None. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power to grant “Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
Although congress can in effect commute his sentence by passing a bill that effectively reduces the sentence of anyone who just happened to be convicted of the exact same crime at the exact same moment as SBF.
They have done this more generally before by retroactively changing sentencing guidelines coupled with legislation for re-evaluation of sentences.
Reminds me of the Terri Schiavo controversy [0], and now what congress did feels like a rather quaint little scandal compared to the last couple years.
Procedurally, does Congress have any influence at all over pardons? I thought that the president has completely discretion over them.
None. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power to grant “Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
Although congress can in effect commute his sentence by passing a bill that effectively reduces the sentence of anyone who just happened to be convicted of the exact same crime at the exact same moment as SBF.
They have done this more generally before by retroactively changing sentencing guidelines coupled with legislation for re-evaluation of sentences.
Reminds me of the Terri Schiavo controversy [0], and now what congress did feels like a rather quaint little scandal compared to the last couple years.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_Compromise
True, this is really about lobbying the Republican party in general with the hopes that it'll filter up to Trump.
So a better title might be: