OPINION:
It is often said that the president’s right to pardon is absolute and unlimited. Let’s test that assertion.
If the president preemptively pardoned everyone in the United States for any crime they have or may have committed, the Justice Department could never prosecute anyone for any crime. That’s the definition of a lawless society. The Constitution’s framers never would have granted such an authority to the president. If the president cannot pardon everyone preemptively, then he cannot pardon any one person preemptively, either, as this puts that one preemptively pardoned person above the law.
The First Amendment holds that “Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people .. to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In other words, Congress may not limit, curtail or disallow the right of the people to seek a remedy for an inflicted harm. If Congress cannot make a law abridging a citizen’s right to seek a redress of grievances, how could a president possibly be empowered to prevent a sought redress of grievances with a preemptive pardon for the offender who inflicted the harm?
A president who is so empowered is essentially enabling the unconstitutional absurdity of allowing preemptively pardoned individuals to be as lawless as they wish.
STEPHEN M. ZEMYAN
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
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