President Trump took pardon abuse to a new level this year
with a string of dubious clemencies that together present a unique
case study in how this unfettered executive power can be used to degrade, corrupt and politicize the justice system.
The president pardoned one of his supporters, #Michele #Fiore,
a Nevada politician who was convicted of federal charges that she used money from a police memorial fund for personal expenses, including for plastic surgery.
He pardoned another supporter, #Scott #Jenkins, a former sheriff in Virginia who took bribes in exchange for badges.
He pardoned #Todd and #Julie #Chrisley, reality TV personalities imprisoned for tax evasion and defrauding banks, whose daughter campaigned for Mr. Trump.
He commuted the sentence of #Imaad #Zuberi, a major donor convicted of a host of crimes including illegal lobbying.
Trump’s clemencies certainly aren’t the first to raise eyebrows -- Both Republican and Democratic presidents have, in certain instances, used their constitutional pardon power for questionable ends:
George H.W. Bush pardoned officials embroiled in the Iran-contra scandal;
Bill Clinton pardoned the billionaire fugitive Marc Rich;
Joe Biden pardoned his son.
⭐️But for the most part, they relied on the Justice Department’s pardon attorney
— a position I held for nearly three years
— to evaluate clemency applications.
Even when they acted against their pardon attorney’s advice, they typically did so with the benefit of a thorough investigation and analysis prepared by a team of nonpolitical experts.
Trump has flipped the table on the deliberative approach favored by his predecessors.
The damage won’t be easily undone
On Trump's Inauguration Day,
I read the news that he had pardoned about 1,500 people accused of crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Though I had not been consulted, my staff and I were still expected to begin facilitating the releases of all those incarcerated.
Over the next three days, 27 more pardons were granted,
all without even a nod to the traditional role of the Justice Department in advising the president on pardons.
Ordinarily, pardon applications face an exacting initial review by the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Applying detailed guidelines laid out in the Justice Manual,
staff members assess applicants’ past criminal conduct,
evidence of atonement, remorse and steps toward rehabilitation,
and the reasons that they are seeking a pardon.
Cases that clear this initial step then move to the F.B.I.,
which conducts a full background investigation.
Prosecutors, judges and victims are then given an opportunity to weigh in.
In four years as president, Mr. Biden granted more than 4,000 commutations
(full or partial reductions of sentences)
but only 80 pardons.
In March, after being sidelined for weeks,
I was dismissed.
I was replaced by Ed Martin,
an organizer in the "Stop the Steal" movement who has described his pardon priorities unambiguously:
“No MAGA left behind.”
On his watch, the traditional application review process has been neutered.
