Letters to the Editor
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re: Impeachment vs. Desertion
Yellow Dog ,
"but isn't this grounds for impeachment? If a president lies about his military past during and after his campaign does this constitute grounds for impeachment?"
"As Anonymouse made clear by quoting the UCMJ on page 12 of comments, Smirky's all-but-proven behavior does, indeed, constitute desertion and there is NO statute of limitations."
Indeed it IS grounds for impeachment...HOWEVER, you yourself SAID it...ALL-BUT-PROVEN...and THAT is the crux of the matter...NOTHING has been PROVEN as yet.
That's what I've been trying to say. To say someone is a deserter WITHOUT due process is NOT grounds for impeachment. One must PROVE a crime BEFORE impeachment...and one must prove desertion before punishment is administered.
Oh and desertion during wartime CAN BE punishable by death...however the last time this was administered was during WWII.
Further in January of 1977 President Jimmy Carter declared an unconditional amnesty for draft resisters, both accused and those who could face possible prosecution. Later that year, he set up the two stage "pardon" process for military absentees.
Once again, draft evaders and military absentees were treated differently.
Draft evaders were granted unconditional amnesty automatically if there were no other legal charges pending. They would not have a criminal record. Young men who were considered draft evaders did not have to apply (in any formal sense) to get amnesty. It was a blanket amnesty granted to all draft evaders whether they had been engaged in a legal process or not. This is why no figure exists for the real number of draft evaders who benefited from the Carter program. This includes people who were never prosecuted, people who were investigated and not prosecuted, people who were indicted, people for whom charges had been brought, etc. The only restriction is that the person not have other (non-draft evasion) charges pending against them. So a draft evader who had criminal charges pending for participating in a protest would not have those protest-related charges dropped, only the draft evasion charges.
Similarly, military deserters and AWOL's could apply for a limited pardon if there were no other charges pending. Under the Carter program deserters would automatically receive a less than honorable discharge ("Undesirable"), but could apply for an upgrade later. The upgrade would not be automatic and few veterans received them. They were barred from receiving veterans benefits, unlike many other vets with less than honorable discharges.
So the worst you could do would be to give him a less than honorable discharge with NO other punishment.