Pardon-Palooza

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

According to updated information at the US Department of Justice website, Donald Trump has granted "presidential pardons" to seventy individuals, with forty-one of those being announced within the last forty-eight hours - and so far he hasn't even gotten to his relatives!

Trump began his personal war on American justice back during his first year in office when he pardoned Arizona conman and former sheriff of Maricopa County (Phoenix), Joe Arpaio.    Old Joe had been convicted on a federal charge of contempt of court and was awaiting sentencing.  The good people of Arizona then had their say three years later when the state wound up supporting Trump's opponent, Joe Biden, in the presidential contest.

Arpaio was the only Trump pardon in 2017.

Trump stepped up his pardon game in 2018 and wiped the slates clear for six individuals.  The most notorious included Scooter Libby, a former aid to Dick Cheney who had been convicted in federal court of  two counts of perjury and a couple of related law violations - and Dinesh D'Souza, a GOP operative and conspiracy theorist  who had been convicted of campaign contribution fraud.  He also pardoned and freed an Oregon father and son, the Hammonds, who had set fire to federal land in a states' rights protest and who were associated with freeloading "rancher" and anti-government activist Ammon Bundy.

Eleven individuals received presidential pardons in 2019 including First Lieutenant Michael Behenna who had been convicted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner.  Some other crimes that received pardons were participation in illegal gambling operations and plotting to steal guns from interstate shipments.

And then came 2020!

Before the election in November Trump pardoned a total of ten individuals including historical figure Susan B. Anthony for illegally voting - despite objections to the pardon from Anthony's current-day followers who contend that she did nothing which would warrant a pardon.   During the early part of 2020 Trump also pardoned a pair of tax-fraudsters, financier Michael Milken and former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who were both personally known to him.

But it was after the November elections when Trump's zeal for protecting his friends became crystal clear. On November 25th he pardoned his first National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, for making false statements to federal investigators - crimes that Flynn had admitted to twice in court.  Not long after that Flynn attended a  evening meeting in the Oval Office where the primary topic of discussion was reportedly how to overturn the results of the recent US presidential election - the one Trump lost.

Trump granted pardons to two former GOP congressmen, Chris Collins for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements, and Duncan Hunter - and his wife, Margaret Hunter - for conspiracy.   He also pardoned George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign who had been convicted for making false statements.

Four individuals who received Trump pardons this week were mercenaries working from the Blackwater Group that is headed by prominent Trump campaign contributor, Erik Prince, for their part in a deadly incident in Afghanistan in which a number of Afghan civilians were wounded and killed.  Those pardons, in particular, seem to not be sitting well with some current and former members of the US military.

And then last night in the most recent round of pardons, Trump threw one to Charles Kushner, Jared's father, who already served two year in the penitentiary for convicution on sixteen counts of fraud and making false statements, a case which had been prosecuted by former federal prosecutor, Chris Christie.  Christie, a friend of Trump's, described the Kushner crimes as being "loathesome."    Apparently when Charles Kushner realized that his brother-in-law would testify against him in court, he hired a prostitute to seduce him and then tried to bribe his brother-in-law with video tapes that he had made of the seduction - and then wound up sending those tapes to the guy's wife - Kushner's sister.  Trump said that Mr. Kushner has been involved in philanthropic work since his release from prison in 2006 which "overshadows" his past criminal activity.

Maybe Charlie ran a children's cancer charity - like the Trump's!

Yesterday Trump also pardoned his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who had been convicted of tax fraud and related financial crimes, and Trump campaign operative, Roger Stone, who had been found guilty of obstructing justice and witness tampering.  Trump had previously commuted Stone's sentence.

Anyway, that's where the pardon's stand as of this morning.  Trump is in Florida today, along with his expensive, publicly-funded entourage (security detail), most likely playing golf.  Perhaps he will post another list tonight.  His time as the pardon-master grows shorter by the day!

Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse described Trump's pardon-palooza as "rotten to the core," and, as I noted, he hasn't even gotten to his kids yet - or himself!  It can only get worse from here!

If federal investigators and prosecutors want to revisit some of  the outrages that led to these convictions - especially now that many of the principals have been pardoned and no longer require Fifth Amendment protections - I hope that the Biden administration gives them full-rein to dig far and wide!

Donald Trump may wind up making far more history than he intended - and that could not happen to a more deserving person!