Please, Bush, Don't Pardon Ted Stevens

by Matt Kelley · 2008-12-03 05:19:00 UTC
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Ted Stevens, the 85-year-old former Alaska Senator convicted in October of seven counts of failing to report gifts he accepted between 1999 and 2006, is facing up to 35 years in prison. He was a corrupt, favor-trading, pork-barrel politician, and voters just barely kicked him out in the November election (after he had been convicted).

Politico reported this week that although Stevens hasn't yet requested a pardon from President Bush, he may yet ask. And here's Orin Hatch's thought on it:

“He has served this country for over 50 years,” said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a widely respected member of the Judiciary Committee. “I think most anybody would probably say, ‘Yeah, he should be [pardoned].’ I think most anybody would say it’s fair to say that.”

So Hatch considers Stevens' crimes minor and thinks he should be pardoned? Where's the line? How much can you rob from the country during your '50 years of service' for it to be forgivable? Can you commit one crime per decade?

Under Hatch's logic, any career government employee should have a pass to break the law a few times.

Please, George, no pardon for Ted Stevens.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.

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