Re:U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden ...
by yokaze on Thursday September 03, 2020 @09:09AM
(#24363661)
> Non-us citizen nor lawyer, but doesn't a pardon require a conviction?
No, Nixon wasn't convicted either. He received a pardon nonetheless. Accepting a pardon implies though an admission of guilt.
> Does _anything_ obligates the President to pardon anyone?
AFAIK, not in the strict sense of the word. In the looser sense, public opinion.
> And why would those points you listed invalidate a pardon?
It would at most, because it influences public opinion. But technically, all those are reasons, why there is a pardon.
The law may say he is guilty, but there might be overruling concerns at hand.
No, Nixon wasn't convicted either. He received a pardon nonetheless. Accepting a pardon implies though an admission of guilt.
> Does _anything_ obligates the President to pardon anyone?
AFAIK, not in the strict sense of the word. In the looser sense, public opinion.
> And why would those points you listed invalidate a pardon?
It would at most, because it influences public opinion. But technically, all those are reasons, why there is a pardon. The law may say he is guilty, but there might be overruling concerns at hand.