By David Swanson

Former judge Andrew Napolitano appeared on Fox News to claim falsely that a president can pardon himself but to assert, interestingly, that a president cannot issue blanket pardons, that each person pardoned has to be named. This would seem to go against precedent. President Carter pardoned Vietnam war resisters, but his pardon referred to indictments and investigations, etc., each of which -- Napolitano argues -- would have named someone. Here's the video. But what about Lincoln's and Johnson's blanket pardons of confederates? And President Washington's blanket pardon after whiskey rebellion? What about the possibility that there might be an appropriate and legitimate use of blanket pardons in the future?

Here's another take on this: