Question

Discusses the Supreme Court ruling, Ex parte Garland, asserting the president's pardon authority as essentially "unlimited" except in cases of impeachment. Which of the following statements would pose the strongest challenge to this characterization of the pardon power?

A) The Constitution's text explicitly states that clemency may only be granted for federal crimes.

B) Subsequent Supreme Court rulings have expanded and allowed greater limits to presidential pardon power.

C) Congress has effectively exercised its legal power in the past to impose limitations on presidential pardons.

Answer 1

The challenge emphasizing that presidential pardon power is explicitly limited to federal crimes and does not extend to impeached individuals poses the strongest challenge to the characterization of the pardon power as unlimited.

Step-by-step explanation:

The strongest challenge to the notion of the president's pardon power being "unlimited" comes from the assertion that the Constitution's text explicitly states that clemency may only be granted for federal crimes. This point emphasizes the specificity and limitation inherent in the constitutional text and implies that the scope of the pardon power does not extend beyond federal offenses. The president's pardon power, while significant, does not overrule or negate the constitutional process of impeachment, as clearly stated that pardons cannot be granted in cases of impeachment. This power has been exercised by presidents from Andrew Johnson's pardons of Confederates post-Civil War to recent controversial pardons by presidents like Gerald Ford and Donald Trump. Additionally, the Supreme Court has ruled on aspects of executive power which include both expansions and constraints, indicating that the president's power, including the pardon power, is not entirely without legal scrutiny or potential limitation.