by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Social media is abuzz this morning with speculation that Trump will resign before his term officially ends at noon on January 20th, and that his replacement, President Mike Pence, will immediately grant him a full pardon for any and all federal crimes that he may have ever committed. A slick move like that would take a fair bit of legal worry off of Trump's table.
And while the notion is somewhat shocking, those of us of a certain age can remember much the same thing occurring in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace and his replacement, President Gerald Ford, granted Nixon an unconditional pardon. The public didn't like it, and Ford's press secretary, Ron Nessen, resigned over the matter - and the pardon was also thought to have been a crucial factor in Ford's loss to Jimmy Carter when he ran for President two years later.
But a Trump resignation and pardon would be different from Nixon's in that it would occur after Trump has already lost his re-election bid and it would be within weeks of the new President being sworn into office. There would be little pretense of Mike Pence being an actual President, and, in fact, the egomaniacal Trump would probably wait until there were just a few days left in his term, thus denying Pence and Mother time to unpack in the White House.
(William Henry Harrison had the shortest tenure of any US President. After giving the longest inaugural address ever - in a cold rain - he developed what was likely pneumonia and died 31 days later.)
Of course before Trump submits his resignation he would also be likely to pardon his adult children and any of his administration misfits whom he deemed worthy of his divine intercession. He has also made noises at various times during his administration of pardoning himself, but that appears to be something that the courts (even those he so carefully stacked) would not tolerate.
There is also a question of state crimes which presumably would not be covered under a presidential pardon. There are potential battles looming with the state of New York for Trump and his family organization - and there may also be international legal matters as well that have to be addressed. Yesterday it was revealed that Scotland is investigating Trump enterprises within its borders. A pardon from Pence would lighten the load, but other legal dangers would still abound for the aging grifter and his family.
So if you see any of those commemorative plates celebrating "Joe Biden - Our 46th President," snap them up because they will be collector's items if Biden instead turns out to be our 47th President. Trump may be down, but he is not out - yet - and clearly he is good for at least one more world-class outrage!
And what could be more outrageous than President Pence and Mother Flotus?
Have mercy!
1 comment:
In Ford's defense it's not like Nixon was looking over his shoulder forcing him to sign the pardon. Tricky Dick's fork was stuck in him at noon August 9th. One month later Ford signed the presidential pardon.
Ford's reasoning, as reported on Wikipedia, was that "his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision that suggested that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and that its acceptance carries a confession of guilt"
That issue of the pardon being a confession of guilt stuck in the craw of your least favorite sheriff - Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Az. No doubt Trump's vanity will prevent him from accepting a pardon if it means he admits that he's guilty.
Post a Comment