John Adams & Fulbright lecture with US Fulbright Scholar Kim Wehle
On Thursday, March 13th, the Fulbright Commission the Netherlands will hold a lecture with US Fulbright Scholar Kim Wehle, called “Pardon Power: Reforming the Sword of Justice,” in collaboration with the John Adams Institute. Tickets can be bought via the John Adams Institute website. See a description of the event below.
From high-profile clemencies to its utilization as a political weapon, the use and abuse of the presidential pardon has sparked debate about justice and accountability since the founding of the republic. Most recently, the cases of Hunter Biden and those who stormed the Capitol on January 6th 2021 have reignited debates about the system of pardons, facing both immense public scrutiny and illustrating the fraught nature of potential executive overreach.
The John Adams Institute and the Fulbright Commission the Netherlands are welcoming Kim Wehle, legal scholar, media commentator and best-selling author of How to Read the Constitution—and Why, for a discussion of her latest book, Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works—and Why. In this timely work, Wehle explores one of the more contentious tools of executive power in the United States: the presidential pardon. In a conversation moderated by Kenneth Manusama, she will examine the historical origins, potential political and ethical dilemmas, prominent cases such as Eugene V. Debs, Chelsea Manning and Dinesh DeSouza, as well as the role the executive pardon plays in the American system of checks and balances. Join us for a wide-ranging evening full of insights on this often underestimated tool of federal power, examining its place within the American political system, and even why the symbolic pardoning of turkeys has become a time-honored Thanksgiving tradition.