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

[conuly]

Pardons can be challenged!? Say what?

[thewayne]

Apparently if the basis upon which they are written is flawed, they can be challenged in court!  So if you have sucky legal counsel writing the pardon.... Of course, Donny only hires the best because he pays so well. And Bannon had not yet gone to trial, he was still in the pre-trial phase, so no double-jeopardy claim can be made. :-)

[conuly]

...but isn't the basis for a presidential pardon "I'm the president, so I can pardon you, so suck it"?

[hudebnik]

I think one legitimate basis for challenging a pardon is "overbroad", e.g. "Joe Schmoe is pardoned for all Federal crimes he's ever committed." There was language like that in Ford's pardon of Nixon, and it might not have held up in court, but nobody ever challenged it in court.

I'm not sure who has standing to challenge a pardon, though.