President Trump
Donald Trump Senate candidate Ossoff backs Trump’s call for K-checks The White House wishes Birx well after she announces retirement Pelosi responds to Trump: Let’s aim for K-checks ‘this week’ MOREThe party’s pardons and commutations this week sparked an outcry from civil rights groups and legal experts who consider it the latest example of Trump using the powers of the presidency to benefit his political allies.
Trump announced one wave of executive leniency late Tuesday, including 15 pardons and five commutations. Beneficiaries included three GOP congressmen who were individually convicted or found guilty of various corruption charges, two individuals involved in the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election investigation, and four ex-security contractors convicted for their involvement in the 2007 murders of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.
The president has generally exercised his powers of pardon for the benefit of supporters or those associated with the White House. Tuesday night’s announcement marked more of the same, experts said.
“Past presidents have pardoned supporters and allies, and they have not always relied on the Office of the Pardon Attorney,” said Kermit Roosevelt, a professor at the Carey Law School at the University of Pennsylvania. “But Trump has taken it to a new level. No previous president has used pardon power in such a partisan fashion or to pardon those whose misconduct was so closely associated with the president.”
Some of the president’s pardons on Tuesday seemed blatantly political. He forgave the former Rep. Chris Collins
Christopher (Chris) Carl Collins Trump Rejects Emergency Aid Bill, Calls on Congress to Raise Stimulus Money Trump Pardons Individuals Investigated in Russia, Ex-GOP Lawmakers A Biden Strategy for True Global Health Security MORE (RN.Y.), who was the first congressman to back Trump’s 2016 bid for president. Collins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lies to the FBI in 2019 and is serving a 26-month sentence.
Trump also pardoned the former Rep. Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter Trump Rejects Relief Bill, Calls on Congress to Increase Stimulus Money Trump Pardons Individuals Indicted in Russia, Ex-GOP Lawmaker Issa Defeats Campa-Najjar in California House Race MORE (R-Calif.), Another early supporter, despite the ex-congressman pleading guilty to campaign money misuse last year.
“For corrupt politicians looking to enrich themselves in the Washington DC swamp, it’s good to have Donald Trump as a friend,” Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at the progressive think tank Public Citizen, said in a statement.
Former Trump campaign advisor George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios Papadopoulos Trump pardon George Papadopoulos in last party pardon Trump rejects emergency relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Trump pardon on individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers MORE was pardoned after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigations in connection with the Russia investigation led by former special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) MuellerBarr taps attorney investigating Russia’s origins, while Special Counsel McCabe’s Toobin warns McCabe is in ‘dangerous condition’ with Trump encouraged CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while summoning Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting LAKE. Papadopoulos, who was a vocal defender of Trump, was in prison for 12 days in 2018. He was the first of six Trump employees charged with Mueller’s extensive 22-month investigation.
The pardon of the ex-contractors involved in the murders of Iraqi civilians led to reprimands, in particular from civil rights groups. The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, called it “an unscrupulous act of moral madness.”
The four ex-contractors worked for Blackwater, a company founded by Erik Prince, one of Trump’s allies and the brother of the Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVosBiden Announces Connecticut Commissioner Cardona as Education Nominee Trump Pardons Individuals Indicted in Russia Investigation, Ex-GOP Lawmakers Trump Selects Hicks, Bondi, Grenell and Other Allies for More Positions.
“The idea of the power of pardon is really to deal with injustice and correct injustice or show mercy when appropriate,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics watchdog group in Washington.
“And in the case of Donald Trump, it has been turned upside down,” he continued. “There are a few pardons that appear to be based on inordinately long sentences for drug offenses, although even those have come through connections rather than the regular process.”
The most notable example is Alice Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a drug offense. Johnson’s Leniency was widely celebrated, however Kim Kardashian West
Kimberly (Kim) Noel Kardashian West Dozens of Democrats urge Biden to quickly end federal death penalty Federal government executes Louisiana man who murdered 2-year-old daughter Kim Kardashian West, criticizes execution of Brandon Bernard MORE had argued strongly for it. Johnson later spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, after which Trump gave her full pardon.
There have been other lesser-known figures that Trump has used his pardon power to take advantage. These include Roy Wayne McKeever, who was serving a year in prison for using a telephone to distribute marijuana, and Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber who later set up an organization to help convicts release into society.
But Trump’s most high-profile leniency acts have mostly gone around the official pardon bureau and extended to allies and supporters.
Trump had already pardoned Roger Stone
Roger Jason Stone Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers Barr exit points to further uproar under Trump Barr goes out with ‘love letter’ to Trump MORE and Michael Flynn, two associates and supporters investigated by Trump’s own Justice Department. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, while Stone was convicted of lying to Congress.
He also forgave Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who was one of the president’s early supporters, as well as conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.
Experts recognize that it is not uncommon for presidents to extend the power of the pardon to political allies and do so during their final days or weeks in office. They pointed to former President Clinton, who pardoned more than 100 people on his last day in office and was scrutinized for his decision to grant leniency to Marc Rich, whose ex-wife was a major donor to the Democrats.
But as with many aspects of the presidency, Trump has pushed the boundaries, and ethical watchdogs are concerned that he will continue to do so in his final weeks in office. Trump is reportedly considering granting preemptive pardons to his adult children and his personal attorney, and legal scientists have debated whether the president could pard himself to avoid charges if the next attorney general were to investigate his actions in office.
“Like so many other things in our system of checks and balances, the power of grace depended on restraint and common sense and commitment to democratic and ethical ideals by the president and those around him,” said Bookbinder. “But as with so many other facets of the presidency, it has turned out that when you have no judgment and restraint, there are far fewer crash barriers and fewer limits than we thought there were.”