Page 17 - Pardon Process News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Ayesha. >> i wanted to ask about the pardoning process. it seems like we have had these three pardons. they all were somewhat high-profile or gotten media attention. how is the president deciding when to take action on a case, i mean with arpaio, he hadn't even been sentenced yet. the libby case was very old. how are you deciding when to take action on these cases? and can a normal person who feels like they have been unjustly convicted, can they get their case to the white house? i mean there is a justice department process, but it seems like the president is taking special interest in certai...

Coming at this time. the other thing i would say, too, is this is a pardon that didn't go through the ordinary pardon process. one thing that viewers may not know is that typically there is a lengthy petition that is made for a pardon and a very complicated set of procedures that are followed to evaluate pardons. there's an entire office in the justice department that plays a big role in that. and that wasn't followed here. i think you were mentioning earlier that there's certainly an implication that this is sending a message. kellyanne conway said just a moment ago, you played that clip, tha...

>> so i don't think that we can rule that out. the timing of his departure on the heels of the news that he had dangled those pardons is certainly one piece of evidence from which you could conclude that he had been told that there were problems coming down the road. the origin of that problem is that the pardon process is something -- and nicolle, i'm sure you know this, you expect to see that process initiated some place along the spectrum between the justice department and the white house issuing pardons. you don't expect to see that happening with a lawyer in private practice who represent...

Could become a subject and need a lawyer himself, joyce? >> so, i don't think that we can rule that out. the timing of his departure on the heels of the news that he had dangled those pardons is certainly one piece of evidence from which you could conclude he had been told that there were problems coming down the road. the origin of that problem is that the pardon process is something -- and, nicolle, i'm sure you know this. you expect to see that process initiated someplace along the spectrum between the justice department and the counsel's office issuing pardons. you don't expect to see that...

The words are significant, but what we do know with this president is that he makes decisions off the cuff with his gut, and he may suddenly decide to move forward with the pardon process. remember, typically when you go through the pardon process, there's some sort of justice department review. the justice department goes through this, and this is a very serious matter that happens throughout the government. but when you look what he did with the last pardon, joe arpaio, there was no real justice department review. it was the president's ultimate decision to move forward here. presumably if j...