Below is my column in The Hill on the calls for “blanket pardons” for hundreds and even thousands of people. Despite Trump’s ill-considered statement about how the J6 Committee members should go to jail for what they did on NBC this weekend, Trump has also insisted that he wants “success” to be his revenge. Many in the media are also omitting that Trump immediately said “no” to whether he would direct either the Attorney General or the FBI director to indict or investigate. While I have been a vocal critic of the J6 Committee, I know of no crime that could be credibly pursued against the members, as I have written. More importantly, presidents do not just send people to jail. There will be no round-up of opponents and democracy will survive. We have an entire constitutional system designed to prevent arbitrary prosecutions or authoritarian measures. These White Knight pardons are meant to preserve a collapsing narrative of how Trump wants to round up his enemies and end democracy. It has resulted in a strange and uniquely Washington phenomenon: pardon envy.
Here is the column:
Liberal pundits and press in Washington are facing a growing nightmare in Washington. No, it is not the victory of President-elect Donald Trump or the Democrats’ loss of both houses of Congress and the popular vote in this election. It is the possibility that democracy may not collapse as predicted, and Trump might not even round up his opponents en masse.
For months, liberals have been telling voters that this will likely be their last election and that democracy is about to end in the U.S. ABC host Whoopi Goldberg declared on “The View” that Trump will immediately become a dictator who will “put you people away … take all the journalists … take all the gay folks … move you all around and disappear you.”
Many predicted they would be on the top of the enemies list and the first to be rounded up.
Now, the moment is nearly here, and pundits are dreading that the public may notice there is no line of democracy champions being frog-marched down Pennsylvania Avenue. Faced with such a scenario and a further loss of credibility, many are coming up with the next best thing — pretending they stopped the roundup by having Biden pardon everyone. The spin will be that Trump would have gone after rivals but was prevented from doing so by Biden.
The idea is to portray yourself as a white knight, riding down to protect the vulnerable and timid from the coming hoard.
Even if democracy inconveniently survives, Biden can preserve the narrative with sweeping pardons.
The White House is reportedly exploring giving preemptive pardons to figures ranging from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Cheney previously declared that this “may well be the last real vote you ever get to cast.” A pardon would preserve her persona as a modern-day Joan of Arc who avoided being burnt at the stake only by the grace of a Biden pardon.
Others seem to be panicking that there may be a list of pardoned people, but they will be left off. Call it “Pardon Envy.” The only thing worse than not being on a Trump enemies list is not being on a Biden pardon list.
Before the election, MSNBC host Al Sharpton and regular Donny Deutsch warned viewers that they would likely be added to an “enemies list.” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow ominously told her viewers that, “Yes, I’m worried about me — but only as much as I’m worried about all of us.”
Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin seemed apoplectic that she and others might be omitted from both lists. One has to be somewhat sympathetic to Rubin. To be left both unpardoned and unarrested is to lose all standing among the “save democracy” social set.
Rubin, once dubbed the Post’s Republican columnist, has called for the Republican Party to be burned down and recently advised people how to keep panic alive despite the election: “You can’t talk broad themes. You have to boil it down to nuts and bolts, and you have to be pithy. What do I mean by pithy? How about this: Republicans want to kill your kids. It’s true.”
In a podcast, Rubin explained that Biden should pardon “thousands” to blunt Trump’s “initial round of revenge” from journalists to the “little guy and gal” counting votes. She advised that he should pardon whole “categories” of people to pardon anyone Trump may have “identified by name or type” to offer “protection from a maniac.”
In her most recent column, Rubin repeated the call for Biden to pardon “scores of Americans” due to a “reasonable fear that a weaponized FBI directed by a vengeful president will carry out threats to pursue his enemies.”
The key is to issue broad pardons to suggest that, absent such extraordinary action, “this maniac” would have purged whole areas of blue states. It is like telling everyone that you are wearing a tin-foil hat to prevent aliens from snatching you. When someone points out that they have not seen any aliens, you can respond, “See, it worked!”
The Biden White House is considering the use of such white-knight pardons to claim that the president did not protect just his son (and himself) with the pardon power but many others.
Biden wants to remove the stain of his abuse of the pardon power to benefit his own family by turning it into a literal party favor for other Democrats and Trump critics. Even though Trump has denied any interest in retribution, saying that “my revenge will be a success,” preemptive pardons leave the impression that they did in fact preempt something that would have occurred.
A white-knight pardon can also work when you are protecting someone who does not want to be saved. That is the case with a Trump pardon. Such a pardon is absolutely not needed and would constitute the most hostile pardon in history. The federal cases against Trump are effectively dead. Even though they were dismissed without prejudice, it is extremely unlikely they would be resumed. Moreover, the cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith were riddled with constitutional problems and unlikely to be sustained even with a conviction.
The only ongoing legal threat to Trump is from Democratic prosecutors on the state level, such as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. A pardon would not apply to such cases anyway.
Yet, to pardon Trump for nonexistent federal cases would be to suggest that Biden saved him from prosecution. This is the same president who did nothing for years until the cases collapsed. He would now claim that he worked to bring the nation together after calling Trump a virtual Nazi and his supporters “garbage.”
Trump may be the only one who is not interested in a trophy pardon. What is the value of being part of the resistance if you are not being pursued, persecuted or pardoned?
It seems like some of the same people who had hoped to be on the list for the Biden Inaugural balls are now making calls to make the Biden pardon list. If Biden were to yield to calls for hundreds or even thousands of pardons, the loss of political standing for those not making the list could become intolerable. For any self-respecting armchair resistance fighter in 2025, a Biden pardon could become the latest status symbol.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
..excuse me, Prof. Turley.. one of the very few times I beg to differ with you Seriously re: ‘ While I have been a vocal critic of the J6 Committee, I know of no crime that could be credibly pursued against the members, as I have written.’ WHY would you turn a blind eye to all the EVIDENCE TAMPERING.. ? ..which AI defines as: Evidence tampering is a criminal offense that involves altering, concealing, destroying, or falsifying evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation.’ THIS is a Serious Question for you! Please don’t ruin your reputation here!!
Pronounced In Law
Pronounced in Law may be an argument against the Presidential Pardon of Hunter Biden. Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, dealing with Presidential Pardons, states:
“. . . he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
There are three words in this statement that could be utilized to negate the pardon of Hunter Biden and restrict future Presidential Pardons:
Reprieves – (law) the act of reprieving; postponing, or remitting punishment.
Pardons – (law) a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense.
Offences – (law) A transgression that constitutes a violation of what is judged to be illegal.
Reprieves and Pardons deal with punishments, and the word Offences is ambiguous in what determines when a legal offense has occurred.
From the webpage “Understanding the Legal Definition of Pronounced in Law”:
“To have a matter ‘pronounced in law’ is to have it formally and authoritatively declared. It represents the culmination of a legal process and marks the beginning of its implementation. Understanding the significance of this term is crucial for anyone engaged in legal proceedings, as it shapes the course of actions and consequences that follow.”
It is possible that the meaning of these words could be determined by a Sense of Congress Resolution that is upheld by the Supreme Court, that offenses against the United States can only be established after the guilty party has been Pronounced in Law, and that only after such a pronouncement could a reprieve or pardon be issued by the President of the United States.
If this is true, then preemptive presidential pardons would be unconstitutional, and therefore, the presidential pardon of Hunter Biden would be null and void, as he has not been pronounced guilty by law. It would also constrict future Presidential Pardons to only occur after a pronouncement of law is formally declared by a judge or a court of law.
Such a course of action would be beneficial to Justice and The Rule of Law in America and help constrain government officials to constitutional actions that I expressed in my Chirp on “12/07/24 No Virtue in Preemptive Pardons”. Otherwise, we run the risk of runaway Presidential Pardons that are anathema to our Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All.
So silly, so silly. Much ado about nothing. Am I the only individual in the entire United States who’s noticed that Biden quite literally does not crap about anyone but himself? There will be no other pardons! And Turley’s wrong, Cheney DOES belong in jail!
VP Harris needs a presidential pardon — 1. for being such a bad candidate, and 2. for running through 2.5 BILLION dollars in cash in less than 3 months, which as most any tech analyst who follows Silicon Valley ‘start-ups’ will tell you is unprecedented, even among the most egregious cases in the past several decades.
“A white-knight pardon can also work when you are protecting someone who does not want to be saved. That is the case with a Trump pardon.”
Well that might be true if the person “who does not want to be saved” doesn’t turn down the pardon. It almost certain that in the case of Trump, if Biden issued such a pardon as Turley describes, he would reject it.
And there is no lawful requirement that anyone accept a pardon. In 1833 Chief Justice John Marshall wrote for the Court in “United States v. Wilson” – a pardon is a private “act of grace,” a “deed, to the validity of which, delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete, without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it be rejected, we have discovered no power in a court to force it on him.” Likewise, in 1915 “in Burdick v. United States, the Court confirmed that a pardon may be refused, at least where other constitutional rights are at stake” such as Trumps right to defend himself and face his accusers. see here: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-6/ALDE_00013323/
They do have pardon envy – because its against the law to target people in conspiracy to deprive them rights. Which is what Cheney et all did! With cloak of law. They all getting Biden pardons. Hunter was pardoned bc he himself – threatened his old man. Who wrestled with it. Hunters pardon was Biden cya. A self pardon in effect. Derivativley.
Please. Please lets have more democrats beging for blanket pardon’s.
Biden can offer them BOGO,
Have Trucks pull up to the White House with Biden pardon requests.
And PLEASE have Biden sign them by the thousands.
Nothing says guilty as sin more than a blanket pardon for anything you might have done for the past decade
Sorry Prof. Turley your wrong. Most people will NOT see these as White Knight pardons to thwart a vengeful Trump,
But as PROOF of the malfeasance of democrats.
So PLEASE – Pardon away.
And who needs pardoned is the marter who just gave up the exec who washed 20% of every health dollar for Inc rent seeking. Someone would see his mug. Yet the people who knew him never reported. That’s right his private school and Penn state never gave him up! None them! It took a reward and photos to get a rat. Some alleged ed workers got witnesses at macdonolds. Prove it! They found him bc they have cameras everywhere and total intel. Today’s patsy are the allegeded ppl … To lead to the arrest. But govt doesn’t want to give up the scope of their surveillance so were led to believe a worker and witness narked! Put them on the screen. Who narked? Ppl knowing him didnt. And they were elite. Volumes. Are they all now a coplices? And all us hoping he pulls it off….moral support? By j 6 think right – come get us
Not that you would ever get an answer, but someone needs to ask Biden why he would have to issue preemptive pardons if the people he is pardoning did not commit any crimes?
The Obvious.
Jonathan Turley is shamefully silent about the attacks on our Democracy and filas to acknowledge that Trump is clearly to blame for Jordan Neely’s death. Trump’s many odious insurrections against Democracy caused Daniel Penny to spring into action because Neely was Black and, as directed by Trump, had to be stopped because Neely was exercising his free speech and free actions under our sacred Democracy. DA Alvin Bragg should have prosecuted Trump instead of Penny, in the name of Democracy, since Trump was the real instigator for the actions of all concerned. The NAACP and BLM are rightfully calling for Bragg to now file charges against Wraycist Trump for Jordan Neely’s death. Judge Maxwell Wiley, who presided over the Daniel Penny trial, said he would be glad to be the judge in this new case against Trump. We must unite together in prosecuting Trump for Jordan Neely’s death. A house divided cannot stand. Democracy depends upon it.
God not more of this stupid nonsense.
1). Trump had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with this.
2). Neely is responsible for his own death. He is the one taking K2 laced pot. He is the one threatening the lives of others.
If any judge or prosecutor is connecting this to Trump- – they should be removed from office and disbarred.
The judge should have dismissed this case with a directed verdict when the prosecution failed to make a credible case.
This is precisely the Rule of Man rather than Rule of law BS that resulted in the Republican sweep in Nov..
Please keep this total idiocy up – and no democrat will be able to get elected dog catcher.
that is not a “real” comment that you answered. It is meant to trigger you and make Repubs or conservatives look stooopid.
Don’t fall for it.
You are incorrect. I wrote that message in jest to trigger Dunceocrats and make them look stupid. However, in spite of the obvious insanity of my post, because the Dunceocrats are both insane and stupid, my post was mistakenly assumed to be a genuine position.
You want law?
The Founders denied Jordan Neely citizenship and never retracted their position.
Jordan Neely’s ancestors and Jordan Neely himself could not have been admitted to become citizens according to the immigration law of the Founders that was never licitly and legitimately abrogated but summarily scrapped, with a gun to America’s head, during Lincoln’s wholly unconstitutional “Reign of Terror.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Naturalization Acts of 1790, 1795, 1798, and 1802
United States Congress, “An act to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,” March 26, 1790
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof…
Chief Justice Marshall, speaking for the Court, said:
“A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual,
on whom it is bestowed, from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed.” United States v. Wilson, 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 150, 160–61 (1833).
It seems reasonable to note, that since Hunter has had no sentence of PUNISHMENT against him that a pardon given would be
moot. Like a monkey being told he can have all of the bananas he wants while inside an apple store.
And pre-emptive pardons are the stuff of cartoon shows. Or, the courts of KINGS.
Barry W. — President Ford pre-emptively pardoned Nixon.
To reiterate:
The power to grant pardons is NOT restricted, limited, or otherwise qualified, with the exceptions of those regarding States and impeachment.
“The President shall…have Power to grant…Pardons for Offences against the United States.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
“It’s the [law], stupid!”
– James Carville
___________________
Article 2, Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
12/09/24: “Despite Trump’s ill-considered statement about how the J6 Committee members should go to jail for what they did on NBC this weekend…”
Run that by me again. What did the J6CM’s do on NBC this weekend?
OT
Hooray!!! To all the Syrian “refugee” “asylum seekers,” the coast is clear, you can all go home now!
The rest of you frauds are next!
“These White Knight pardons are meant to preserve a collapsing narrative of how Trump wants to round up his enemies and end democracy.” This is a perceptive remark. In lobbying for wide-spread pardons, the Left is bolstering the panic about Trump they are attempting to create. At the same time, the Left is attempting to influence how academic historians treat Trump. The less perceptive of these people will conclude that Trump must really have been a bad man if thousands of innocent people needed protection from him. “The scale of the pardons was unprecedented! Nothing like it has ever seen before or since.”
Turley is nothing short of amazing–he is turning Trump’s promise to pardon the J6 insurrectionists, including those who assaulted and battered police officers, including those who pleaded or were found guilty–into criticism of Democrats! That’s how MAGA media works–everything that happens–including pardoning criminals who beat up police officers defending the Capitol and members of Congress– is twisted into criticism of Democrats. That’s why Turley has no credibility, IMHO.
I don’t care what side of the political spectrum you are from–the Capitol Police Officers whose job it is to defend the Capitol and members of Congress, deserve to see justice for those who beat and battered them in the name of DJT. Trump calls these people “patriots”, and promises that the first thing he will do is pardon them. It’s not patriotic to beat up police officers because you are stupid enough to believe the lies of a pathologial liar–that’s not a defense. U’d like one of you MAGAs to defend pardoning these people–what right did they have to breach the police barriers, smash in doors and windows, to enter the Capitol Building itself, or to urinate, defecate on the floors and walls, to deface the John Lewis Memorial and steal items, like office equipment?
Tom speaks of Biden “detesting” the United States–the crimes committed by the J6 insurrectionists were crimes against the United States and a symbol of our democracy–even though Trump was the proximate cause–and Trump’s refusal to accept the will of the people and willingness to lie to his fans and exhort them to storm the Capitol, along with those who falsified EC documents, proves that Trump is the one who really “detests” the United States.
Gigigi,
Enough of the Left’s J6 narrative. It’s mostly nonsense.
“Trump’s promise to pardon the J6 insurrectionists, including those who assaulted and battered police officers, including those who pleaded or were found guilty”
First Trump has NOT promised to pardon ALL of them. He has explicitly said that he would be looking at individual cicusmstances and that there would be no pardons for those committing actual violence.
Though even THAT would be more severe punishment than is typically meeted out for protests that get out of control.
The June 2020 protests at the WH resulted in more property damage and more injured police, and though some arrests were made – all charges were dismissed.
In NYC two lawyers firebombed an occupied police car and gote 18month suspended sentences.
Regardless, the country is very broadly supportive of pardons for non-violent acts at J6.
Whether those of you on the left like it or not – over time you LOST control of the narative over J6 – probably because you were caught lying so much.
People do not beleive it was an insurection and they beleive democrats have spent 4 years making a mountain out of a molehill.
Regardless Trump should pardon all non-violent offenders and commute the sentences of everyone else.
But he should pardon people for what they were convicted of – not anything they might have done in the past decade.
“into criticism of Democrats! ”
Yup – your nuts.
“pardoning criminals who beat up police officers ”
In most so called Peacefull democrat protests – people who beat up police get arrested, but charges get dropped.
J6 protestors should see the same justice as BLM protestors.
“the Capitol Police Officers whose job it is to defend the Capitol and members of Congress, deserve to see justice for those who beat and battered them ”
When you are saying the same thing about protestors in Portland who were using laswers to blind officers, throwing molatov cocktails. or stones, or … for 100 straight nights.
When you are saying the same about violent BLM protestors some of whom actually lit police officers on fire.
When you are not Jailing for decades officers like Dereck Chauvin who was merely trying to deal with a giant out of control drug addict high as a kite on Meth and Fentanyl.
When your desire for justice for police is universal – Then I might care about what you say about CP officers.
As to the rest – nearly all your idiotic claims have actually been debunked.
No J6 protestor defecated in that story is ACTUALLY from Kavanaugh protestors
“The crimes committed by the J6 insurrectionists were crimes against the United States and a symbol of our democracy”
First this is non-sense – the US is not a democracy and there is no such thing as crimes against democracy.
BUT you really stepped in it when you talk about SYMBOLS of democracy.
You are aware that Flag Burning is constitutionally protected ?
Why ?
Because Flags are SYMBOLS.
While the claim that significant numbers of J6 protestors were disrespectful of “symbols” is bogus – even if it were true,
Symbols are ALWAYS legitimate targets – even for violence in protests.
Gigi,
You have lost most of the american people on the 2020 election.
While there is not universal agreement on EXACTLY how the election was stolen – the overwhelming majority of people KNOW it was stolen.
Some beleive it was stolen when the government demanded that Social media censor the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Or by the other forms of political and public health censorship that left wing nuts in government delivered.
Some by massive illegal ballot harvesting.
Some through actually fraudulent and manufactured ballots rumped in unattended ballot boxes by Democrat Mules.
Some by the lawless way in which the election was conducted.
Some by truckloads of ballots being dumped secretly
Or any of the myriads of other forms of election fraud we are far past being established as fact.
Further americans want to know why Florida can count the votes in 4 hours and California can not do so in 4 weeks ?
I know this is hard for you left wing nuts to grasp – but people are and remain angry about the untrustworthiness of the 2020 election – and all since.
People are angry because YOU have made this country look like a banana republic.
And you have made things worse with each subsequent election – the AZ mess in 2022 is total drek the democrat SoS runs an absolutely disasterous election – and miraculously wins narrowly.
You have destoryed peopels Trust in out elections.
Even in 2024 you tried to do many of the same frooked things in PA that you you did in 2020.
But people were were watching and Casey was not allowed to keep counting and have county election boards accept illegal ballots until Casey won.
In 2024 you tried massive lawfare to defeat Trump.
You rigged your own primaries and then thrw away the results and anoninted another candidate when it was clear you had been lying about Biden for 4 years.
Nothing was off the tables to defeat Trump. You tried to assassinate him twice and then wept when Trump rose unscathed.
All in all you made it clear you are espicable human beings who will stopp as low as necessary to win.
You tried to steal 2024, You did not succeed because voters were ready, and fed up and watching.
Trump got 2M more votes than 2020.
But Democrats got almost 10M LESS votes than 2020.
Were people fed up ?
Was Harris a schifty candidate ?
Was the scale of the fgraud diminished because people were watching.
Regardless as hard as you tried – in 2024 – you were unable to get away with as much fraud as in 2020.
And that is what people see.
People do not trust you
John Say: do you have anything else to do with your life than attack me and comment on this blog? You are an archetypical MAGA–you just KNOW that 2020 was “stolen”–you don’t have any proof, and there is massive proof to the contrary, all of which you reject. All of the crapola you claim about mules, ballot harvesting, etc–was investigated and found to be not true! Polls predicted Trump would lose. What was the state of our country when Americans voted Trump out–did you forget about the refrigerated trucks for corpses because morgues were full, the new daily COVID death and infection statistics, the unemployment rate, schools, businesses, factories, restaurants all closed down, and the economy in a tailspin? You claim to speak for “people”–that, too, is MAGA propaganda–convincing you that you are in the majority, which you are not–Trump did not receive 50% of the votes, and his campaign was rife with lies, baseless promises, braggadocio, misogyny, xenophobia and racism. MAGA media managed to convince people that the economy was on the brink of collapse and that the country was headed in the wrong direction–all lies–which they KNOW they can get away with because most people are not knowledgeable about economics and the causes of inflation. Trump lied about migrants, and killed the BIPARTISAN border security bill just to create a fake issue to run on.
Just HOW was Harris “shifty”? She clearly laid our her position and vision for America. Trump lied his axx off, fellated a microphone, told stories about Arnold Palmer’s genitals, and promised soaring personal wealth and precipitious drops in the price of groceries and housing, He lied about migrants stealing and eating cats and dogs, raping women and going on murderous rampages. Republicans, like Marco Rubio, called Harris “trash”. Trump, a conviced felon, thief, liar, sexual assaulter, and adjudicated fraudster, called her “stupid”, and others claimed she was a “DEI hire”, even though she is far more accomplished that Trump ever dreamed of being. You can dream that most Americans voted for Trump for any reason other than his baseless promises of personal wealth and precipitous drops in the cost of groceris and housing–but that’s not true. Before the election, he had a lower approval rating than Harris.
You don’t matter anymore
https://youtu.be/ygBo9Fmq5l4
These ‘pardons’ are absolutely an admission of guilt, and yes, modern dems dance right up to the line of law without crossing it. It is bullsheet, and we all see it quite clearly now. But for the indoctrinated or the faithful (I forgive you if you think I was talking about a religion 🙄, which modern leftism IS), we are done with this crap. Enough. Though I think ANY murder is horrendous in a system that provides other forms of justice, the modern left is just a bridge too far. We will NOT relent our authority in the United States to un-elected oligarchs, and if that means we are the last sane, peaceful nation on the planet, then so be it.
Kind of astonishing how people seem to have forgotten that Biden has been POTUS for teh past four years, or that during
Trump’s first term, both houses of Congress were run by dems. How are we supposed to take any of this seriusly, and why was us proving it with our votes not enough for the dems’ ‘democracy’?
What the modern MSM do with all of this is beyond reproach, and they are not going to walk it back. Really: the elction cuoldn’t have been more clear. What is this going to take?
Man, typos galore, sorry.
Pardon me.
What the hell goes through peoples minds on Election Day that they vote for these people? Even before that in the primaries. The collection of devious people we put in office is jaw dropping.
Refresher course:
The Constitution allows State legislatures to restrict the vote by design.
The first iteration of this in 1789 was generally male, European, 21, 50 lbs. Sterling/50 acres.
Never was America designed or intended to be a one-man, one-vote democracy.
America will only function as designed when configured as a severely restricted-vote republic, which republics have been since inception in Greece.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“the people are nothing but a great beast…
I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value.”
– Alexander Hamilton
_________________________
“The true reason (says Blackstone) of requiring any qualification, with regard to property in voters, is to exclude such persons, as are in so mean a situation, that they are esteemed to have no will of their own.”
“If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely, and without influence of any kind, then, upon the true theory and genuine principles of liberty, every member of the community, however poor, should have a vote… But since that can hardly be expected, in persons of indigent fortunes, or such as are under the immediate dominion of others, all popular states have been obliged to establish certain qualifications, whereby, some who are suspected to have no will of their own, are excluded from voting; in order to set other individuals, whose wills may be supposed independent, more thoroughly upon a level with each other.”
– Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775
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“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville/Alexander Fraser Tytler/Henning W. Prentiss Jr.
____________________________________________________________________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin, 1787
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You couldn’t.
You lacked the leadership acumen, the discipline, and the resolve necessary and sufficient to the task.
Refresher course:
____________________________________________________________________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin, 1787
_______________________
You couldn’t.
So the lesson of the refresher is this: Ben Franklin thought Crispus Attucks met the standards to die for the American Revolution.
But Ben Franklin also thought that it didn’t matter if Crispus Attucks died to free America from British rule – because even if he had lived, Ben Franklin didn’t believe Crispus Attucks or anyone like him should be allowed to vote.
He was disqualified for George’s favorite reason: Born Black In America.
“It’s [ad hominem] that matters.”
– Randy Newman
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NOT!
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“It’s the [law], stupid!”
– James Carville
The wide-spread lobbying for pardons is a converse-&-convoluted admission of; Guilt – wide-spread guilt, The Party’s guilt. Fine give them Pardons, I want Cash-Money for the years of Pain and Suffering They put me through.
I’m an American, I was force fed it. The Damage is done and the ‘Damages’ are now due – Pay Up!
My Brain will never be the same!
Those that receive a Pardon will make excellent witness for the GOP committees they would be free to speak without fear of prosecution no need in taking the 5th.
But the first question that should be asked of them is, “When Hunter brokered your pardon, did you see the big guy get his 10%?”.
This highlights an important fact that needs to be made loudly- being a member of the Democrat party is a very strong indicator of mental illness. There are many legitimate studies that back this up.
They want the government to take care of them? Let’s do it- how about Public Service ads declaring that being a registered Democrat is a valid reason to see a Republican Psychiatrist and the government will pay for it. It really isn’t politics, it’s a public mental health emergency
At the very least the stigma of mental illness needs to attach to everything Democrat. (We all know they don’t attack us with this because they know it’ll bounce back and stick to them)
Trump should direct the NIH to get to the root of our problems and Make America Sane Again.
The power to grant pardons is NOT restricted, limited, or otherwise qualified, with the exceptions of States and impeachment.
“The President shall…have Power to grant…Pardons for Offences against the United States.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
“It’s the [law], stupid!”
– James Carville
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Article 2, Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
It depends on the original public meaning of “Reprieves and Pardons.” I am not aware of any case holding that it covers crimes not yet convicted or charged, for example. There have been very few instances up to now where this has been tried, Ford’s pardon of Nixon is one, and so far as I am aware none which has been challenged and upheld.
Johnson’s Dictionary
1755
First published in 1755, this dictionary took Johnson and his small team of helpers nine years to compile, and was unsurpassed as a reference work for over a century until the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1884.
Reprie’ve. n.s. [from the verb.] Respite after sentence of death.
In his reprieve he may be so fitted,
That his soul sicken not.
Shakesp. Meas. for Meas.
I hope it is some pardon or reprieve
For Claudio.
Shakesp. Measure for Measure.
He cannot thrive,
Unless her prayers, whom heav’n delights to hear,
And loves to grant, reprieve from the wrath
Of greatest justice.
Shakesp. All’s well that ends well.
The morning Sir John Hotham was to die, a reprieve was sent to suspend the execution for three days.
Clarendon.
All that I ask, is but a short reprieve,
Till I forget to love, and learn to grieve.
Denham.
Pa’rdon. n.s. [pardon, Fr. from the verb.]
1. Forgiveness of an offender.
2. Forgiveness of a crime.
He that pleaseth great men, shall get pardon for iniquity.
Ecclus. xx. 27.
A slight pamphlet, about the elements of architecture, hath been entertained with some pardon among my friends.
Wotton.
But infinite in pardon is my judge.
What better can we do than prostrate fall
Before him reverent, and there confess
Humbly our faults and pardon beg, with tears
Wat’ring the ground.
Milton.
There might you see
Indulgencies, dispenses, pardons, bulls,
The sport of Winds.
Milton.
3. Remission of penalty.
4. Forgiveness received.
A man may be safe as to his condition, but, in the mean time, dark and doubtful as to his apprehensions; secure in his pardon, but miserable in the ignorance of it; and so passing all his days in the disconsolate, uneasy vicissitudes of hopes and fears, at length go out of the world, not knowing whither he goes.
South’s Sermons.
5. Warrant of forgiveness, or exemption from punishment.
The battle done, and they within our power,
Shall never see his pardon.
Shakesp. K. Lear.
Ex parte Garland in 1866 upheld the pardon of confederates prior to any charges, so that seems to answer my question.
And the Supreme Court of 1869 preposterously claimed that because secession is not prohibited, secession is prohibited, and the Supreme Court of 1973, partially with bias and corruptly, “decided” that abortion was a constitutional right and was overturned.
I also agree (not that you asked!): I cited that case to John Say a few day ago, in re: the language and scope of Biden’s pardon.
(Ex Parte Garland case, not the 1869 case George mentions)
The sole qualification is the target or victim of the offence—in this case, the United States—and there are no other qualifications.
By your position, you claim not to understand the law. You want the law to be different. It is not. One cannot will the law to be different. The law is clear. That one does not enjoy or agree with the law does not bear.
Your presumption is that the Founders and Framers had no facility or acumen regarding the English language; they knew not what they were writing and communicating.
That was not the case; they provided all discretion and latitude to the President.
You want a court to summarily amend the Constitution per your perspective, desire, and opinion.
The power to grant pardons is NOT restricted, limited, or otherwise qualified, with the exceptions of States and impeachment.
“The President shall…have Power to grant…Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
George,
There’s something stinky in the District of Columbia. If more of these blanket pardons emerge we need to have a Constitutional battle over the meaning of the terms pardon and offense.
Maybe an offense needs to be observed before it can be pardoned. By observed I mean made known to body politic – that includes us peasants. Without an offense a pardon pardons nothing. Blanket pardons for unknown offenses covering substantial time periods is bizarre at best and criminal in the worst case.
I never liked the Schröedinger’s cat thing.
The power to grant pardons is NOT restricted, limited, or otherwise qualified, with the exceptions of States and impeachment.
“The President shall…have Power to grant…Pardons for Offences against the United States.”
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That one does not enjoy or agree with the law does not bear.
The amendment process is complex, lengthy, and difficult.
George,
The pardon power IS limited by the languge of the USC. I think that the position that a pardon is contingent on the evidence of an actual offense is legitimate. It would be fun to watch it play out
The Supreme Court and judicial branch have no power to amend the Constitution.
Read it.
The power to grant pardons is NOT restricted, limited, or otherwise qualified, with the exceptions of States and impeachment.
“The President shall…have Power to grant…Pardons for Offences against the United States.”
The Founders and Framers gave the president the power.
Neither the USC nor you have any power to usurp that power and take it away.