Pardon Me? Number of people seeking presidential pardons is in the thousands
The number of people of seeking pardons and commutations for federal crimes continues to climb ? and the backlog of petitions is in the thousands. With President Bush’s term coming to a close, who will he pardon? Who would you pardon? Jack Abramoff: Former lobbyist, overcharging Indian casinos in lobbying fraud; Conrad Black: Former newspaper tycoon, skimming money from his company; Hollinger International; Randy “Duke” Cunningham: Former U.S. Representative from California, bribery; Tom Delay: Former Speaker of the House, indicted for fundraising violations; Edwin Edwards: Former governor of Louisiana, racketeering; Marion Jones: Former Olympic sprinter, perjury over the use of performance-enhancing drugs; I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby: Former Chief of Staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, perjury, obstruction of justice related to leak of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity; John Walker Lindh: Former Taliban fighter, aiding terrorism; Michael Milken: Former bond trader, insider trading, fraud; Bob Ney: Former U.S. Representative from Ohio, conspiring in lobbying fraud;
Pete Rose: Former professional baseball player, tax evasion; George Ryan: Former governor of Illinois, racketeering; Wesley Snipes: Actor, tax evasion; Martha Stewart: Homemaking magnate, conspiracy related to insider trading.
Guest: Margaret Colgate Love, clemency lawyer, former Pardon Attorney of the United States.
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