While the government stopped short of bringing criminal charges against Mr. Cohen, it has not absolved him of responsibility for his firm's suspected wrongdoing.
Larkin said the apology had not absolved the government.
And she does not absolve him for his crimes.
And just because her protagonist has warned readers about the phenomenon of apophenia — that is, "the perception of meaningful connections where in fact there are none" — it does not absolve the author for creating a literary world that ultimately feels chaotic and random, no matter how accurately it might resemble our own.
Still, even if it turns out that the attackers were all rooted in India, and derived all of their training and supplies from mainland Indian sources (unlikely, but conceivable), this does not absolve Pakistan of responsibility for a foreign and intelligence policy, pursued relentlessly for twenty years, that deliberately sponsors and nurtures terrorist groups.
The right to free expression does not absolve people from responsibility for what they choose to present.
That may be giving Ellsberg more credit than is due, but it's good to hear that gravelly, meticulous voice again explain why he could not absolve himself of responsibility for anything that he had done in his life.
In the case of Wal-Mart, the company may be "better" than its competitors at exploiting market trends, but that does not absolve it from responsibility for the consequences of the trends that it helps to promote.
Kaare Willoch, a former conservative prime minister, said Mr Stoltenberg had "every possibility" to tighten security in the government quarter during his six years in office.Mr Stoltenberg's admirable behaviour in the aftermath of the attacks does not absolve him of responsibility for negligence, says Tor Bomann-Larsen, a writer and academic.
"Mr. Anglin's travels around the globe do not absolve him of responsibility for the harm he caused in the United States," said David Dinielli, one of Gersh's attorneys from the SPLC.
