Pardon Me?
I mean that title facetiously, of course, since I have not recently committed any crimes for which I would need any sort of official pardon. But then, neither did Dr. Anthony Fauci.
But before I get to addressing the flurry of pardons issued this week by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, I would like to dismiss one issue that has been raised in the midst of it all (indeed, because it is so easy to dismiss). Some have decided that "pardon reform" is now necessary, to rein in what is essentially an unchecked power of U.S. presidents.
It sounds nice, on the face of it. Put some legal guardrails around the ability of a president to erase any and all federal crimes, prosecuted or not. What guardrails would be necessary or beneficial is an open question, but to me it's not even worth debating. I say this not in defense of any of the pardons issued this week, but because the process to change this so is so hard that actually reforming the presidential ability to pardon would be a near-impossibility.
First, let's take a look at where the power to pardon comes from. Here is the relevant text, from Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution:
The President... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
You'll note that the pardon power is not actually unlimited. There is one exception spelled out -- a president cannot pardon someone if Congress decides to impeach and convict them. Other than that, there are no limits.
What this means is that Congress can't just pass a law limiting the power of the pardon. Even if they could, they'd almost certainly have to pass it with a two-thirds majority, since it's hard to see any president actually signing a law limiting his or her own executive power in this manner. But it's a moot point, since changing the pardon power would actually require a constitutional amendment. That's the only way to change the basic text of anything in the Constitution, after all.
Constitutional amendments require three-fourths of the state legislatures to ratify them. And in our politically polarized and tribal country, that is simply not going to happen. Red states would never ratify such an amendment when a Republican was president, and blue states would refuse to do so for a Democratic president. So the entire subject might be fodder for law students to kick around late at night as a thought exercise, but the chances of it happening are pretty close to zero.
But back to what's been happening this week. First, Joe Biden issued some "pre-emptive pardons," which were intended to essentially offer immunity to certain people that the incoming administration might target with baseless investigations and prosecutions. The list included members of Biden's own family, those who worked on or testified to the House January 6th Committee, and others Trump and his Justice Department have threatened to put in legal jeopardy for various reasons (such as Dr. Fauci).
Then the transfer of power happened, and President Donald Trump issued pardons or commutations for all of the people who participated in the January 6th insurrection attempt. It did not matter the seriousness of the crimes they had been convicted of (or pled guilty to), so this meant pardoning hundreds of people who had attacked police officers in the line of duty. Pardons were issued to all but 14 of them -- the most serious offenders of them all, who merely had their sentences commuted instead of receiving a full presidential pardon.
This came as somewhat of a surprise to many Republicans, who had assumed that Trump would restrain himself from pardoning those who had attacked cops. This included even his own vice president, who a mere week ago said of the January 6th criminals: "If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned." Trump's pick for attorney general also assured senators at her hearing last week: "the president [Trump] does not like people who abuse police officers either." Both turned out to be wrong, of course.
After Trump issued the pardons, most Republicans stayed quiet (although a few brave souls in the Senate did condemn them to some extent or another). One police organization that had endorsed Trump put out a statement condemning them, stating:
Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families.
When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence.
Which strikes right to the heart of the danger of these pardons. The Supreme Court has already decreed new kinglike powers for the office of the presidency. According to them, presidents cannot ever be charged with any crimes for carrying out "official acts." Since the president can also pardon others, presidents will now be able to order anyone to do anything -- and if the order is carried out (even if it is illegal), then anyone who needs one can expect a full pardon immediately afterwards. And "official acts" has not been adequately defined, which means it could cover just about anything (remember, during oral arguments before the Supreme Court decided this case, the prospect of a president ordering SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival was openly discussed in court).
Of course, before Trump arrived on the political scene, any such scenario would have been unthinkable. "No American president would ever do such a thing!" would have been the standard response. But with Trump in the Oval Office again -- after spurring an insurrection attempt, successfully delaying being tried for it, winning re-election, and pardoning all the would-be insurrectionists -- such at thing is not only possible but terrifyingly possible.
Which brings us to the Biden pardons. Again, in a world where Donald Trump was still hosting a television reality show, Biden's pardons might deserve widespread condemnation. "Why would anyone accept a pre-emptive pardon when they did nothing wrong?" would be the conventional way of looking at it.
But, obviously, we live in unconventional times. Donald Trump campaigned on being an agent of "retribution." Biden's family members had already been harassed for years by zealous investigations that never found any wrongdoing prosecutable in court. People like Liz Cheney had also been threatened with the weaponization of the Justice Department under a second Trump term.
Pre-emptively pardoning them all means the Justice Department (and Trump) now have their hands tied. They will not be able to baselessly hound people on Trump's enemies list. This is why Biden acted.
This sets a precedent, which is why people have been condemning Biden for doing so. Pre-emptively pardoning family members and political allies may well become a standard thing in American politics now. When Trump eventually leaves office in four years, if he pardons his entire extended family and all his political cronies, he'll be able to point to Biden's pardons as justification.
But what else was Biden supposed to do, really? If he had refused to issue these pardons, then it very well may have led to people facing years and years of investigations and possible court cases just for doing their jobs. This would mean millions of dollars of legal fees, which wouldn't be a severe financial problem for some of the people Biden pardoned, but would have for many others (such as staffers that worked on the January 6th committee, or people who had testified to it). This would be a serious hardship even if these people were eventually found innocent and exonerated.
The power to pardon any federal crimes is as close to bestowing a kinglike power as the Constitution gets. Presidents may issue pardons for any reason, or indeed for no reason at all. The concept of "pre-emptive pardons" may indeed become a horrible legal precedent in the future, but in this case it is pretty easy to see why Biden chose to issue them. In Trump's case, however, pardoning all the would-be insurrectionists sends the signal that anyone can commit political violence of the worst kind against even federal police officers (as long as it is done in support of Trump, that is) and not ever expect to have to pay a legal price for doing so. That is an even more horrific precedent to set.
Which is why I end on a rather alarming footnote. Because the most notorious January 6th participant -- the so-called "QAnon Shaman" -- posted the following on social media, when he learned of his reprieve:
I JUST GOT THE NEWS FROM MY LAWYER...
I GOT A PARDON BABY!
THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!
NOW I AM GONNA BUY SOME MOTHA FU*KING GUNS!!!
As I said, while Biden's pardon precedent could lead to future abuses, Trump's pardon precedent could lead to much more serious consequences, and in a very short time.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
JL,
do you believe that undocumented migrant workers should be declared "enemy combatants" for the purpose of invalidating the birthright citizenship of their children?
So, what you are asking me is if illegal immigrant criminals should be declared "enemy combatants" for the purposes of getting rid of birthright citizenship for their children??
NO... Absolutely NOT... Completely and Unequivocally NO...
We should declare illegal immigrant criminals to be "enemy combatants" because they are a real and present threat to the economic security and the real-time security of American citizens..
The fact that it will allow us to get rid of the COMPLETELY OUTDATED concept of birthright citizenship is simply an added bonus..
"Sauce for the goose"
-Captain Spock, STAR TREK II The Wrath Of Khan
Let's scale down the issue to a local one..
Would YOU allow a criminal family to break into your home and eat all of your food and run up exorbitant utility bills and threaten the safety and security of your family??
Of course you wouldn't.. No SANE person would...
Yet, that is EXACTLY what you Democrats support, writ large....
Illegal Immigrant Criminals breaking into this country, using all our resources that then CANNOT be used for Americans in trouble and running up our bills..
There is a VERY SIMPLE and VERY EASY way for these illegal immigrant criminals NOT to be declared "enemy combatants" and NOT be thrown in jail and then deported...
"QUIT BREAKING THE LAW, ASSHOLE!!!!!"
-Jim Carrey, LIAR LIAR
See how simple that is??
MILLIONS and MILLIONS of immigrants have followed the rules and obtained their citizenship LEGALLY... According to the rules..
Why the FRAK do these LUSER illegal immigrant criminals think they can simply jump the line and bypass all the tens of thousands of people who are following the rules!!??
"MY GOODNESS PEOPLE!!! THE ARROGANCE OF WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US TO DO IS MIND-BOGGLING!!!"
-General Hank Landry, STARGATE SG-1: CONTINUUM
Oh yes.. They have sob stories... Sob stories are like assholes.. EVERY ONE has one.. And the majority of these illegal immigrant criminals ARE one..
Do we REALLY want a bunch of arrogant criminals who think they can simply give the finger to the rules streaming across our borders???
Real PATRIOTIC Americans say "HELL NO!!"
Of course, Trump/America hating Democrats who suffer from PTDS say "Hell yea!!!"
As far as the issue of birthright citizenship goes, there IS legal precedent to support President Trump's Executive Order...
There is a defensible and logical argument to be made that the Amendment was never intended to apply to illegal immigrant criminals who entered this country illegally..
Of course, YA'ALL will whine and cry and stamp your feet and scream hysterically that there IS no defensible argument..
But you would say that irregardless of the facts, due to ya'all's PTDS and Trump/America hate..
And let's face it.. Ya'all don't have ANY kind of credibility with ya'all's arguments of late..
I mean, ya'all actually BELIEVED that Headboard Harris actually had a chance to win the election!! :D
So, ya'all can see why yer credibility is in the toilet...
So, let's let the COURTS decide..
THAT is how DEMOCRACY works..
WHY are ya'all so afraid to let the courts decide??
Because ya'all know that ya'all will LOSE when the courts decide..
BECAUSE ya'all have absolutely ZERO legal, moral or ethical legs to stand on...
The Executive Order is being challenged in courts..
The courts will decide in favor of PRESIDENT Trump and the order will stand..
Why don't we just skip to the end where ya'all accept the inevitability just as ya'all accepted the FACT that PRESIDENT Trump is your President...
Mmmmm kay??? :D
Yunno what is GREAT about Basement Biden's pardons??
NOW criminals like Fauci, Milley, Cheney, Schitt et al can be dragged before HOUSE committees and NOT be afforded 5th Amendment protections..
Because, while they cannot be prosecuted, there is absolutely NOTHING that says they cannot be INVESTIGATED..
The House can drag them into committee and question them under oath...
And if they refuse to appear, THEN they can be thrown in jail..
If they lie under oath THEN they can be prosecuted for THAT and THEN they can be thrown in jail...
So, while these scumbags cannot be prosecuted in court, they CAN be prosecuted in the court of public opinion..
And THEN their lives will be ruined!! :D
So, Basement Biden's pardons might actually work out better..
Because NOW these Trump/America hating scumbags can be dragged thru the wringer and there will be NO 5th Amendment protections for them...
And after ALL that is said and done....
Then YOUR PRESIDENT Trump can take a page out of the Democrat playbook and talk some STATE Attorney Generals into prosecuting these Trump/America hating scumbags in STATE court where a FEDERAL PARDON don't mean DICK!!! :D
And ALL of this will happen because Democrats couldn't see past their Trump/America hate and their PTDS and established some really severe Lawfare Persecutions....
Congrats, Democrats... You have dug yerselves a HUGE hole...
And NOW PRESIDENT Trump will BURY ya'all in it!! :D
What a great time to be an American, eh?? :D
Are you a real patriot, Michale? Did you buy enough Trump coins and MAGA merch? I think, probably not. You are to the cult a "lesser patriot" and not to be confused with a "real patriot." But for just four easy payments of $9.99 you too can be on the road to true patriotism!
By the way maybe you can clear up Trump's view of violence: are beating cops and hiring hitmen fine with Trump or only if there is some quid pro quo involved?
And reason #238 to be happy to be an American..
DEI is dead!!!
And I don't mean SUPERNATURAL dead...
I mean DEAD dead...
"Ain't it kewl!?"
-John Travolta, BROKEN ARROW
But is is so dead it can't come up from the grave like a zombie? It will fuel your nightmares, zombie DEI from the grave...
The Supreme Court has already decreed new kinglike powers for the office of the presidency.
Because the Democrats asked them to rule..
You have a problem with that??
Take it up with your Democrats..
This came as somewhat of a surprise to many Republicans, who had assumed that Trump would restrain himself from pardoning those who had attacked cops. This included even his own vice president, who a mere week ago said of the January 6th criminals: "If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned." Trump's pick for attorney general also assured senators at her hearing last week: "the president [Trump] does not like people who abuse police officers either." Both turned out to be wrong, of course.
Not factually accurate...
Why can't you stay with the facts??
Pre-emptively pardoning them all means the Justice Department (and Trump) now have their hands tied. They will not be able to baselessly hound people on Trump's enemies list. This is why Biden acted.
Again.. Not factually accurate...
Their CRIMES can still be investigated.. They can STILL be hauled in front of House committees and required to testify under oath..
And if they refuse to appear or if they lie under oath, they CAN be prosecuted for that and the CAN be thrown in jail...
And that doesn't take into account that STATE AGs can go after these scumbag criminals in STATE court..
THAT is a page right out of Democrats playbook...
Ya'all SEE what Democrats have started??
When Trump eventually leaves office in four years, if he pardons his entire extended family and all his political cronies, he'll be able to point to Biden's pardons as justification.
Yep.. Exactly.. As per Democrat norm, Democrats look at the immediate fix and care not for the long term consequences...
But what else was Biden supposed to do, really? If he had refused to issue these pardons, then it very well may have led to people facing years and years of investigations and possible court cases just for doing their jobs.
You mean, like Democrats did to President Trump???
You mean like that??? :eyeroll:
Democrats started this....NOW they are whining and crying hysterically because they think it's going to be done to them..
And I sure as shit hope it does...
What could Biden do???
If he TRULY believed these scumbags were innocent, he would have allowed them their day in court..
But Biden couldn't DO that because he KNOWS they are guilty as sin...
Hence, the pardons...
This would mean millions of dollars of legal fees, which wouldn't be a severe financial problem for some of the people Biden pardoned, but would have for many others (such as staffers that worked on the January 6th committee, or people who had testified to it). This would be a serious hardship even if these people were eventually found innocent and exonerated.
Guess what, sunshine??
That is STILL going to happen...
ALL the pardons mean is that these criminal scumbags can't hide behind the 5th Amendment..
So Basement Biden made it HARDER for these people.. Not easier.. :D
I JUST GOT THE NEWS FROM MY LAWYER...
I GOT A PARDON BABY!
THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!
NOW I AM GONNA BUY SOME MOTHA FU*KING GUNS!!!
Yea?? So???
I am sure the scumbag Democrat BLM activists that killed cops and said NOW I AM GONNA BUY A PRIUS!!!!
So????
:eyeroll:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. unless their parents cut the line to immigrate.
preventing babies from having the rights of the country in which they're born is evil, no matter what the initial goal was.
...nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted, unless your parents went from there to here without permission, before you were even born.
i mean, why stop with nullification of the fourteenth amendment when there are so many more constitutional amendments to abuse?
The other part of illegal immigration is visa overstays have been generally higher than illegal border crossings over the last couple of decades. An illegal border crossing is a misdemeanor and a re-cross a felony. A visa overstay is a civil violation. A good portion of Michale's illegal immigrant "criminals" are not in fact criminals at all and statistically commit crimes at a much lower rate than normal citizens.
Of course it's all just political theater that ruins lives. Until some Big Ag and construction CEO's go to prison for hiring illegals, nothing is going to change in the long term...
So, why didn't Biden pardon himself? I mean, he's the head of the Biden crime family, right? Heh.
That up there was just me trying to be funny, again. :-)
nypoet22
7
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. unless their parents cut the line to immigrate.
Trump's unconstitutional Executive Orders also severely curtail the options of those looking to enter the United States legally and totally and completely undercut his prattling Orwellian doublespeak bullshit claiming to "like legal immigration."
preventing babies from having the rights of the country in which they're born is evil, no matter what the initial goal was.
An Executive Order cannot change an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If it could, then the next Democratic POTUS could obviously easily undo said "evil" on "Day One" with yet another Executive Order repealing it with a signature.
The gullible unthinking rubes suffering from the terminal inability to "connect the dots" but who are "all in" with the asinine idea that a POTUS can change the plainly written language of the U.S. Constitution via an Executive Order might want to "clue in" to the fact that their "Precious Second" is indeed also definitely an amendment to the Constitution and could also be thusly changed via Executive Order in like manner.
IYKYK, and I know that you know: Not rocket science. :)