2007: Looking Back
I started this blog a few months before the Libby case was in full bloom. The first post is dated March 8.
In the early posts I provided groundwork for discussion of the Libby case on my own terms. I provided a look at the pardon power in the Bush administration and placed it in the context of history - something this blog has continued to do since. I maintain the position that was central to the early posts: there was no reason whatsoever for anyone to think George W. Bush would be anything but stingy with pardons. He is a Republican, a former governor and he came into office on the heels of one of the biggest pardon scandals in history. In addition, his administration followed a steady decline in the use of clemency that dates back to the early 1900s.
As the trial of Mr. Libby came to an end and the focus was on sentencing, I was one of only two persons who seemed keenly aware of the fact that a pardon was not the only option for the President. Indeed, there were several ways that clemency could have been used to spare Libby the shame of prison. I just happened to focus on respites (in a National Review article) and William Otis happened to focus on a commutation of sentence (in the Washington Post). After giving attention to the topic on this blog and writing the National Review piece, respites were discussed for the first time on Chris Matthews' Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer's The Situation Room.
I also found some interesting cases which paralleled Libby's, those of Charles Craig and Thomas Kemp. As a result, while others were falling all over themselves to describe some aspect of the Libby commutation as "unprecedented," I saw it as "business as usual." My second National Review piece was simply a cold bucket of water on those who were frustrated that Libby was not pardoned and, as a result, they were denied the opportunity to write the name of Richard Nixon in the next nine articles they composed.
This blog also turned its attention to a more serious search for distinguishing features in the use (or non-use) of clemency in the Bush administration, and succeeded. While there has been a steady increase in the number of clemency applications in this administration, previous administrations have dealt with similar workloads. What is distinct, however, is the number of applications which are not being addressed at all, and are left pending, carrying over into the next fiscal year. The Los Angeles Times communicated with me about this situation and ran a nice story on it afterward.
When I started the blog, the world seemed to finally accept that most presidents have granted a larger number of pardons in the last year of the term. Through journal articles and conference papers (available on the web), I have played no small part in making that the new "conventional wisdom." But I now believe this blog has uncovered some very interesting monthly trends in the use of clemency. Over the last 5-6 administrations, December has generally been the month for pardons to be granted. Some have "known" this anecdotally, of course, but there is nothing quite like a clear look at hard data.
For the most part of the year, if you typed "Libby" and "Pardon" in Google, this blog was returned as the number one, or most-visited site. At the time of this posting, such is the case and the current month (December) has resulted in the highest number of visits to date.
- P.S. Ruckman, Jr.
The following is a summary of my media work for the year:
Radio (National and International)
Voice of America. China Office. (7/4/07) - "Presidents, Pardons and Scooter Libby."
Voice of America. Western Europe Office. (7/2/07) - "The President's Pardon Power."
Bloomberg Radio (6/28/07) - "President Bush, the Pardon Power and Scooter Libby."
Newspapers (National)
Los Angeles Times, "Clemency Bids Backing Up for Bush." (11/22/07)
New York Times. "Bush Rationale on Libby Stirs Debate." (7/4/07)
Bloomberg News. "Bush Face 'No Win' Pressures to Pardon Convicted Cheney Aide." (6/29/07)
New York Times. "When Pardons Turn Political." (6/7/07)
Newspapers (Regional)
Cincinnati Post. "Calls for Clemency Unanswered." (11/24/07)
Boston Globe. "Clemency Bids Create Backlog in Federal System." (11/24/07)
Winston-Salem Journal. "Presidential Pardon Backlog Growing at the White House." (11/24/07)
San Francisco Chronicle. "Record Backlog of Clemency Cases Takes Toll on Federal Prisoners." (11/24/07)
Houston Chronicle. "Applications for Pardons Swamp Clemency System." (11/23/07)
Houston Chronicle. "Libby Commutation Confounds Experts." (7/4/07)
The Star (Canada). "Bush Leaves Door Open For Pardon." (7/04/07).
The Star Phoenix, "U.S. President in Tough Spot if He Pardons Aide Libby." (6/29/07)
Globe and Mail (Canada) "Bush in a Bind Over Political Pardon." (6/15/07)
Magazines / Periodicals
Article (invited): "Pardon Me." National Review Online, (7/6/07).
Article (invited): "Respite for Scooter." National Review Online. (6/14/07).
The Hill. "Bush Can Give Libby Respite." (6/12/07)
National Journal. "Pardon Libby? Maybe, But Note Alone" (3/30/07)
The Hill. "Since Late 20th Century Presidents Not as Forgiving" (3/8/07)
Consulted by:
Los Angeles Times - Pardon data and the Bush Administrations (9/24/07) - Rick Schmitt
Los Angeles Times - Clemency in the Bush Administration (9/6/07)- Tom Reinken
New York Times - For Libby, Bush Seemed to Alter his Texas Policy (7/7/07) - Adam Liptak
Washington Post - (7/3/07) - Rachel Dry
New York Times - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison Term." (7/2/07) - Scott Shane
Los Angeles Times - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison." (7/2/07) - Rick Schmitt
New York Sun - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison." (7/2/07) - Joshua Gerstein
Register and Bee (Danville, VA), Bush and the Pardon Power (6/17/07) - Becky Blanton
In the early posts I provided groundwork for discussion of the Libby case on my own terms. I provided a look at the pardon power in the Bush administration and placed it in the context of history - something this blog has continued to do since. I maintain the position that was central to the early posts: there was no reason whatsoever for anyone to think George W. Bush would be anything but stingy with pardons. He is a Republican, a former governor and he came into office on the heels of one of the biggest pardon scandals in history. In addition, his administration followed a steady decline in the use of clemency that dates back to the early 1900s.
As the trial of Mr. Libby came to an end and the focus was on sentencing, I was one of only two persons who seemed keenly aware of the fact that a pardon was not the only option for the President. Indeed, there were several ways that clemency could have been used to spare Libby the shame of prison. I just happened to focus on respites (in a National Review article) and William Otis happened to focus on a commutation of sentence (in the Washington Post). After giving attention to the topic on this blog and writing the National Review piece, respites were discussed for the first time on Chris Matthews' Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer's The Situation Room.
I also found some interesting cases which paralleled Libby's, those of Charles Craig and Thomas Kemp. As a result, while others were falling all over themselves to describe some aspect of the Libby commutation as "unprecedented," I saw it as "business as usual." My second National Review piece was simply a cold bucket of water on those who were frustrated that Libby was not pardoned and, as a result, they were denied the opportunity to write the name of Richard Nixon in the next nine articles they composed.
This blog also turned its attention to a more serious search for distinguishing features in the use (or non-use) of clemency in the Bush administration, and succeeded. While there has been a steady increase in the number of clemency applications in this administration, previous administrations have dealt with similar workloads. What is distinct, however, is the number of applications which are not being addressed at all, and are left pending, carrying over into the next fiscal year. The Los Angeles Times communicated with me about this situation and ran a nice story on it afterward.
When I started the blog, the world seemed to finally accept that most presidents have granted a larger number of pardons in the last year of the term. Through journal articles and conference papers (available on the web), I have played no small part in making that the new "conventional wisdom." But I now believe this blog has uncovered some very interesting monthly trends in the use of clemency. Over the last 5-6 administrations, December has generally been the month for pardons to be granted. Some have "known" this anecdotally, of course, but there is nothing quite like a clear look at hard data.
For the most part of the year, if you typed "Libby" and "Pardon" in Google, this blog was returned as the number one, or most-visited site. At the time of this posting, such is the case and the current month (December) has resulted in the highest number of visits to date.
- P.S. Ruckman, Jr.
The following is a summary of my media work for the year:
Radio (National and International)
Voice of America. China Office. (7/4/07) - "Presidents, Pardons and Scooter Libby."
Voice of America. Western Europe Office. (7/2/07) - "The President's Pardon Power."
Bloomberg Radio (6/28/07) - "President Bush, the Pardon Power and Scooter Libby."
Newspapers (National)
Los Angeles Times, "Clemency Bids Backing Up for Bush." (11/22/07)
New York Times. "Bush Rationale on Libby Stirs Debate." (7/4/07)
Bloomberg News. "Bush Face 'No Win' Pressures to Pardon Convicted Cheney Aide." (6/29/07)
New York Times. "When Pardons Turn Political." (6/7/07)
Newspapers (Regional)
Cincinnati Post. "Calls for Clemency Unanswered." (11/24/07)
Boston Globe. "Clemency Bids Create Backlog in Federal System." (11/24/07)
Winston-Salem Journal. "Presidential Pardon Backlog Growing at the White House." (11/24/07)
San Francisco Chronicle. "Record Backlog of Clemency Cases Takes Toll on Federal Prisoners." (11/24/07)
Houston Chronicle. "Applications for Pardons Swamp Clemency System." (11/23/07)
Houston Chronicle. "Libby Commutation Confounds Experts." (7/4/07)
The Star (Canada). "Bush Leaves Door Open For Pardon." (7/04/07).
The Star Phoenix, "U.S. President in Tough Spot if He Pardons Aide Libby." (6/29/07)
Globe and Mail (Canada) "Bush in a Bind Over Political Pardon." (6/15/07)
Magazines / Periodicals
Article (invited): "Pardon Me." National Review Online, (7/6/07).
Article (invited): "Respite for Scooter." National Review Online. (6/14/07).
The Hill. "Bush Can Give Libby Respite." (6/12/07)
National Journal. "Pardon Libby? Maybe, But Note Alone" (3/30/07)
The Hill. "Since Late 20th Century Presidents Not as Forgiving" (3/8/07)
Consulted by:
Los Angeles Times - Pardon data and the Bush Administrations (9/24/07) - Rick Schmitt
Los Angeles Times - Clemency in the Bush Administration (9/6/07)- Tom Reinken
New York Times - For Libby, Bush Seemed to Alter his Texas Policy (7/7/07) - Adam Liptak
Washington Post - (7/3/07) - Rachel Dry
New York Times - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison Term." (7/2/07) - Scott Shane
Los Angeles Times - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison." (7/2/07) - Rick Schmitt
New York Sun - "Bush Spares Libby From Prison." (7/2/07) - Joshua Gerstein
Register and Bee (Danville, VA), Bush and the Pardon Power (6/17/07) - Becky Blanton
posted by P.S. Ruckman, Jr. | 12:35 PM
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