Sunday, 18 June 2023
Could/should Biden pardon Trump?
Now here's a thought. What if Donald Trump is found guilty of breaching the Espionage Act by hoarding classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House and is sentenced to 20 years in prison? And then President Biden pardons him? An article in The Hill publication ponders a number of reasons why Biden could consider a pardon. I think the obvious reasons for taking such action are sensible. First of all, sending a former president to prison would be so divisive the whole country would be in uproar with one side saying "good riddance, about time" and the other side saying,"a disgraceful act of revenge against a former president and an end to democracy in the US of A". If Biden pardoned Trump it could be argued that it would be in the national interest. Put America first. That slogan should please most Republicans. Also it wouldn't do Biden any harm because he would look gracious and magnanimous, although some Republicans, possibly even Trump himself, might see it as an act of on condescension. But seeing how Biden was caught storing classified documents when he was vice president but was NOT charged because he owned up as soon as they were found, pardoning Trump for the same but much more serious mishandling of documents and then allegedly lying about it could be seen as a generous and understandable gesture. BUT, if Biden were to consider pardoning Trump if convicted, there really should be a quid pro quo: Trump is banned from ever again standing for public office, let alone the presidency. That, I suspect, wouldn't go down at all well with either Trump or his supporters and there could be a backlash against Biden. Also, what if Trump is then charged with other offences, to do with the January 6 riot and the alleged false claims of miscounting in the Georgia primary? Should Biden pardon him for everything? That might be a stretch too far.
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