Trump vows to protect Musk, floats pre-emptive staff pardons
forbes.comFortunately I rarely have to say this, but Trump is not wrong. Joe Biden set a horrible example.
Pardoning preemptively ultimately means even the President of the United States has no trust in the US justice system or the people serving there, and it’s probably one of the most undemocratic and damaging things Biden as well as Trump did in their presidencies.
Everyone with the ability to see two steps ahead could see that Biden was correct in his pardons. Trump did exactly the things everyone expected him to do. If anything - Trump being the petty and vindictive man he is - completely vindicated Biden.
Was he?
Just take his son as a single example.
What did the special counsel say about the pardon?
https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-We...
> As Special Counsel, I prosecuted Hunter Biden in two cases and obtained convictions in both, in one case, Mr. Biden pleaded guilty to all counts, and in the other, a jury found him guilty of all counts.
> In my report, I discuss the prosecution decisions that led to the two charged cases and subsequent convictions. On December 1, 2024, before Mr. Biden could be sentenced in either case, President Biden pardoned his son for all criminal offences he committed or may have committed over the last ELEVEN YEARS. In light of this pardon, I cannot make any additional charging decisions as to Mr. Biden's conduct during those eleven years.
> Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.
> As Judge Mark C. Scarsi, the judge presiding over Mr. Biden's tax case, stated:
The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.
> These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics. Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives.
> Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law.
The rule of law is the essential glue of any society. Your last name should not be the reason you dodge a lengthy prison sentence for committing crime.
If you set that example, and that is what Joe Biden did not just with his son but with others who would have gone to jail because they did commit the crimes, why should anyone still follow the law?
You cannot follow the law, get rich by that and then buy a pardon from either a Democrat or Republican president for like 20% of what you stole.
Is that how you want the rule of law to be respected by the highest representative of your country?
But since you’re one of the people two steps ahead of everyone else maybe you can explain some stupid Tetris player like myself where the special counsel, eight judges and a jury is wrong, and why you know it better.
In the fantastic country that is the USA, it is possible to engage in lawfare against people - where the process is the punishment. Everyone, other than those neck deep in the MAGA juice, knew Trump would weaponize the DOJ to go after everyone he felt wronged by. And guess what, he did just that.
How long and far did Trump go to get Hunter Biden in the Burisma case, without getting anywhere?
Their grand victory was a handgun case, and tax avoidance. Absolute victory.
Joe Biden knew that if he didn't pardon Hunter, Trump would make the DOJ look through every aspect if his life with a fine comb, and throw the book at everything they could find, for no other reason than to keep him occupied (and drained) in court.
You can't take any moral high ground when dealing with people that are as morally and ethically corrupt as Trump.
In the end, Trump would 100% have given out mass pardons whether Biden did it or not. It is ridiculous to even entertain the idea that Trump would / will act otherwise. The amount of brazen and naked corruption going on is staggering.
The former FBI director Comey is beating case after case, because judges don’t give a fuck about what the Trump administration or DOJ wants, they are bound by the law. The man did nothing wrong, so he does not get sentenced.
He is the perfect example why the line of argument you need a pardon to survive the "lawfare" is absolute bullshit.
If any of the people Biden pardoned preemptively, were innocent, they would have been found innocent by a judge or a jury, just like Comey, because even presidential powers don’t reach this far.
We have seen judges around the country doing their job without fear of the president. You’re part of the problem if you say this process is no longer working, because it’s absolutely untrue.
> Their grand victory was a handgun case and tax avoidance. Absolute victory.
I don’t care if he stole bubble gum high as a kite with three hookers waiting in his car. If you break the law, you have to deal with the consequences and not get pardoned because your daddy is the president of the United States.
And no, Trump did not mass or favour/pardon4pay in his first term like Biden did. Trump is everything you say, no doubt, but this shit goes on Biden’s tab.
Trump is only living the example Biden set here, and he is right in doing so in his view, because Americans in all their wisdom gave him the power to do so when he got elected by a majority of them and the former president set an example for him how to use his powers effectively to the presidents and his families and friends personal advantage.
Has Musk done anything that needs pardoning? If so, for shame. The corruption here seems out in the open lately.
There's a long list. The one that comes to mind chronologically early is securities fraud in accumulating shares of Twitter. Though it's probably past being prosecutable, visa fraud in immigration status. There are dozens of crimes in DOGE.
Congress has the power of the purse. Congress has decided to allocate some money to USAID. Enron Musk came in, and redirected that money. Thats illegal.
On the one hand, he said he'd go to jail if the dems won. On the other, he says a lot of things that aren't true.
At this point, Musk might face extradition claims outside the US and state-level charges within it, even if Trump pardons him for all US federal laws. And he might have lost a lot of leverage with the US federal government by having SpaceX stop taking customers for more Falcon launches before Starship's fully ready.
Much of what DOGE did is likely illegal