Maybe the ex-president shouldn’t have been such a criminal, Mitt.
Just shows how much of a mistake pardoning Nixon was the first time. Now there’s a precedent for giving Presidents immunity to save face.
how is this news? we already knew Romney was a turd
It may surprise you that a very large number of Republican politicians have spoken ill of Trump in the past, so it always makes it into the news when they flop on the issue and go back to subservience.
I appreciate all the comments here, but consider another perspective. If there were a federal crime committed (I’m not following the news very closely) and a president can pardon before a trial is performed, then a pardon from Biden would be a total power move. Given that trump would probably either weasel out of the conviction or it would be a slap on the wrist fine, this puts Biden in a position of power over trump. This would also crush trump’s ego if not publicly, it would eat at him in private.
Trump has 91 felony allegations across 4 different state and federal cases against him right now. Many of which are directly related to him trying to overthrow our democracy.
Burn him to the ground; I don’t care about his legacy as a president. He was a shitty one anyway and was never actually elected by popular vote.
I would be appalled if he was pardoned, and I’m already rather annoyed at the current state of the prosecution taking this long.
Wow, this is an impressively stupid take.
Ah yes. Fewer consequences for the rich is what we need.
Well, Trump could just try not being a criminal if they care so much about prosecuting an ex-president
When you think the law doesn’t apply to you then of course you’d think you can do anything you wanted and never be a criminal.
Ford pardoned Nixon. He didn’t get elected to a full term after finishing the remainder of Nixons. We can argue about if the pardon was the final nail in the coffin (The economy shitting the bed didn’t help, I’m sure.), but I think we can agree it was definitely one of the nails.
Nixon also resigned. There was no chance of him coming back but it didn’t do anything to convince conservatives in the 70s. The movie Dick is a great primer on how Nixon’s resignation radicalized Republicans.
Doesn’t there have to be a conviction in order for there to be a pardon? Or is that a myth?
That’s what I was going to say. Pretty sure it’s true. I read something a while ago about people who had been pardoned, not realizing that it’s an admission of guilt. I think a person can even turn down a pardon on that basis, but I’m not positive on that last part.
I guess Biden would have to say he WOULD pardon him, to head off any charges.
None of that is true. Nixon was never charged, let alone convicted of any crimes. And pardons can be completely general and not even specify an explicit crime at all. President Ford’s pardon of Nixon, for example, was for “all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974” So, no. Neither charges or convictions are required, nor even a crime at all.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I see, but the guilt IS still a thing.
What about the person declining the pardon part?
Nixon got a full pardon and I don’t think he was ever charged.
And there ya go groveling to your orange master, Romney. What a spineless bitch.
Ford was, based on the behavior of the Reagan, W Bush, and Trump administrations, entirely wrong to pardon Nixon. There is no reason to repeat his mistake.
I actually had an idea that Biden could pardon Trump, then Trump couldn’t plead the 5th when called as a witness against anyone else. So he would have the choice of truthful answers or perjury.
Seeing how this current judge has been handling him with kid gloves I wouldn’t expect anything bad to happen to him even if he did perjure himself.
Notice how he is minding every p and a, crossing every t and dotting every i?
That’s so that, when he’s done, there will be nothing to appeal.
They will still try, but try and achieve are so different they don’t even share a letter.
Notice how he is minding every p and a
Pints and asses? 🤨
Remember: no Republicans are arguing Trump didn’t break the law.
They’re arguing he shouldn’t be punished for it.
They’re arguing he shouldn’t be punished for it
They are really arguing that all Republicans shouldn’t be punished but if you aren’t in the club you get the full blast of the law.
law blast
It’s what justice craves.
yes it’s called Fascism
Yea I think he has to be found guilty of the crime to be pardoned, right?
I think you have to admit guilt? Which is bullshit because the purpose of a pardon isnt to get guilty people off but to act as a check against judicial power. I’m not sure though.
Nope.
A pardon stops all punishment from the judicial system. You don’t have to plead guilty and criminal proceedings stop. A pardon further undoes any legal handicap (for example, you can own firearms again).
That said, if you accept a pardon you can’t plead the fifth when it comes to details related to the crime you’ve committed.
There’s also a commutation, which is weaker than a pardon. Instead of having the crime fully forgiven you are simply let out of jail with the understanding you committed the crime and must face follow up consequences (like not being able to own firearms).
Finally, there are also conditional pardons. Those are ones where the president could impose a “you must plead guilty” style rule before the pardon can be applied. He could also apply a rule that says “you must perform 10 jumping jacks”.
Pardon powers are some of the most broad we have in the US.
About the only limitation is you can’t pardon for future crimes.
About the only limitation is you can’t pardon for future crimes.
Yeah, you really want Roberts’ SCOTUS to rule on that?
Roberts’
Damnit, that’s what I typed but I guess it got autocorrected. Thanks!
deleted by creator
Thank you.
Maybe, maybe not
I think you’re remembering some instance where a pardon can expose the recipient to civil liability. Or at least it was theorized it might…
Bannon, stone or one of them.
Bruh I don’t know what I remember
No. Nixon was never charged, but he was pardoned.
What? Anyway, that would never happen.
Yeah, who just pardons a criminal ex-presi- wait… never mind.
Just when you thought he wasn’t half bad.
Anybody who thought that was half stupid.
