So one of the last things Trump did was pardon a whole shitton of scumbags.

[conuly]

But not himself, because you can't do that.

Anyway, putting his self-serving pardons aside, I have a serious question about how pardons work. Theoretically, could an incoming president say "Look, we all know that the War on Drugs is both racist and bullshit, and also racist bullshit" and then grant a blanket pardon to everybody convicted of possession? Or would this president have to issue all the pardons individually?

Comments

[moxie_man]

I'm sure he didn't attempt to grant himself a pardon as that would have meant he'd have to admit he did something wrong. Trump admit to doing something wrong? His pride wouldn't allow that.

[conuly]

He floated the idea several times. Dingbat.

[elf]

Granting a pardon doesn't mean admission of guilt, especially for the Deep State Conspiracy theorists -- it would only mean admitting "the conspiracy might falsify evidence and pull the wool over the eyes of a judge and jury, so I'm avoiding the problem by preemptively pardoning."

I expect what happened is, every lawyer he ran the idea past said, "err.... no, it won't hold up. Even in your very conservative and grateful-to-you SCOTUS, the courts are not going to allow that presidents can just pardon themselves of everything on their way out of office. Nobody wants that precedent."

[adrian_turtle]

He could have resigned on Tuesday and asked PENCE to pardon him, like Ford pardoned Nixon. Richard Nixon didn't admit guilt, he could just say, "Gerry, those assholes think they can convict me!" (Of course, if Pence felt sufficiently betrayed, he might just refrain from pardoning Trump after that resignation.)

[conuly]

He apparently didn't trust that Pence would pardon him.

[hudebnik]

Would you, after pointing a mob with nooses and a gibbet at your Vice President?

[conuly]

I wouldn't anyway.

[moxie_man]

The US Supreme Court ruled in 1915 (Burdick Vs United States) that the granting and acceptance of a presidential pardon meant a presumption of (by granting) and confession of (by accepting) of guilt.

Ford wasn't Nixon's running mate. Congress appointed him through the 25th Amendment after Agnew resigned. Nixon nominated him, but only after Congress said: You're going to nominate Ford as we won't accept anyone else.

History continues to argue over what Ford did. Right or the wrong move, thanks to that US Supreme Court ruling, basically, Ford saved the nation from a lot of hassle, by getting Nixon to indirectly admit his guilt.

As such, I stick by my earlier statement. One of the reasons Orange Face didn't try to self pardon was it meant he'd have to admit he was guilty of something.