This may be of use/interest to some of you discussing Pardons etc…
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardon-information-and-instructions
and the ‘Contact Us’ section may help get you some of the answers you are seeking (there is also an FAQ section too).
That page is for the “normal” pardon process, which Saucier wasn’t actually eligible for. What he got was a “political” pardon, which bypasses the whole vetting process described on that page. Whether the political pardons are qualitatively different than normal pardons in terms of their implications is an issue people could argue about, but I’d say most don’t.
I don’t think that’s right at all. There’s the presidential pardon. That page outlines the procedures for seeking it. The president may waive the requirements but that doesn’t make them irrelevant either.
I think what I said matches what you said, just with different words. There’s one pardon with different paths to getting it. The terms “normal” and “political” refer to the paths, not the pardons. Some might argue that the path you followed to get the pardon colors the pardon, but not me.