In reference to the President, Article II, Section 2 of the ‘Constitution of the United States’ reads:
“…he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
The President’s power to pardon is nearly God-like in scope. The president can issue a pardon at any time for anything to anybody, including himself. There’s only one restriction, “except in Cases of Impeachment”. There are no qualifiers. It doesn’t say “successful Impeachment” or “pending Impeachment” or “current Impeachment”. It just says “except in Cases of Impeachment”.
It’s a simple statement. Now, I’m no lawyer but a plain-English interpretation of that sentence means that if legitimate Articles of Impeachment are introduced in the House, the President is barred from issuing a pardon to any person or persons or for any activity named in the Articles of Impeachment.
I fully expect George W. Bush to issue blanket pardons, carefully but vaguely worded to encompass anything senior members of his administration (Bush included) might later be tied to as crimes.
Introducing Articles of Impeachment may be the only way to ensure even a chance to pursue and punish responsible parties once they no longer enjoy the protection of the White House…