less political). Specifically, what are pardons, and why are presidents allowed to issue them at all?broadstreet.zone(48036);
The U.S. Constitution provides that the president “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” There is a lot packed into those 19 words.
First, reprieves and pardons are different. Reprieves apply when someone has been convicted and sentenced for a criminal offense. A reprieve reduces or suspends any further punishment. For example, if someone had served three years of a 10-year federal criminal sentence, a presidential reprieve could reduce the sentence or suspend it altogether. Reprieving a sentence is sometimes described
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