Disgraced outgoing President Donald Trump is apparently set to use his last day in office to issue 100 pardons that will likely be corrupt, especially in the wake of a growing pay-for-pardon scandal.
Trump has already repeatedly abused his pardon power by handing them out like rewards to his top cronies, including Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Roger Stone, who either pleaded guilty to crimes or were found guilty by a jury after being charged during the Russia investigation.
Now he is set to abuse his power one more time in a bulk action on Tuesday that could see many felons get a pardon who shouldn’t.
According to CNN:
Trump is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter, a major batch of clemency actions that includes white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but — as of now — is not expected to include Trump himself.
The White House held a meeting on Sunday to finalize the list of pardons, two sources said.
Of major concern is that Trump may try to pardon himself and his family members in a desperate scheme to avoid being prosecuted for various crimes they committed over the last four years. Of course, Trump absolutely CANNOT pardon himself, but it looks like the failed insurrection he instigated at the Capitol has thrown a wrench in that plan for the time being.
The January 6 riots that led to Trump’s second impeachment have complicated his desire to pardon himself, his kids and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. At this point, aides do not think he will do so, but caution only Trump knows what he will do with his last bit of presidential power before he is officially out of office at noon on January 20.
The report on this final round of pardon comes after revelations that people close to Trump are getting paid money by felons to lobby for a pardon on their behalf, which means we could add more bribery to the list of crimes Trump has committed. Can he be impeached a third time?
Bribery in exchange for a pardon is illegal and would render it invalid. But it’s not like Trump actually cares about law and order. The only thing he has done since taking office is violate the rule of law over and over again. We’ll know more about Trump’s feelings about law and order on Tuesday, and if he does end up attempting to pardon himself and his family members, he will basically be admitting that he and his family members are guilty. Just one last act of corruption to end the worst presidency in history.
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