Yesterday, Trump gave another confession. He didn’t mean to, I suppose, but he lacks the capacity to tell the difference between something that legally damns him and something that just makes him look foolish and incompetent on the telly. There is an increasingly strong likelihood that Trump will be convicted at trial for his retention of national security papers and obstruction of justice.
In anticipation of this increasingly likely scenario, some have been calling for the pardon of Donald Trump.
In The Washington Post, Marc A. Thiessen and Danielle Pletka made the case for a Trump pardon from Joe Biden. “In pardoning Trump, Biden would be a true statesman,” they argue. “Sparing the country the ordeal of a trial would go a long way toward repairing the nation’s frayed political fabric. [Biden] would display the kind of leadership that has been missing in Washington. And he would drive Trump crazy. With one action, Biden would eliminate the narrative of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy that is helping to fuel Trump’s political comeback.”
In Politico, meanwhile, Rich Lowry focused mainly on Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination. If one of them manages to defeat Trump in the primaries and then beats Biden in the 2024 general election, the new Republican president would be wise to use the pardon power to drain “poison out of the system” and put a particularly “noxious chapter” in our nation’s history behind us.
Some of Trump’s fellow candidates have similarly said they would, if elected, pardon Trump, though that could be chalked up to weaselly candidate hyperbole.
While there’s a question about whether pardon is even a feasible course, given that Trump may end up with four indictments in three jurisdictions, and a presidential pardon won’t make state court cases go away, assume arguendo that it could be accomplished. Would a pardon be the best solution for the country?
For better or worse, there is something of a comparison in President Ford’s pardon of Nixon. While many felt betrayed by the pardon, others believed that resigning the presidency was sufficient “punishment” for Nixon’s crimes, and that the best thing for the nation was to move forward rather than dwell for however long it would take on the Dick.
To some extent, Trump’s having lost to Biden was a rebuke, although his most serious conduct occurred after having lost the election.
The country is walking a dangerous road, with potentially dire consequences. But as much as we might wish that Joe Biden or a future Republican president could simply use the pardon power to drain the “poison out of the system,” in Lowry’s words, there is no such magic wand. Donald Trump got himself into each of these legal messes, and his fate will now ultimately be decided by judges and juries—just as our collective political fate will be determined to a large extent by how Trump and his most devoted supporters respond to these outcomes.
Should Trump be pardoned, will any national lesson be learned? Will this embolden any future president inclined to believe he is above the law to do as he pleases without repercussion? Is Trump above the law? Should he be, not because he personally deserves any act of mercy but because of the division it will cause in the minds of those who, bizarrely, refuse to believe he’s brought this entirely on himself?
Despite the reasons to be done with Trump, Damon Linker sees no way around what he’s done.
The only way out is through.
Is he right?
*Tuesday Take rules apply, usual caveats.
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A conditional pardon requiring him to exit politics and just shut up sounds good. Unfortunately a conviction with a long jail term may be necessary to give it the teeth it needs to make him realise it’s in his best interest.
Not that I think he’s ever going to see the inside of a prison, where would they put an ex-president, especially with the secret service coverage? They would have to build a cell block in Camp David.
The Secret Service wouldn’t have to protect him in prison. They could delegate the responsibility to the Bureau of Prisons. This has happened before when two agencies had the responsibility to protect someone. For instance, the Secret Service delegated their responsibility for Hillary Clinton to the Federal Protective Service during her time as Secretary of State.
Nope. USSS and DOS Diplomatic Security Service made a deal splitting which protected Secretary Clinton.
As I recall, USSS did the domestic duty, and DSS overseas.
I think there is a significant qualitative difference between being appointed Secretary of State and being in federal (or state) prison. Are you willing to bet that all the prisoners and guards around him would be immune to being suborned? And this is before we discuss the efforts of foreign agents to get into that facility to get access to him.
It’s not only protecting him but the secrets he knows from his time as POTUS, and he has already demonstrated that he is unwilling or incapable (or both) of protecting those.
Banana republic are us.
Think really hard about what an utterly worthless comment this is. Then hang your head in shame.
Shame is relative Scott. Those capable of shame have an ability to engage in self-reflection. Some are ashamed of what they did, others are shamed of what they didn’t do and there are those who are ashamed of what was done in our name.
[Ed. Note: Deleted because it is batshit crazy.]
It’s hard for me to know whether this is idiocy or insanity, but it has no place here.
How many times should Trump be pardoned? Will 1 suffice to ‘drain the poison?’ Or should he be given a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card, suitable for preventing consequences for all current and future crimes? At the very least, shouldn’t any pardon be contingent on Trump publicly declaring his guilt and making some gesture, some act of contrition?
Over 100 years ago, George Burdick refused to accept a Woodrow Wilson presidential pardon because he wished to maintain his 5th Amendment right to remain silent if summoned to the Grand Jury. In 1974, President Ford sent negotiators to see President Nixon to convince him to accept the Ford pardon – which he agreed to accept, complete with its tacit admission of criminal guilt. One can hardly imagine Trump doing either – remaining silent or accepting a President Biden pardon. Yet the mere effort would simply feed further into the “indict your opponent” mantra. Many called Ford brave. In some ways he was. The public view of his pardon has softened over time. But perhaps the real question is this: if a broad presidential pardon (albeit limited by law to federal crimes) were offered and rejected, would we be spared anything as Thiessen and Pletka suggest? Methinks not.
I don’t think any of us know enough about the facts of any of his cases to know whether he is guilty or not.
But the problem is that if Trump is prosecuted for having classified documents in his possession after he left office, then it is hard to give a pass to others who have classified documents in their possession after leaving office as well. And while some would say prosecuting Biden for the documents that were found in his home by a Republican administration would be a case of revenge; others would say it is applying the same standard equally. In other words, the knife cuts both ways.
There are two fatal flaws with your effort to save Trump. First, he’s confessed. Over and over. And over. He can’t help himself. Whether we will ever know the “facts,” the fact that he’s admitted every element of the crimes is more than enough to convict.
Second, there is no comparison between Trump and anyone else. Trump isn’t being prosecuted “for having classified documents in his possession after he left office,” but for lying about it, trying to get his lawyers to lie about it, having his minions hide it and then lying about it some more. You need to stop believing in the fantasy and face reality. Trump did this to himself at every turn.
I’m not trying to save Trump. I don’t think he’d be the Republican nominee in any case. But when polls indicate more than 50% of the country view this as a political prosecution, it is about more than Trump, it is about the nation. If half the country believes there is one standard for Trump, and another for Biden, it will be another step on the path to tearing the country apart.
And the media could ignore Trump. Not cover his rallies, host him for town halls, and pretend he does not exist. I think that would be best for everyone, but it’s like the want him to be the Republican nominee.
What shall we do about the fact that half the people in the polls you reference are too ignorant to understand the elements of the crimes for which Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in his own state? Will a pardon fix stupid? How about ten pardons?
Yeah, a pardon + Trump admitting wrongdoing explicitly not just by virtue of accepting the pardon might convince more people. But otherwise, if people believe the Earth is flat or something similarly ridiculous we shouldn’t pander to them merely because of not wanting unrest (though sadly we often do pander, don’t get me started on alternative “medicine” being regulated professions in some jurisdictions).
At the risk of invoking “but Hillary,” she obstructed justice destroyed evidence, lied about it, actually mocked the investigation (“like with a cloth?”) and the net result was an announcement that “no reasonable prosecutor” would indict.
Darth Cheeto should almost certainly be in jail, and he indicts himself further every passing day… but it is extremely difficult to NOT see this as politically motivated given that the calls for impeachment, for arrest, began before he was even inaugurated, that the previous president to be impeached perjured himself and instructed justice, that a recent Secretary of State did likewise (all of the current talk about Trump’s power to declassify or lack thereof seems to be argued opposite of what it was last time around by everyone on both sides) and walked away.
Lock them all up. Or don’t lock any of them up. Doing otherwise just fans divisive political flames.
I dislike the use of pardons for political purposes, even if it’s for “healing”, or to “drain the poison”, or to help the country move on. As a body politic, we’ve a bad habit of moving on from things that we really ought to have dealt with, and setting ourselves up for greater problems down the road. The promotion of political expediency over principle is, in itself, a kind of poison that badly needs to be drained. I think that, in the long run, it serves our political health better to restrict pardons to matters of principle.
“With one action, Biden would eliminate the narrative of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy that is helping to fuel Trump’s political comeback.”
Not even close.
The argument assumes that believers in the deep state conspiracy are paying attention. Or that they could be dissuaded from any of their wacky conspiracy theories.
If it is not one thing, it will be another.
Whatever happens, let’s enjoy the ride.
I knew that would be your pick.
You get me.
Will a pardon even be on the table if, as some have predicted, Trump goes ballistic and orders his gimps to the courthouse for some J6 type of violence?
Establishment to Trump / Trump to Establishment: “Don’t. Stop. Don’t. Stop.”
His rehabilitation and promotion as a viable candidate over the past two years has been a testament to our system.
Or an indictment of it.
You say message, I say medium, let’s call the whole thing fucked.
I only hope that if Biden, or his press secretary, is asked about a pardon, that the response will be, “we will review any pardon request that comes in through the pardon office. It will then be reviewed on the same terms as any other request. Thus far he has made no request.”
(Nor will Trump ever ask for one.)
The only reason candidates are trotting this out is as an inducement to Trump to give up his desperate reelection bid. I think it is based on the premise that Trump’s desire to avoid prison is the main driver of his reelection bid, and the further premise that his candidacy will be a dismal failure, resulting in a landslide for “progressive” ideologists. Hence, it is not really about the longterm wisdom of a pardon, but a short-term desire to stave off a 2024 election debacle if possible.
Pardon him, assuming it can be done. Any attention paid to him feeds into his distorted sense of self importance and the fervor of his diehard supporters. It might not help, but at least it would be a sort of olive branch extended towards the hope of a future where we might just be able to talk to each other again.
Putting him in prison doesn’t do anything. It won’t stop his nomination or election alone. Only a loss on either of those steps will do it. That’s where the focus should be, and a pardon at least stands some chance to shut him down or will allow Biden a ready-made response to Trump’s inevitable cries of persecution. Allowing Trump near our nation’s secrets again should never happen, but these prosecutions are a distraction to the main task.
Offer it up. Let’s move on and get this shitshow over with.
American politics has become the Trump show. He is the star. Joe Biden is a bit-part player who amuses us with pratfalls. Ron Desantis is the bumbling sidekick who plots against his mentor in vain. The MSM is the straight man who sets up the hero to deliver his punch lines.
Trump is the star, and with or without a pardon, will never see the inside of a jail cell. Playing out the typical “heroes journey” portrayed in every great movie, our hero (or antihero for those who love to hate him) will flirt with disaster again and again. We will be on the edges of our seats, fearing (or hoping) that he is lost, and then cheering (or crying) as he miraculously pulls off another impossible save. Talk show hosts will say, without a hint of irony, “The walls are closing in,” and we will believe them.
This state of affairs was succinctly described by a bush-era philosopher:
“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Trump is one of history’s actors. A reality TV star playing the greatest role of his life. The greatest entertainer of our generation. Sit back and enjoy the show.
I’m taking advantage of it being Tuesday…
“I’ll take ‘Stupid Shit Trump Said’ for $200.”
Host: “It was a very secure bathroom. Very clean and very secure. Some people say it was a perfect bathroom.”
“What is, ‘How did Trump describe the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago where he kept classified documents?'”
Host: “No, I’m sorry, but the correct answer is “How did Trump describe the bathroom that he and his Secret Service detail shared in fed’l prison.”
The argument that pardoning Trump puts the past behind us and washes away our sins seems incredibly naive.
Trump is the symptom and not the disease. You aren’t curing anything by pardoning the man. Even taking these arguments at face value, at best, it’s a bandaid. At worst, it’s further leverage for both sides to beat the other up on.
* I’m Tuesday talking on a Wednesday. May god have mercy on my soul.