Gearing up for Prez Trump’s coming final round of clemency grants
Prez Trump’s ignominious behavior raises uncertainty as to whether he will serve out the last two weeks of his term. But we can all be certain that Prez Trump is planning to issue more clemency grants before he loses the power to do so. As everyone surely recalls, just before Christmas, Prez Trump granted clemency to all sorts of friends and family and politically-charged defendants (basics here and here). And recent press reports detail other grants that could be forthcoming.
First, this new New York Times piece, headlined “Trump Is Said to Have Discussed Pardoning Himself,” cover the one particular possible pardon sure to generate the most buzz and controversy. But I am even more intrigued by this new Bloomberg piece, headlined “Trump Prepares Pardon List for Aides and Family, and Maybe Himself,” which discusses more fully other grants that may be in the works. Here are excerpts:
President Donald Trump has prepared a sweeping list of individuals he’s hoping to pardon in the final days of his administration that includes senior White House officials, family members, prominent rappers — and possibly himself, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump is hoping to announce the pardons on Jan. 19 — his final full day in office — and his ideas are currently being vetted by senior advisers and the White House counsel’s office, the people said….
He’s also considering a traditional pardon for Albert Pirro, who previously worked with the president on real estate deals and was convicted of tax fraud. Pirro is the ex-husband of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former district attorney of Westchester County in New York.
Trump is similarly considering pardoning celebrities including rapper Lil Wayne — with whom he posed for a photo during the presidential campaign –as well as rapper Kodak Black, who is serving time for falsifying paperwork to obtain a firearm.
Other prominent celebrities including rapper Lil Yachty and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson have publicly lobbied Trump to pardon Kodak Black, who said in a now-deleted tweet that he would donate $1 million to charity if the president freed him.
Trump’s list is currently being vetted by lawyers who are concerned that pardons could create new allegations of obstruction of justice for members of the administration. The process is being managed in part by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While some of the proposed pardons have moved through the legal steps needed inside the White House, the idea of a self-pardon is far less developed, the people say, and so far only at the discussion stage.
I am hopeful, but not really optimistic, that there will be some good number of final Trumpian clemency grants for persons who are not well-connected or famous. Whether there are or not, I hope Prez-elect Biden comes into office understanding that the best way to restore faith in the pardon power could be by using it right away to advance justice and mercy rather than parochial personal privilege.
A few recent related posts:
- A challenge for those troubled by Trump’s final month clemencies: identify dozens, hundreds of comparable cases for Biden’s first month
- Rounding up some notable recent criminal justice commentary
- Noticing the many regular forgotten folk so far left behind in Prez Trump’s clemency capers
- Lots of (surprising and unsurprising) clemency chatter … and great advocacy for clemency change
- “Presidential Pardons and the Problem of Impunity”
- “The Legality of Presidential Self-Pardons”
- Discussing clemency activity by Prez Trump for six more weeks seems unavoidable, doesn’t it?