What he’s trying to plan could be illegal. He has ideas for what might happen after his term finishes. And they are really skating on the edge as to whether it can be legitimately done. He’s apparently going to try to pull a fast one on his way through the door (and may it hit him in the ass on the way out). There is hope that it’s illegal, but it’s going to take a lot of research by someone in the legal field, which I most assuredly am not. Gratitude to Raw Story:
A former federal prosecutor is warning that President Donald Trump is “highly likely” to use presidential pardons to protect himself and his allies from criminal charges once he leaves the White House. Glenn Kirschner, founder of the Justice Matters podcast, told The Daily Beast that Trump is terrified that multiple of his actions leave him open to being hammered by legal authorities as soon as he leaves the White House. “We have to go into court, and we have to fight corruptly delivered pardons,” Kirschner said.
Could we hope that the insurrection case will actually go to trial? Damn, that would be lovely. Of course, if he passes away before then, the point is moot. Nevertheless, it’s a good dream. Pardons are legitimate, of course. And if you look at all the J6 people who were pardoned and are now back in jail, well, it was still legitimate. They aren’t, but the pardon was. There are a number of “his” people who would be more than happy to have a pardon waiting in the wings. Petey Boy is one of them for all the crap he’s done – sinking small boats, snatch and grab in Venezuela, and all those infuriating things he has pulled in the Iran war. So far. More will come. Dumdum Donnie wants to pardon himself. Say whaaaaaat?
Kirschner emphasized the constitutional stakes, stating, “What we have to do is take these things into court and fight them because it’s the right and righteous thing to do. And if the courts — trial court, court of appeals, and the Supreme Court—all say no, a president can buy a co-conspirator’s silence by delivering a presidential pardon, then we continue to move in the direction of the end of our republic. Because that is not what the pardon power ought to be able to do.”
Potential pardon recipients could include Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who faces allegations she perjured herself during Senate Judiciary Committee testimony. The DHS denied these claims, stating: “Any claim that Secretary Noem committed perjury is categorically false.” Attorney General Pam Bondi could also receive clemency, given her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. A DOJ official characterized those concerns as “a tired narrative.”
Duck and cover, kiddies. No matter how many times Gnome or Blondi denies doing anything wrong, it becomes more obvious that they did. I wish I could think of the Shakespeare quote, so I’ll paraphrase and hope I’m getting it from the right author. “They talk *too* much”. They dance around the subject when they are asked for information. The rest of his cabinet does the same thing, at least the ones we see.
Trump previously criticized Biden’s pardons handed out days before the end of his presidency, declaring that all of his predecessor’s clemency decisions were “null, void, and of no further force or effect” because Biden used an autopen signature. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect.”
Constitutional experts dispute Trump’s authority to do that. Stanford law professor Bernadette Meyler stated, “The Constitution doesn’t even require that the pardon be written, so the idea that the signature is by autopen rather than by handwritten signature seems not relevant to the constitutionality because Article II just says that the President has the power to pardon.”
It’s not as if Biden’s signature was “fake”. The autopen traces the original signature, so it’s essentially the same. What do we want to bet that Dingbat Donnie actually uses one, and it’s just well hidden? He signs things with a Sharpie anyhow! And so, it seems that he will be handing out a *bunch* of pardons before he leaves, assuming he’s still alive by then, no sarcasm intended. This was something I had never considered – the president trying to pardon himself. Interesting.
See you soon!
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Well I hope it’s a moot point.
Overview
The famous Shakespeare quote is “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” spoken by Queen Gertrude in Hamlet (Act III, Scene II). It describes someone whose excessive denial or insincere insistence on a matter makes it appear that they are lying or hiding their true guilt.