reedak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2014
- Messages
- 728
1. Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening announced 26 new pardons, including for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's father, Charles.
The pardons extend Trump's streak of wielding his clemency powers for criminals who are loyalists, well-connected or adjacent to his family. While all presidents issue controversial pardons at the end of their terms, Trump appears to be moving at a faster pace than his predecessors, demonstrating little inhibition at rewarding his friends and allies using one of the most unrestricted powers of his office.
The pardons of Manafort and Stone reward two of the most high-profile and widely condemned former advisers of the President, both of whom were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, went to trial and were convicted by juries of multiple crimes.....
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics/trump-pardons-stone-manafort-kushner/index.html
2. On its most basic level, justice means fairness and equity. This is something parents' attempts to teach their children from a young age. If you do something right, you should be rewarded. If you do something wrong, you should be punished. If both you and your friend do the same thing right, you should both be rewarded equally. These are the foundational tenets of a civilized society.
But we do not live in that society, as President Donald Trump and his administration have just proven once again. Trump’s recent round of pardons — coupled with the Department of Justice’s sprint to execute federal death row inmates before Inauguration Day — show his administration’s deep subversion of justice.
Presidential pardons are supposed to act as a fail-safe when the federal criminal justice system malfunctions. As Alexander Hamilton noted in the “Federalist Papers,” “without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel.”
The U.S. Constitution gives presidents almost unfettered pardon power. As long as a president steers clear of attempting to pardon a person in cases of impeachment, he is likely operating within his constitutional authority. Pardons can be given prospectively, meaning before a person is indicted or even charged with a crime....
We are back to where we began, hoping for a society that rewards those that do good and punishes those who do harm. Trump’s corrosive use of the pardon power and his rush to execute death row inmates will cement his presidency as one of the most unjust in history.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opini...-allies-clashes-federal-execution-ncna1252194
3. Using an analogy, what consequences would you expect if a bandit chief is appointed as prison warden?
In the past two days, the "Me First" president has issued 49 pardons. As the days go by, more and more "Thanksgiving Turkeys" will join the two National Thanksgiving Turkeys "Corn" And "Cob" at their new home on the campus of Iowa State University. The last to join them could be the biggest Thanksgiving Turkey of all -- the "Me First" president. Merry Christmas!
Additional Reference:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...teen-americans-including-george-papadopoulos/
The pardons extend Trump's streak of wielding his clemency powers for criminals who are loyalists, well-connected or adjacent to his family. While all presidents issue controversial pardons at the end of their terms, Trump appears to be moving at a faster pace than his predecessors, demonstrating little inhibition at rewarding his friends and allies using one of the most unrestricted powers of his office.
The pardons of Manafort and Stone reward two of the most high-profile and widely condemned former advisers of the President, both of whom were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, went to trial and were convicted by juries of multiple crimes.....
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics/trump-pardons-stone-manafort-kushner/index.html
2. On its most basic level, justice means fairness and equity. This is something parents' attempts to teach their children from a young age. If you do something right, you should be rewarded. If you do something wrong, you should be punished. If both you and your friend do the same thing right, you should both be rewarded equally. These are the foundational tenets of a civilized society.
But we do not live in that society, as President Donald Trump and his administration have just proven once again. Trump’s recent round of pardons — coupled with the Department of Justice’s sprint to execute federal death row inmates before Inauguration Day — show his administration’s deep subversion of justice.
Presidential pardons are supposed to act as a fail-safe when the federal criminal justice system malfunctions. As Alexander Hamilton noted in the “Federalist Papers,” “without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel.”
The U.S. Constitution gives presidents almost unfettered pardon power. As long as a president steers clear of attempting to pardon a person in cases of impeachment, he is likely operating within his constitutional authority. Pardons can be given prospectively, meaning before a person is indicted or even charged with a crime....
We are back to where we began, hoping for a society that rewards those that do good and punishes those who do harm. Trump’s corrosive use of the pardon power and his rush to execute death row inmates will cement his presidency as one of the most unjust in history.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opini...-allies-clashes-federal-execution-ncna1252194
3. Using an analogy, what consequences would you expect if a bandit chief is appointed as prison warden?
In the past two days, the "Me First" president has issued 49 pardons. As the days go by, more and more "Thanksgiving Turkeys" will join the two National Thanksgiving Turkeys "Corn" And "Cob" at their new home on the campus of Iowa State University. The last to join them could be the biggest Thanksgiving Turkey of all -- the "Me First" president. Merry Christmas!
Additional Reference:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...teen-americans-including-george-papadopoulos/
