Trump granting leniency to faithful supporters in widespread pardon sweep
Pots, Kettles, and Presidents:
The Unprecedented Pardon Power of Donald Trump
From reality stars to law enforcement officials, the list of those receiving pardons from President Donald Trump is, well, interesting to say the least. And controversial. And downright shocking at times.
Say goodbye to your felony records, tax evaders, bank fraudsters, and even a nursing home executive. These are just a handful of the folks who've been granted a fresh start under Trump's pardon power.
And while presidents have doled out questionable pardons in the past, Trump takes the cake - or should I say, he takes the entire bakery - with the sheer volume and velocity at which he's handing out these get-out-of-jail-free cards, with very little regard for the traditionally accepted criteria of rehabilitation and justice.
"The pardon power has always been a bit problematic," said Professor Kermit Roosevelt of the University of Pennsylvania, "but with Trump, it's taken to a whole new level with an almost brazen disregard for the rules."
Among those on Trump's pardon list are Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive who served prison time for tax crimes. His mother attended a million-dollar-per-plate fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, a modern-day Roman orgy, according to naysayers.
The Chrisley clan, those charming reality TV stars, were also given a break by Trump, despite serving time for fraud and tax evasion. Their daughter, Savannah, a Trump supporter and 2020 RNC speaker, seems to have been instrumental in earning her parents' freedom.
More than half a dozen former Republican lawmakers convicted of various crimes have also received pardons, along with a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years for bribery.
Trump wasted no time exercising his pardon power, granting more than 1,500 pardons to those charged with storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The following day, he pardoned Ross Ulbricht, serving a life sentence for running the Silk Road online marketplace, which facilitated countless drug sales.
Well, It's Just Another Deal
Back when Nixon was in hot water, Gerald Ford's pardon of him raised some eyebrows. So did Bill Clinton's pardon of a commodities trader whose wife was a major Democratic donor. And let's not forget Biden's pardon of his own son and family members, which caught a few folks off guard.
But Trump takes the cake for quantity, shamelessness, and sheer audacity. According to Barbara McQuade, a former prosecutor now teaching law at the University of Michigan, "Trump is in a class by himself in both scope and shamelessness."
"As long as a defendant can provide something of value in return, no crime seems too serious," McQuade said in a Bloomberg opinion column.
When asked what criteria are being used to recommend pardons, Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin warned about potential political favoritism, stating, "It at least appears that you are using the Office of the Pardon Attorney to dole out pardons as favors to the President's loyal political followers and most generous donors."
[1] PBS NewsHour. (2019, February 16). A history of presidential pardons—and controversy. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-history-of-presidential-pardons-and-controversy
[2] The Associated Press. (2021, January 20). Trump pardons 153 people, including George Papadopoulos and Steve Bannon. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-pardons-153-people-including-george-papadopoulos-steve/story?id=75381698
- The pardon power, long considered controversial, has been escalated to new levels under the administration of President Donald Trump, with a high volume of pardons granted to individuals like tax evaders, bank fraudsters, and even a nursing home executive, sparking controversy and shock.
- In the realm of lifestyle news, the Chrisley clan, popular reality TV stars, were pardoned by President Trump despite their conviction for fraud and tax evasion, raising questions about political influence and the criteria used for pardons.
- In the realm of opinion, it is argued that Trump's unprecedented use of the pardon power, marked by quantity, shamelessness, and audacity, not only breaches traditional criteria of rehabilitation and justice but also risks political favoritism and corruption in policy-and-legislation and politics.
