Opinions wanted. Should President Obama issue an Executive Order retroactively authorizing Hillary's

[politicaljunkie41910]

use of a private server in her private residence for State Dept business in order to permanently remove the threat that the GOP Congress and the President-Elect continues to hold over her head? She hasn't been convicted of a federal crime so a Presidential Pardon or Presidential Commutation is not called for. Jason Chaffetz has promised to bring new hearings and charges against Hillary and it would be nice to have this situation behind her once and for all. Besides with Hillary in the clear, Chaffetz will have more time to concentrate on Trump's High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

For the record, the head of any Federal Agency can exempt an employee from compliance with an agency policy if the circumstances warrant it or if the Agency Head deems it appropriate. We know that Hillary did not request the use of a private server because the State Dept Inspector General said as much, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't have negotiated the use of a private server with President Obama who was the one who issued a policy that all employees would use a .gov email account as a condition of accepting her appointment. It doesn't mean that she could use a private server to violate FOIA laws but she has never been charged with that to my recollection. There has been speculation that is why she set it up, but as far as I know that's never been proven or even a formal charge made alleging such.

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[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. Obama could still pardon Hillary, just like Nixon without being charged with anything.

[politicaljunkie41910]

7. I don't believe so. I spent a lot of time reviewing the section regarding Presidential Pardons and

Commutations. In both cases you have to have been found guilty of a federal crime to receive a pardon. I could find nothing that would permit a President to issue a pardon were no conviction had yet occurred. And the Pardon Statute requires that the conviction have occurred at least 5 years prior to the Pardon or Commutation of sentence.

Therefore it would appear to me that a Pardon is not plausible. Which is why I have proposed the retroactive authorization of the server. President Obama has the power to retroactively authorize the use of the server for the reasons I gave. I think that he could just do it. I don't even believe it would require an Executive Order for the two reasons I gave; 1)since he gave the original order for all federal employees to use a .gov email address and 2) any Agency head can exempt an employee from compliance with any Federal or Agency Policy should there be a reason that doesn't violate federal law.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

9. Okay, then how did Nixon get pardoned without ever being charged? Or am I mis-remembering?

[leftynyc]

13. Did any of your reading

explain how Ford did what you're insisting can't be done?

[NWCorona]

15. Obama could issue a blanket pardon.

[Lil Missy]

2. It's not necessary and impies guilt

[emulatorloo]

3. Yes. Agreed.

[politicaljunkie41910]

8. Disagree. See my two responses. If you have a reference that shows it's not necessary I'd like to

hear it other than you just don't think it's necessary and that it implies guilt. I'm trying to figure out a way to help her put this behind her for good which has not happened yet. Having been a federal employee for 27 years, I think a retroactive authorization is sufficient for the reasons given in my two earlier posts. Otherwise, once President Obama leaves office, she's subject to the good will of President Trump and Rep Jason Chaffetz.

[emulatorloo]

10. She hasn't done anything wrong/illegal

[Lil Missy]

11. Frankly, I think that is a really dumb idea. She should do absolutely nothing at this point.

What you're suggesting is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

[politicaljunkie41910]

12. So why is it a dumb idea? Besides the fact that you said so.

Joason Chaffetz has promised to continue his investigation of Hillary and her use of the unauthorized server. If I were her, I'd want this behind me. When President Obama leaves office, so does any options to put this behind her without the possibility of enduring more Congressional Hearings and her incurring tons of legal fees the longer this matter drags on. President Obama's retroactively authorizing her use of the server ends this chapter and she can move on. It doesn't involve congressional approval and Comey has already said that the email issue was not criminal and there's not proof that any classified documents were compromised. This puts a nail in the coffin for good. However, once Obama is gone,he's gone, and so are her options. The same anti-Hillary FBI garrison inside the FBI will still be there and who knows what witch hunt Chaffetz pursues down the rabbit hole with the GOP in charge of the White House and both Houses of Congress.

[Wounded Bear]

4. Sure, he could, I guess...but why give the Nazi RW media echo chamber another talking point?

If the Trumplodytes really thought they had a case, they'd advocate for more investigations. They got nothing real, why do something that implies there is something real there?

[blue cat]

5. No

How many more millions of tax payers money are they going to waste when they have nothing.

[marybourg]

6. No. I don't believe she wants that.

I wouldn't. It implies guilt, as a poster above said, and she isn't guilty of anything except thinking outside of the box. Isn't that what we're always told to do?

[Amishman]

14. Yes, it denies Trump his desire to prosecute

Does it imply guilt and tarnish Hillary's legacy a little? Maybe.

But it is worth it to deny Trump and his minions the pleasure of trying to punish and humiliate her.

[NWCorona]

16. No. Obama should and I expect he probably will issue a blanket pardon

I think Jeff Sessions appointment sealed that decision. We will see tho.

[Azathoth]

17. God no. Hillary is the reason we lost

At the end of the day, it was the Clintons' constant stream of conflicts of interest and shady behavior that ultimately cost us this election. Democrats really couldn't respond to any of it, from the server to the Clinton Foundation, except to say "Well, it wasn't illegal" -- shades of 1998 for those who remember that saga. Voters finally had enough of it all and decided it was preferable to roll the dice on an unknown orange nutcase rather than deal with four more years of Clinton intrigue. The only good thing to come out of this election is that we can finally close the book on third-way Bill and Hill and look toward the future.

Obama, meanwhile, is already pissing on his own legacy by preemptively undercutting his party's nascent opposition to Cheeto Benito. Going out on a limb for the now-irrelevant Hillary would be the ultimate act of self-immolation. Besides, no one is going to prosecute Hillary. The desire to waste money on investigating her disappeared on November 9th.

[NCTraveler]

18. I hope they go after Clinton with the fire of a million suns.

I truly mean that. No, Clinton doesn't deserve it. At the same time, I understand political resources.