In Their Own Words

Bush:

“If there’s a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is…. If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.” [Emphasis mine.]

Now we know what he meant.

Bush:

“I don’t believe my role [as governor] is to replace the verdict of a jury with my own, unless there are new facts or evidence of which a jury was unaware, or evidence that the trial was somehow unfair.” [Emphasis mine.]

Good thing he's President and not a governor anymore.

Bush on Karla Faye Tucker:

“Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, `don't kill me.'" [Emphasis mine.]

But that's because she wasn't one of our people. Don't you know we have different rules for them?

DOJ guidelines for commutations:

Section 1-2.113 Standards for Considering Commutation Petitions

A commutation of sentence reduces the period of incarceration; it does not imply forgiveness of the underlying offense, but simply remits a portion of the punishment. It has no effect upon the underlying conviction and does not necessarily reflect upon the fairness of the sentence originally imposed. Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding. [Emphasis added.]

A guideline that the President can and did willfully ignore.