That said, I wouldn't hold my breath that he'd pardon the guy soon. Why? He can't.
The rules for federal pardons make that problematic. The guy still has lots of time to serve; pardons usually come AFTER the sentence is completed (or, in the unusual case of Marc Rich, before the Feds could even get their hands on the guy to drag him to the bar of justice). Once they are in the pokey, though, they're stuck there unless their sentence is commuted. Pardons come after they are released and back in society.
Apparently, though (something none of us bothered to check on in weighing in on this thread) he's not even asking for a pardon--he's asking for a commutation of his sentence.
I don't think that will happen any time soon, either--maybe in four years.
Siegelman hopes his commutation request will stand out in Washington because there was never an allegation that he pocketed any of the $500,000 and because of disagreements between different courts over when a campaign contribution becomes a bribe.
...Petitioning for a presidential commutation is more difficult than getting a presidential pardon. The Justice Department reports Obama has approved 22 pardons out of 1,143 requests. But pardons can't be issued until after a federal prisoner has completed a sentence, which wouldn't do Siegelman any good at this point.
http://enewscourier.com/statenews/x946181671/Siegelman-has-long-odds-on-Obama-commutation/print
There are no appeals to commutation requests. If the appeal is turned down, that's it. No second bites of the apple.
Look, I feel badly for the guy--I think he got a raw deal. That said, I don't see him getting out of jail any time soon. I don't see Obama commuting his sentence early in his second term, either.
Had his lawyers negotiated some kind of house arrest arrangement where he agreed to wear an ankle bracelet during all that time he was out on appeal, he'd be done with this shit. THEN he could be asking Obama for one of those pardons.
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