minor legal/political question

[kaigou]

For the US president to pardon someone, doesn't that someone have to be accused of a crime in the first place? How do you pardon someone who hasn't been charged with anything?

Comments

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

My understanding was that any criminal investigation would have springboarded off the impeachment, and that Ford in fact was pardoning Nixon from the impeachment -- which in turn prevented any criminal investigations.

(Although, come to think of it, it's possible criminal investigations may have gone forward regardless, but that the pardon acted as an effective stopping point. Being pardoned for this crime does not mean you cannot be charged, tried and convicted of another crime.)