Cryptocurrency billionaires. Disgraced politicians. Reality TV stars. And hundreds of political allies.
Since taking office for a second term, United States President Donald Trump has issued more than 1,840 acts of clemency to a range of personalities.
Presidents have long stirred controversy in their choices of people to pardon. But experts argue that the way Trump has exercised his clemency power violates rules and norms in place for more than a century.
Now, they warn that pardons and commutations have become transactional, with Trump using them to reward those loyal to his agenda.
Some beneficiaries have been supporters of his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, including the hundreds of rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
I’d argue the biggest problem with the pardon power is that it isn’t used enough.
Enormous numbers of people have been sentenced wrongly, sadistically, or for purely political reasons. These folks rarely get clemency of any sort. Obama and Biden were incredibly stingy in who they released. Modern liberal governors are even worse.
It is galling to live in a hyper-carceral state and watch rich assholes slip through the cracks. But biggest the problem is the obscene number of people in prison to begin with.
The solution should be justice reform, not giving politicians God mode and then chiding them if they use it wrong.