Pardon Power: How The Pardon System Works—And Why

by Kim Wehle

The president's power to pardon federal crimes is immense, with roots in ancient notions of mercy and amnesty. However, this power, seemingly boundless under the Constitution, lacks clear constraints, inviting concerns about abuse. Recent discussions in the U.S. Supreme Court have raised alarms about the potential for presidential abuse of pardons, highlighting the need for accountability within the pardon system to uphold the foundational premise that no one is above the law.

Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works—and Why, Kim Wehle explores the historical context and contemporary challenges surrounding the presidential pardon. Wehle contends that any pardon undermining the principle of accountability before the law, including self-pardons, cannot be constitutionally justified. Urgent recognition of the necessity for guardrails around the pardon power is essential to safeguard American democracy.

Genres: Politics, Government

322 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2023

Reviews

[James Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely, interesting, and thought provoking history of the ethereal power to pardon from the Bible to Trump and beyond.

[Lia Busby · Rating 2 out of 5]

unfortunately pretty disappointing

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pardon Power - How The Pardon System Works And Why by Kim Wehle and narrated by Holly Adams is a timely and insightful account of the power of presidential pardon and raises a very important question as to whether pardons and self-pardons specifically can be constitutionally justified.

I first heard about this book when it was mentioned on the Meidas Touch Youtube channel and when I saw it come up on NetGalley, I had to listen immediately

(As a sidebar "it's not about red or blue, it's about the red, white and blue" - Michael Popok) I love this quote as it exemplifies the importance of this type of book. It is a book that is relevant to all Americans, not a matter of party affiliation

Wehle delves deep into the history of the power to pardon and examines it alongside the current brackish and indeed dangerous climate, depending on who is voted president in November

An insghtful, essential title that is a book for our times and I will certainly be buying a physical copy

Thank you to NetGalley, Kalorama, Kim Wehle and the narrator Holly Adams for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

[Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is close to being great. It tells about the history of the pardon power and how it has existed in various forms across time and place. The book also details some of the more consequential and interesting pardons in history. Unfortunately, it also falls into the trap of undermining its own message due to a clear bias against one contemporary president.

As is always a risk when you spend much of your book analyzing recent history and pontificating about the near future, the author makes a few predictions that become ironic given what actually occurred shortly after the publication. The most egregious being her prediction (and criticism) that President Donald Trump may pardon his children for crimes committed in his pursuit of the White House. As everyone knows, he did not do this at the close of his first term, but rather, his successor, President Joe Biden, pardoned the entire Biden family (along with some federal officials) for all crimes known and unknown over multiple decades during his final weeks in the office.

[Don Dugan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it might not seem so this is a very interesting subject... not quite beyond the law but without enough guidelines therefore making it open to considerable abuse. Her last chapter is how to improve the process which, while sensible, will never happen unfortunately. Way too much power behind it.

[Daniel]

finish reading but did not finish reading the entire book... other books to read...sorry