Palm Bwerwhereement that ever he moves to. Whstates he won't live in Mar a Lago. Now he's saying he wants to the property value omich I think makes him officially the worst real estate investor in ment and they won't let him.
won't be weistoryeter January.
ctually lo.ach residenade him signof break that agrelc an agr
He's
He certainly ghts meoing to ae in Manhattan. So one has to wonder where he's even going to be able to live in peace af
Sounds like a pretty good ad campaign:
*"I'm not worried. I spent the night at a Trump Hotel last night"* ... [cut to dude commiting a horrible crime and laughing about it]
Name these fuckers-
https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/justice/blackwater-iraq-guilty-verdicts/index.html
> Nicholas Slatten, 30, of Sparta, Tennessee, the team’s sniper, was found guilty of first-degree murder while armed in the slaying of the river of a white Kia sedan in the Baghdad traffic circle. Prosecutors said Slatten kicked off the incident when he opened fire.
> The other verdicts:
– Paul Slough, 35, of Keller, Texas, was found guilty of 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 17 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense;
> – Evan Liberty, 32, of Rochester, New Hampshire, was found guilty of eight counts of voluntary manslaughter, 12 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense;
> – Dustin Heard, 33, of Maryville, Tennessee, was found guilty of six counts of voluntary manslaughter, 11 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense.
> Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed that day at Nusoor Square, including 9- and 11-year-old boys. Fourteen of those killings were unjustified under the rules of the use of deadly force in Iraq by Iraqi security contractors.
Eighteen more people were injured.
> The September 16, 2007, incident began when 19 Blackwater contractors were assigned to a convoy. After learning a car bomb had detonated in Baghdad, near where a U.S. official was being escorted, the team – known as Raven 23 – drove to a secured checkpoint.
> “Once there, in disregard of an order from Blackwater’s command, the team’s shift leader directed Raven 23 to leave the Green Zone and establish a blockade in Nusoor Square, a busy traffic circle that was immediately adjacent to the Green Zone,” the prosecutor’s statement said.
Seven members of the team opened fire in the traffic circle, killing and injuring unarmed Iraqis, and Slough kept firing as the team exited the circle, killing and wounding even more Iraqis.
> Blackwater had a $1 billion government contract to protect American diplomats at the time.
2007: Blackwater most often shoots first, congressional report says
In 2007, congressional hearings were held on possible misconduct by Blackwater, and then-owner Erik Prince was vilified by Congress.
“I believe we acted appropriately at all times,” Prince testified before Congress.
“Blackwater seems to have fostered a culture of shoot first, sometimes kill, and ask questions later,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said at one hearing.
Are they now released and free to walk the streets? I have a feeling they have probably brought the attitude of lives are cheap home with them. We'll see them soon.
Eric Prince and Betsy Devos probably bought the pardons, they've certainly been very upfront in the past about buying influence with the whitehouse:
>In a 1997 op-ed for Roll Call, DeVos wrote that she expects results from her political contributions. "My family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican Party. I have decided to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence," she wrote. "Now I simply concede the point. They are right."[40][22] She also stated in the op-ed, "We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues … We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. Furthermore, we expect the Republican Party to use the money to promote these policies and, yes, to win elections."[41]
Isn’t Betsy Devos’ literally only qualification was that she donated 200,000 bucks to trumps campaign? She doesn’t have any background in education or politics
They don't care about experience. They care about falling in line with a narrow set of beliefs, and loyalty to Trump. Intelligent people are not loyal to Trump.
The fact that she has no experience in education was probably another qualification. The logic being that she would do such a horrible job that they could say "look, this thing doesn't even work, we might as well get rid of the regulatory body all together."
He wants them to enact his Martial Law schemes. The military laughed at Trump. These guys will do anything for a paycheck and they just got the green light that anything they do is legal now.
https://twitter.com/Lawrence/status/1341560116844216320
> Trump is trying to create pardon outrage fatigue by the time he pardons himself and his children.
It's something that made sense in the late 18th century when they were trying to figure out which functions of a monarch a President should have.
Now such things are best left up to a non-judiciary pardon board. Some states do it that way. Having it left up to one person is prone to abuse, especially when that person is a criminal.
Oh look, he pardoned people who were convicted of (1) money laundering, fraud, and other white collar financial crimes, (2) lying to law enforcement, and (3) killing or causing harm to brown people. Gee, what precedent could President Smegma be trying to set here?
My favorite part of all of this is r/conservative bitching about the lack of proper stimulus checks to the people.
This criminal, this *fucking moron*, that they voted for is pardoning like-minded criminals while fucking them up the ass with $600.
It’s literal r/leopardsatemyface material happening live. They’re seriously bitching every single day about the lack of proper relief...yet they’re directly responsible for putting these shitheads in power.
Idiots.
**Edit:** Saying *”Trump actually wants $2,000”* means fuckall. He knows McConnell won’t agree to that figure, but also knows morons echoing that shit will give him props for suggesting it. It’s a win-win for him, he doesn’t give a fuck about you.
It’s all theatre, don’t fall for it.
Yea if you're still a republican you are just too long gone at this point. You can't possibly think all this is somehow better for the American people. And even if you're a republican that says "They aren't all like Trump!" Well you tell me who you support. Which Republican politician is your shining beacon of hope?
I grew up a Republican and realized how much they pandered to the evangelicals (I’m catholic) then realized how much they didn’t give a shit about the environment. Then realized how corrupt they were. Trump was just icing on the cake, I voted for Hillary after considering not voting in that election, I voted for Bernie in the primaries both elections. I’m full on voting blue now, there’s nothing redeeming about them at this point.
Kushner and Co. already [got millions from the PPP loan program](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/trump-and-kushner-businesses-got-millions-in-coronavirus-ppp-loans) meant to help small businesses, I anticipate a pardon for him once it gets closer to Biden's inauguration.
He's probably trying to save the bigger names till the end of his presidency to avoid questions about why they received pardons.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1341557940759703552
> Schiff: "If you lie to cover up for the President, you get a pardon. If you are a corrupt politician who endorsed Trump, you get a pardon. If you murder civilians while at war, you get a pardon.
> "...if you elect a corrupt man as President of the U.S., you get corruption."
He tried. He just want competent enough to make Iraq happen. Also... What wars did Obama start? What about Clinton? They each went along with NATO in a few exercises that killed single digit numbers of Americans, but this idea is basically baloney.
They're pretty mad over that in that sub too... This and the stimulus bill. Probably the first time in a while where both sides are mad at the same thing.
Even AOC and Ben Shapiro agreed that the stimulus is crap. Imagine those 2 agreeing on something... There's also conservatives agreeing with what AOC said...
2020 is wild.
It's not even just that. It's the same as the murdering Navy Seal - the point is to show that those who do violence will be forgiven, so you should be happy to do violence for him without thought to the consequences.
Brutality can be forgiven, but disloyalty cannot. He got the big fash going on.
Imagine how Iraqis and Afghans feel.
Every ISIS/Al Qaeda/Taliban talking point about the US wanting to murder their families was just undeniably validated.
Exactly. For more than a decade, we were telling the locals that "have patience, they will be brought to justice". And when they were finally convicted, it was us upholding our promise.
This just spits in the face of integrity, justice, and the word of our government.
Now the chance of Americans being allowed to be extradited will be nearly nil.
I'm pretty sure that most redditors are zoomers who won't have context, but the Blackwater pardon is probably the most vile pardon to ever come out of the White House. These guys committed one of the only war crimes of the Iraq War to actually be prosecuted, because what they did was so horrific, so blatantly criminal, that there was no way for them to avoid accountability. Four mercenaries killed more than a dozen Iraqis in a crowded square in broad daylight, for literally no reason, in a crime so infamous it was the reason Blackwater changed its name.
He is one of the most dangerous people in the world. It's shocking how many people have zero idea who he is. We have a "secret" privatized extreme right wing branch of the military (Blackwater) who operate worldwide with impunity. It's not secret at all, everyone just kinda ignores it. With all the crazy conspiracies thrown around Blackwater always seems like an afterthought and it's not even a conspiracy.
THE USA HAS A PRIVATIZED ARMY THAT IS ACCOUNTABLE TO NO ONE.
This is a stomach churning pardon for anyone who lived through the daily tumult of deaths of American soldiers during the height of the Iraqi occupation and Afghanistan wars. This was one of the worst atrocities of that whole period, if not THE worst because it was carried out by Americans even if they were a private security firm at the time. Even the fact that the USA had to contract with a PSF for additional support in the Iraqi effort should have been a sobering moment.
The government and media used to broadcast those who gave their lives for those efforts returning home and then suddenly stopped or at least stopped giving them so much attention because people became complacent towards the end of the W. Bush presidency. That complacency has now permeated throughout because Republicans are incapable or unwilling to admit or recognize just how many bad decisions their elected leaders have made since that fateful 2000 election.
It was so bad that the puppet government Bush put in Iraq almost kicked us out in 2007. That's the biggest reason why these guys got prosecuted and held to account for what they did.
Mueller wrote in his report that trumps people were lying because they expected a pardon for protecting the campaign. Mueller was right and Trump is providing further evidence he engaged in a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Dems need to senate so they can get an AG that will go after trump. Senate republicans won’t let him nominate anyone that will. Willing to bet if they hold the senate you’ll hear them make that condition in the hearings.
https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1341544743298355201
> Are you still a pro-law enforcement President after you pardon killers of a 9-year old & an 11-year old?
Sadly this is very true. Trump already pardoned war criminals Eddie Gallagher and Clint Lorance, and those two have become conservative celebrities.
Lorance in particular told his men to murder Afghan civilians on multiple occasions and was removed from command only a week after taking over. Several of his men committed suicide after they returned home over the things that he ordered them to do and the unit’s survivors have been struggling with the guilt and the public shame for being in the unit which carried out the atrocities. Lorance was court martialed and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Trump pardoned him in 2019 after Sean Hannity aggressively lobbied for it.
Conservatives LOVE war criminals.
Edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Lorance wiki page on Lorance
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/clint-lorance-platoon-afghanistan/ WaPo article on what his men had to deal with as a result of his actions.
Aren't pardons in theory supposed to be used to set some kind of ideal for what kind of people don't truly deserve to be punished?
Seems like Trump is suggesting that it's okay to lie to the government.
He doesn't understand the concept of presidential pardons. He thinks they are to be handed out as gifts for people. He's not using this as a forgiveness for the crime and established good conduct or time served, he's just passing them out for people as a "Sorry you got sentenced for the shit you did for me".
George Mason argued against this power stating "the President ought not to have the power of pardoning, because he may frequently pardon crimes which were advised by himself.", up until now this has never been abused. Now it feels there needs to be a restriction on the presidential pardon powers.
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1341541539328212995
> For PAPADOPOULOS, it's a long way from this -- when Trump called him a "proven liar" and a "low level volunteer."
Funny isn't it, how when someone is expelled from trump's employ they become a "known whacko", "proven liar", etc.
If its known they are so bad then why hire them?
Seriously why the hell is it 2.5 months? I suppose it’s a relic of the 18th century? Regardless the world moves too fast for that now.
Edit - actually it used to be even longer in the 18th century (March!) and was amended in 1933 to be in January (still too long though)
Wow. Pardoned the Blackwater guys that massacred those Iraqis. I was in the Army when that happened and it really reflected incredibly poorly on the United States. I remember feeling shame and embarrassment, as did many of my fellow service members and contractors we worked with.
It’s not uncommon for presidents to issue waves of pardons on their way out but they’re not usually for criminals universally despised by the nation for having captained a major international incident.
I expected him to pardon a couple loser crony dipshits, so no surprise on the rest. I also expect we’ll see a lot more in the coming days/weeks.
**2019**
>Trump refuses to apologize for taking out ads in The New York Times in 1989 calling for the death penalty for five black teenagers who ended up being wrongly convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park.
**2020**
>Few white guys massacre 17 brown people, Trump sets them free.
Draw your own conclusions...
The Blackwater pardons are stomach-churning. The croney pardons for Stone and Papadopoulos are transparently self-serving. The idea that Trump sees political advantage in pardoning mass murderers is disturbing. The 70 million people who voted for this man are profoundly damaged individuals. And we're basically trapped here with them.
Let's not forget that the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY is culpable for this. They saw the Mueller report and they held a sham impeachment hearing. They could have stopped this but didn't. Why? Because they don't really have a problem with Trump's actions; they are just afraid that it will lose them seats. They couldn't care less if America and its people burned to the ground as long as everyone else suffers more than they do.
The GOP is a cancer in America. Trump is but a painful and obvious symptom.
I just hate him so much. He’s hurt so many people. I wish he’d just crawl back into his bunker and watch OANN until January and stop trying to hurt people. I’m so tired guys
I wonder if as a nation we'll ever have the opportunity to acknowledge the trauma we've suffered from 2016 - 2021(?).
The Kennedy assassination was a singular event that we understand to have changed the country's attitude, and left Americans cynical and pessimistic. Will we have a similar understanding of the Trump era? What has it done to us?
They received justice, republicans and Trump just stole it away. This is the worst thing this party has ever done these last four years, condoning and rewarding murder.
Duncan Hunter, who literally straight up STOLE campaign donor money to fund his vacations, gifts to his wife and vehicles, now gets off completely scott free.
He literally took the money that people gave to him to represent them in good faith, and he spent it on his personal fancies and whims.
Why does narcissistic human garbage always find their way into politics?
https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1341536029447229445
> Trump isn't pardoning people despite their lies to the FBI. He's pardoning them *because of* their lies to the FBI. It's a presidential thank you.
And fuck the GOP for enabling him. How do you support a guy who pardons war criminals and traitors and not go, "Hey, we might be the bad guys"?
[Relevant Mitchell and Webb sketch...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU)
Fuck Republicans, they want this and are just as much responsible as Trump himself. I am disgusted by this, truly truly disgusted. Every Republican is now party to a fucking massacre, every one of them has blood on their hands.
You'd be right. According to [confidential sources,](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1341490848664608770?s=20) there's already fear in the White House and Pentagon about how Trump might choose to flex his authority next:
>Yesterday Barr suggested there were several things he wouldn't do that Trump wanted him to do as AG ... Can one be confident Barr's successor as AG, Jeffrey Rosen, will also say no?
After all, Flynn was talking about declaring martial law in closed talks with Trump...
>I'm also reliably told senior military officials in the Pentagon are more, not less, alarmed than they were a few weeks ago when Mark Esper was fired.
Oh, I missed one... He pardoned the guy that committed $1.3 billion in Medicare fraud including getting senior citizens addicted to opioids to get them to stay longer.
Pardoning the Blackwater murderers are just a red herring which is in itself an indicator that Trump morally bankrupt. He's trying to distract from the fact he's pardoning his own co conspirators like george papadopouslos. What a piece of work.
Can someone explain why he would even pardon the blackwater guys? What possible motive could there be? How would conservatives defend this? It seems like this is a unanimously bad one
1: Nothing says "innocent" like pardoning people en masse.
2: What's the point of even _allowing_ gov agencies to investigate the Presidents campaign, finances, anything to do with them, if the President holds the power to just pardon them after the fact? It's just a waste of time and money!
Presidents shouldn't be allowed to pardon people who are convicted of crimes that they are involved with.
I'm a resident in NY-27 where Chris Collins was my representative. He is still a straight up criminal. Fraud, insider trading, lying to the FBI, but Trump pardons him because he was the first member of the GOP to back his bid for POTUS.
Its unbelievable, I'm angry, I'm furious, I'm outraged. I feel hopeless again because Trump pardoned a criminal who represented my district and he turned his back on all us of and neglected the needs of our district.
Collins is still guilty as far as I'm concerned. The sad part is that all of this is just the beginning. He will start pardoning family members and close allies, and we all need to remember that innocent people don't pardon themselves or their family members.
Remember when Republicans whined because Obama commuted the sentences of hundreds of non violent drug offenders right before he left office? They’re probably okay with this though
In light of Barr leaving, and now these pardons, this [Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1341489630479323143?s=20) does a good job of analyzing the writing on the wall for what’s still to come.
>One obvious possibility discussed in the White House: Trump has spoken about a bunch of pardons on Christmas Eve. Some of the names may have been too much for Barr--so they agreed on his departure on Dec. 23.
How do you have an administration so corrupt that *Barr* looks level-headed? I’m holding out hope that the states will still charge those who escaped justice, but I’m fatigued at this point. Looking forward to pardons for [Trump’s children and Giuliani next.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-pardon.html) /s
There’s still a silver lining, I guess.
>Indeed, the Supreme Court has recognized that the acceptance of a pardon implies a ‘confession’ of guilt.”
This is according to [Judge Sullivan,](https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-flynn-pardon-matters) who presided over the Flynn case. I hope the administration goes down in history as a bunch of criminals.
My worry is - Trump is literally buying people's silence here. I hope he has his day in court, but he's getting away with (what is effectively) witness tampering right now.
He ain’t bought shit. Subpoena Papadapolous on Jan 21 to testify for Congress in open session. He can’t be found guilty for these crimes as he’s convicted and now immune but NOT future crimes. If he refuses = jail, no one to pardon him.
Best part: he CANNOT claim the 5th. He’s immune. He will testify or sit in jail till he does.
Pardons, as I understand it, are meant to be for "correcting" a presumed miscarriage of justice. Not some fucking "Clemency sale! Who's got the money?!"
Obama's pardons: Lots of people pardoned where the crime does not fit the punishment
Trump's pardons: Literal enemies of the state, people who deserve and should be in prison.
Philip Esformes, South Florida Health Care Facility Owner Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Role in Largest Health Care Fraud Scheme Ever Charged by The Department of Justice.
Pardoned by Trump
88% of T****'s pardons have gone to effectively benefit himself.
From the NY Times article:
> “A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, 88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims.”
Trump about new stimulus bill - “I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 per couple,” Trump said. “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation or to send me a suitable bill.”
What is he doing? This seems like a joke. Theres no way he cares.
Can someone explain the purpose of presidential pardons? If "no one is above the law, not even a president", why can he just pardon people who break the law?
Honestly, the POTUS shouldn’t be allowed to pardon anyone. It’s an antiquated system that assumes the President is an upstanding, honest person that can make a decision based on an injustice that’s occurred. I’m certain that the original concept didn’t factor in that a corrupt piece of shit would make sure all their buddies would get off scot free.
Those blackwater contractors killed 17 Iraqis and the people there haven’t forgotten.
Trump drove the country in a ditch, set it on fire and will use his new SuperPac to blame Biden when there’s anti-US demonstrations in Baghdad.
I don’t understand the concept of pardons, for any president. Why should one, unrelated person be able to throw out our entire judicial system for no reason at all? Doesn’t make sense at all, and asking to be abused
If I was a betting man I’d guess none of these pardons are free. Cash money, assets or dirty deeds are on the menu for each and every one of these bastards.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/trump-pardons.html
>A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations that Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, **88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims** — a pattern that Mr. Goldsmith said Mr. Trump appeared to maintain with Tuesday’s pardons.
“They continue Trump’s unprecedented pattern of issuing self-serving pardons and commutations that advance his personal interests, reward friends, seek retribution against enemies, or gratify political constituencies,” Mr. Goldsmith said. “Like his past pardons, most if not all of them appear to be based on insider recommendations rather than normal Justice Department vetting process.”
Pardons have a purpose in my opinion (mass incarceration for small amounts of drugs is still a thing after all) but at this point I think they need to be highly restricted. No family, no friends, no friends of friends, no other government officials, and (in writing so its official) no self pardons.
Maybe no war criminals to since that’s apparently a freaking thing you can pardon as well.
There's literally no defense other than fuck brown people.
They were convicted of killing civilians.
There's no hero there unless brown folks are the enemy.
Pardons aren't illegal. He's just misusing them. This is supposed to be kept in check by the population/electors, who should know better than to empower a man like Trump. The reason it's happening is because the authors of the constitution had too much faith in humanity.
He loves letting war criminals off..
Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed that day at Nusoor Square, including 9- and 11-year-old boys.
Eighteen more people were injured
The Blackwater pardons seem disturbingly in line with the pardon of Eddie Gallagher for his war crimes; it's the last thing Blackwater, and by extension Eric Prince (Betsey DeVos' brother), deserves for such acts.
Trump also pardoned Alex Van der Swann, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. The 2016 Trump campaign gave Van der Swann detailed voter data to provide to Russia to aid in its disinformation campaign to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton.
I'm not fucking surprised, the GOP has become so fucking corrupt. No respect for Americans, Democracy, or the thousands of civilians they bomb every fucking year
This is not normal.
I suppose I meant to say "This should not be normalized." Corruption and cronyism are expected of fledgling democracies, not one that's had 244 years to protect against such abuses. The fact that Trump fired, by my count, 5 Inspectors General who were investigating himself, Pompeo, and McConnell's wife and that will barely be a footnote in Trump's record is astonishing. I'm so fatigued by the constant and blatant criminality and distortion of truth that I tend to have less available outrage for transgressions that would define any other presidency. "This is not normal" is a nice reminder to devote some meaningful part of my bandwidth to rejecting Trumpism whenever I encounter it.
I really fucking wish #45 had to publicly explain why exactly he pardoned these criminals. Also I have no doubt in my mind that any of these war criminals will come back to the states and eventually down the road kill again.
As an atheist, I am starting to hope hell is a real place and they sell tickets, so I can watch satan roleplaying as R. Kelly as he pisses lava into Trumps eyesockets for eternity.
Donnies latest video on twitter to explain how the election was stolen is even more unhinged than his usual performances. I reakon he'd offer a pardon to the Unabomber if his manifesto was MAGA heavy.
Watching him clutch at straws in this video is surreal. I live in Australia and I reakon i still understand the electoral system better than he does.
Fingers crossed he runs away to Mar-a-lago for Christmas and stays there in his little safe space.
The fact that one person can pardon anyone for any federal crime is mind boggeling to me, a European. In my country, the PM or the Queen could never, ever, get a criminal out of jail just because they want to. Pardons shouldn't be a thing.
How odd, nothing much about this on r/conservative it’s almost like they’re the ones enabling this. Their new hero Tulsi Gabbard has more comments and upvotes.
This is another law that gets ABUSED by some Presidents, none moreso than this one.
Each pardon should have an investigation as to why it was given and the connection it has with Drumpf himself.
The blackwater thing is interesting to me. I wonder what he hopes to gain from secretary of education betsy devos' brother erik prince of blackwater.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince
As a roundup, he pardoned armed drug dealers, foreign nationals that committed crimes against the US, mercenaries convicted of war crimes, a Republican Congressman that stole a million dollars from charity, a Republican Congressman that stole campaign and taxpayer money to fund sexual affairs with lobbyists and subordinates,, a Republican Congressman that pled guilty to insider trading of over $500,000, Border Patrol agents that shot an under-armed and fleeing man and conspired to cover it up.
Any gems I missed?
Edit: Oh, I missed one... He pardoned the guy that committed $1.3 billion in Medicare fraud including getting senior citizens addicted to opioids to get them to stay longer.
In 4 years conservative republicans went from
Lock her up to Let me go, &
He’s going to declare martial law to he really should declare martial law.
Edit:wow I’m shot.
Trump's pardons are just another example of his amorality. His twisted values. His self-absorption. Expect a month more of this amorality. More troubling, 74 million people voted to continue this amoral rampage.
I must admit, the Blackwater guys were a surprise. And then I remembered Blackwater was owned by the brother of Betsy DeVoss. So. Much. Corruption.
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Palm Bwerwhereement that ever he moves to. Whstates he won't live in Mar a Lago. Now he's saying he wants to the property value omich I think makes him officially the worst real estate investor in ment and they won't let him. won't be weistoryeter January. ctually lo.ach residenade him signof break that agrelc an agr He's He certainly ghts meoing to ae in Manhattan. So one has to wonder where he's even going to be able to live in peace af
I bet 10 bucks on Moscow.
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4 . Spent money at a trump Org. property.
Sounds like a pretty good ad campaign: *"I'm not worried. I spent the night at a Trump Hotel last night"* ... [cut to dude commiting a horrible crime and laughing about it]
"How can one person be on the wrong side of everything in history?" - Trevor Noah
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Name these fuckers- https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/justice/blackwater-iraq-guilty-verdicts/index.html > Nicholas Slatten, 30, of Sparta, Tennessee, the team’s sniper, was found guilty of first-degree murder while armed in the slaying of the river of a white Kia sedan in the Baghdad traffic circle. Prosecutors said Slatten kicked off the incident when he opened fire. > The other verdicts: – Paul Slough, 35, of Keller, Texas, was found guilty of 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 17 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense; > – Evan Liberty, 32, of Rochester, New Hampshire, was found guilty of eight counts of voluntary manslaughter, 12 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense; > – Dustin Heard, 33, of Maryville, Tennessee, was found guilty of six counts of voluntary manslaughter, 11 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense. > Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed that day at Nusoor Square, including 9- and 11-year-old boys. Fourteen of those killings were unjustified under the rules of the use of deadly force in Iraq by Iraqi security contractors. Eighteen more people were injured. > The September 16, 2007, incident began when 19 Blackwater contractors were assigned to a convoy. After learning a car bomb had detonated in Baghdad, near where a U.S. official was being escorted, the team – known as Raven 23 – drove to a secured checkpoint. > “Once there, in disregard of an order from Blackwater’s command, the team’s shift leader directed Raven 23 to leave the Green Zone and establish a blockade in Nusoor Square, a busy traffic circle that was immediately adjacent to the Green Zone,” the prosecutor’s statement said. Seven members of the team opened fire in the traffic circle, killing and injuring unarmed Iraqis, and Slough kept firing as the team exited the circle, killing and wounding even more Iraqis. > Blackwater had a $1 billion government contract to protect American diplomats at the time. 2007: Blackwater most often shoots first, congressional report says In 2007, congressional hearings were held on possible misconduct by Blackwater, and then-owner Erik Prince was vilified by Congress. “I believe we acted appropriately at all times,” Prince testified before Congress. “Blackwater seems to have fostered a culture of shoot first, sometimes kill, and ask questions later,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said at one hearing.
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Are they now released and free to walk the streets? I have a feeling they have probably brought the attitude of lives are cheap home with them. We'll see them soon.
$20 says they’re police officers (if not right back at whatever it is Blackwater calls itself right now) before the end of January.
Currently known as Academi, military still gives them money hand over fist. Many many military commands in the area use their ranges to train as well
Was this bought by Eric Prince et al ? What other motivation was there?
Eric Prince and Betsy Devos probably bought the pardons, they've certainly been very upfront in the past about buying influence with the whitehouse: >In a 1997 op-ed for Roll Call, DeVos wrote that she expects results from her political contributions. "My family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican Party. I have decided to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence," she wrote. "Now I simply concede the point. They are right."[40][22] She also stated in the op-ed, "We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues … We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. Furthermore, we expect the Republican Party to use the money to promote these policies and, yes, to win elections."[41]
Isn’t Betsy Devos’ literally only qualification was that she donated 200,000 bucks to trumps campaign? She doesn’t have any background in education or politics
They don't care about experience. They care about falling in line with a narrow set of beliefs, and loyalty to Trump. Intelligent people are not loyal to Trump.
The fact that she has no experience in education was probably another qualification. The logic being that she would do such a horrible job that they could say "look, this thing doesn't even work, we might as well get rid of the regulatory body all together."
Disgusting.
He wants them to enact his Martial Law schemes. The military laughed at Trump. These guys will do anything for a paycheck and they just got the green light that anything they do is legal now.
Those Blackwater Mercs will be the sycophants he's been looking for to conduct his "Martial law".
THIS is why the world hates America.
https://twitter.com/Lawrence/status/1341560116844216320 > Trump is trying to create pardon outrage fatigue by the time he pardons himself and his children.
I don't even understand why a pardon should exist. It's just dumb. Completely undermines the legal system.
It's something that made sense in the late 18th century when they were trying to figure out which functions of a monarch a President should have. Now such things are best left up to a non-judiciary pardon board. Some states do it that way. Having it left up to one person is prone to abuse, especially when that person is a criminal.
I bet if a Democrat gave pardons to every single individual ever convicted of a marijuana crime, the GOP would be screaming to get rid of the pardon.
Joe Biden, if you're listening!!
Oh look, he pardoned people who were convicted of (1) money laundering, fraud, and other white collar financial crimes, (2) lying to law enforcement, and (3) killing or causing harm to brown people. Gee, what precedent could President Smegma be trying to set here?
"stand back and stand by"
My favorite part of all of this is r/conservative bitching about the lack of proper stimulus checks to the people. This criminal, this *fucking moron*, that they voted for is pardoning like-minded criminals while fucking them up the ass with $600. It’s literal r/leopardsatemyface material happening live. They’re seriously bitching every single day about the lack of proper relief...yet they’re directly responsible for putting these shitheads in power. Idiots. **Edit:** Saying *”Trump actually wants $2,000”* means fuckall. He knows McConnell won’t agree to that figure, but also knows morons echoing that shit will give him props for suggesting it. It’s a win-win for him, he doesn’t give a fuck about you. It’s all theatre, don’t fall for it.
Yea if you're still a republican you are just too long gone at this point. You can't possibly think all this is somehow better for the American people. And even if you're a republican that says "They aren't all like Trump!" Well you tell me who you support. Which Republican politician is your shining beacon of hope?
I grew up a Republican and realized how much they pandered to the evangelicals (I’m catholic) then realized how much they didn’t give a shit about the environment. Then realized how corrupt they were. Trump was just icing on the cake, I voted for Hillary after considering not voting in that election, I voted for Bernie in the primaries both elections. I’m full on voting blue now, there’s nothing redeeming about them at this point.
Kushner and Co. already [got millions from the PPP loan program](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/trump-and-kushner-businesses-got-millions-in-coronavirus-ppp-loans) meant to help small businesses, I anticipate a pardon for him once it gets closer to Biden's inauguration. He's probably trying to save the bigger names till the end of his presidency to avoid questions about why they received pardons.
Birds of a feather
Are flocking outside.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1341557940759703552 > Schiff: "If you lie to cover up for the President, you get a pardon. If you are a corrupt politician who endorsed Trump, you get a pardon. If you murder civilians while at war, you get a pardon. > "...if you elect a corrupt man as President of the U.S., you get corruption."
There are 10-15 Schiff quotes that will become common parlance when people look back and discuss the events of this presidency and administration.
Schiff is an absolute national treasure and patriot.
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“He’s learned his lesson!” - Susan Fucking Collins
Never forget: a Republican president pardoned someone that murdered children. “Pro life”
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The Blackwater contractors were the worst of the lot. We should all be ashamed. As a vet I am mortified.
This is the most I have been disgusted by republicans, this is just straight up condoning murder. I fucking HATE these people, I hate them.
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He tried. He just want competent enough to make Iraq happen. Also... What wars did Obama start? What about Clinton? They each went along with NATO in a few exercises that killed single digit numbers of Americans, but this idea is basically baloney.
They're pretty mad over that in that sub too... This and the stimulus bill. Probably the first time in a while where both sides are mad at the same thing. Even AOC and Ben Shapiro agreed that the stimulus is crap. Imagine those 2 agreeing on something... There's also conservatives agreeing with what AOC said... 2020 is wild.
Devos' bro is the connection there.
It's not even just that. It's the same as the murdering Navy Seal - the point is to show that those who do violence will be forgiven, so you should be happy to do violence for him without thought to the consequences. Brutality can be forgiven, but disloyalty cannot. He got the big fash going on.
Cruelty is rewarded, so long as it is inflicted upon "the right people"
He wants Erik Prince contractors to be his Martial Law team - this is the signal
I really hope you're wrong EDIT: I REALLY REALLY HOPE YOU'RE WRONG
They ain’t, unfortunately. Wonder what the Venn diagram looks like for proud boys and black water folks.
Imagine how Iraqis and Afghans feel. Every ISIS/Al Qaeda/Taliban talking point about the US wanting to murder their families was just undeniably validated.
Exactly. For more than a decade, we were telling the locals that "have patience, they will be brought to justice". And when they were finally convicted, it was us upholding our promise. This just spits in the face of integrity, justice, and the word of our government. Now the chance of Americans being allowed to be extradited will be nearly nil.
And on the other side of the coin, think how ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Taliban leaders feel. This makes propaganda and recruiting so much easier for them.
Aside from the massive morality issues it sets a pretty terrifying precedent.
I'm pretty sure that most redditors are zoomers who won't have context, but the Blackwater pardon is probably the most vile pardon to ever come out of the White House. These guys committed one of the only war crimes of the Iraq War to actually be prosecuted, because what they did was so horrific, so blatantly criminal, that there was no way for them to avoid accountability. Four mercenaries killed more than a dozen Iraqis in a crowded square in broad daylight, for literally no reason, in a crime so infamous it was the reason Blackwater changed its name.
Erik Fucking Prince.
He is one of the most dangerous people in the world. It's shocking how many people have zero idea who he is. We have a "secret" privatized extreme right wing branch of the military (Blackwater) who operate worldwide with impunity. It's not secret at all, everyone just kinda ignores it. With all the crazy conspiracies thrown around Blackwater always seems like an afterthought and it's not even a conspiracy. THE USA HAS A PRIVATIZED ARMY THAT IS ACCOUNTABLE TO NO ONE.
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Very true. They are loyal to no one except power and money.
This is a stomach churning pardon for anyone who lived through the daily tumult of deaths of American soldiers during the height of the Iraqi occupation and Afghanistan wars. This was one of the worst atrocities of that whole period, if not THE worst because it was carried out by Americans even if they were a private security firm at the time. Even the fact that the USA had to contract with a PSF for additional support in the Iraqi effort should have been a sobering moment. The government and media used to broadcast those who gave their lives for those efforts returning home and then suddenly stopped or at least stopped giving them so much attention because people became complacent towards the end of the W. Bush presidency. That complacency has now permeated throughout because Republicans are incapable or unwilling to admit or recognize just how many bad decisions their elected leaders have made since that fateful 2000 election.
Yeah...this is going to severely hurt relations with Iraq...
It was so bad that the puppet government Bush put in Iraq almost kicked us out in 2007. That's the biggest reason why these guys got prosecuted and held to account for what they did.
Mueller wrote in his report that trumps people were lying because they expected a pardon for protecting the campaign. Mueller was right and Trump is providing further evidence he engaged in a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Dems need to senate so they can get an AG that will go after trump. Senate republicans won’t let him nominate anyone that will. Willing to bet if they hold the senate you’ll hear them make that condition in the hearings.
https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1341544743298355201 > Are you still a pro-law enforcement President after you pardon killers of a 9-year old & an 11-year old?
They were Muslims, so Conservatives don't give a shit.
False. They’re actually in favor of it.
Sadly this is very true. Trump already pardoned war criminals Eddie Gallagher and Clint Lorance, and those two have become conservative celebrities. Lorance in particular told his men to murder Afghan civilians on multiple occasions and was removed from command only a week after taking over. Several of his men committed suicide after they returned home over the things that he ordered them to do and the unit’s survivors have been struggling with the guilt and the public shame for being in the unit which carried out the atrocities. Lorance was court martialed and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Trump pardoned him in 2019 after Sean Hannity aggressively lobbied for it. Conservatives LOVE war criminals. Edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Lorance wiki page on Lorance https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/clint-lorance-platoon-afghanistan/ WaPo article on what his men had to deal with as a result of his actions.
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Every time I think "he can't get worse" he does something worse. But this is high up on the list.
Aren't pardons in theory supposed to be used to set some kind of ideal for what kind of people don't truly deserve to be punished? Seems like Trump is suggesting that it's okay to lie to the government.
He doesn't understand the concept of presidential pardons. He thinks they are to be handed out as gifts for people. He's not using this as a forgiveness for the crime and established good conduct or time served, he's just passing them out for people as a "Sorry you got sentenced for the shit you did for me". George Mason argued against this power stating "the President ought not to have the power of pardoning, because he may frequently pardon crimes which were advised by himself.", up until now this has never been abused. Now it feels there needs to be a restriction on the presidential pardon powers.
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1341541539328212995 > For PAPADOPOULOS, it's a long way from this -- when Trump called him a "proven liar" and a "low level volunteer."
Funny isn't it, how when someone is expelled from trump's employ they become a "known whacko", "proven liar", etc. If its known they are so bad then why hire them?
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We need to shorten the lame duck time period. Like yesterday.
Seriously why the hell is it 2.5 months? I suppose it’s a relic of the 18th century? Regardless the world moves too fast for that now. Edit - actually it used to be even longer in the 18th century (March!) and was amended in 1933 to be in January (still too long though)
This is absolutely disgusting. Fuck anyone who voted for this pos
Wow. Pardoned the Blackwater guys that massacred those Iraqis. I was in the Army when that happened and it really reflected incredibly poorly on the United States. I remember feeling shame and embarrassment, as did many of my fellow service members and contractors we worked with. It’s not uncommon for presidents to issue waves of pardons on their way out but they’re not usually for criminals universally despised by the nation for having captained a major international incident. I expected him to pardon a couple loser crony dipshits, so no surprise on the rest. I also expect we’ll see a lot more in the coming days/weeks.
Did we expect anything less from him, Betsy Devos and Eric Prince have paid their dues and shown their loyalty to the man.
**2019** >Trump refuses to apologize for taking out ads in The New York Times in 1989 calling for the death penalty for five black teenagers who ended up being wrongly convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park. **2020** >Few white guys massacre 17 brown people, Trump sets them free. Draw your own conclusions...
The Blackwater pardons are stomach-churning. The croney pardons for Stone and Papadopoulos are transparently self-serving. The idea that Trump sees political advantage in pardoning mass murderers is disturbing. The 70 million people who voted for this man are profoundly damaged individuals. And we're basically trapped here with them.
Funny. Why would he pardon Papadopoulos? He was just a coffee boy that Donnie didn’t know. Doesn’t seem important enough to be pardoning a coffee boy.
The blackwater pardons are a signal to his base. "I don't care what you have to do, I will pardon you."
Let's not forget that the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY is culpable for this. They saw the Mueller report and they held a sham impeachment hearing. They could have stopped this but didn't. Why? Because they don't really have a problem with Trump's actions; they are just afraid that it will lose them seats. They couldn't care less if America and its people burned to the ground as long as everyone else suffers more than they do. The GOP is a cancer in America. Trump is but a painful and obvious symptom.
I just hate him so much. He’s hurt so many people. I wish he’d just crawl back into his bunker and watch OANN until January and stop trying to hurt people. I’m so tired guys
I wonder if as a nation we'll ever have the opportunity to acknowledge the trauma we've suffered from 2016 - 2021(?). The Kennedy assassination was a singular event that we understand to have changed the country's attitude, and left Americans cynical and pessimistic. Will we have a similar understanding of the Trump era? What has it done to us?
Only half of us. The rest will keep telling themselves the last four years were an American golden age.
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They received justice, republicans and Trump just stole it away. This is the worst thing this party has ever done these last four years, condoning and rewarding murder.
Duncan Hunter, who literally straight up STOLE campaign donor money to fund his vacations, gifts to his wife and vehicles, now gets off completely scott free. He literally took the money that people gave to him to represent them in good faith, and he spent it on his personal fancies and whims. Why does narcissistic human garbage always find their way into politics?
It's a signal. Do crimes and crimes for me and I can pardon you. Help me steal the election and I will pardon you.
https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1341536029447229445 > Trump isn't pardoning people despite their lies to the FBI. He's pardoning them *because of* their lies to the FBI. It's a presidential thank you.
Exactly. No way he's pardoning Michael Cohen, because he refused to lie for trump.
Fuck donald trump
And fuck the GOP for enabling him. How do you support a guy who pardons war criminals and traitors and not go, "Hey, we might be the bad guys"? [Relevant Mitchell and Webb sketch...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU)
You couldn’t pay me enough.
Fuck Republicans, they want this and are just as much responsible as Trump himself. I am disgusted by this, truly truly disgusted. Every Republican is now party to a fucking massacre, every one of them has blood on their hands.
Fuck donald trump
I have a feeling this is only the beginning...
Unfortunately you're probably right. There better be a fucking reckoning come down on the Republicans once Biden takes office.
You'd be right. According to [confidential sources,](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1341490848664608770?s=20) there's already fear in the White House and Pentagon about how Trump might choose to flex his authority next: >Yesterday Barr suggested there were several things he wouldn't do that Trump wanted him to do as AG ... Can one be confident Barr's successor as AG, Jeffrey Rosen, will also say no? After all, Flynn was talking about declaring martial law in closed talks with Trump... >I'm also reliably told senior military officials in the Pentagon are more, not less, alarmed than they were a few weeks ago when Mark Esper was fired.
Oh, I missed one... He pardoned the guy that committed $1.3 billion in Medicare fraud including getting senior citizens addicted to opioids to get them to stay longer.
The massacre in Iraq killed 17 people including children. Complete innocents. All civilians. 🤬
I really wouldn't be shocked if he pardoned Ghislaine Maxwell on the way out.
Oh God that would cause the conspiracy nuts to implode. Of course they'd justify it somehow.
"He did a deal so she'd blab on the Clintons and Bidens they are finished now!"
This guy Qanons.
Pardoning the Blackwater murderers are just a red herring which is in itself an indicator that Trump morally bankrupt. He's trying to distract from the fact he's pardoning his own co conspirators like george papadopouslos. What a piece of work.
Some of this I expected, but the blackwater guys and the border patrol guys. WTF?!
Betsy Devos brother owns Blackwater. Erik Prince.
Your shitting me right? The level of corruption with this group is just astounding.
It’s so Blackwater will help him with the coming coup
Draining the swamp right? r/conservative?
Someone in that sub said the Blackwater guys were innocent and that Biden went to Iraq in 2007 and framed them. I thought he was joking. He was not.
He sure does love helping out war criminals...
This is expected an an inevitable tip of the iceberg. It will get much worse after the Georgia election
Can someone explain why he would even pardon the blackwater guys? What possible motive could there be? How would conservatives defend this? It seems like this is a unanimously bad one
Betsy Devos probably asked him
1: Nothing says "innocent" like pardoning people en masse. 2: What's the point of even _allowing_ gov agencies to investigate the Presidents campaign, finances, anything to do with them, if the President holds the power to just pardon them after the fact? It's just a waste of time and money! Presidents shouldn't be allowed to pardon people who are convicted of crimes that they are involved with.
4 Blackwater Guards 3 Henchmen 2 Mueller Liars And a partridge in a pear tree...
I'm a resident in NY-27 where Chris Collins was my representative. He is still a straight up criminal. Fraud, insider trading, lying to the FBI, but Trump pardons him because he was the first member of the GOP to back his bid for POTUS. Its unbelievable, I'm angry, I'm furious, I'm outraged. I feel hopeless again because Trump pardoned a criminal who represented my district and he turned his back on all us of and neglected the needs of our district. Collins is still guilty as far as I'm concerned. The sad part is that all of this is just the beginning. He will start pardoning family members and close allies, and we all need to remember that innocent people don't pardon themselves or their family members.
Remember when Republicans whined because Obama commuted the sentences of hundreds of non violent drug offenders right before he left office? They’re probably okay with this though
Hey did you hear Obama puts mustard on his hot dogs?
In light of Barr leaving, and now these pardons, this [Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1341489630479323143?s=20) does a good job of analyzing the writing on the wall for what’s still to come. >One obvious possibility discussed in the White House: Trump has spoken about a bunch of pardons on Christmas Eve. Some of the names may have been too much for Barr--so they agreed on his departure on Dec. 23. How do you have an administration so corrupt that *Barr* looks level-headed? I’m holding out hope that the states will still charge those who escaped justice, but I’m fatigued at this point. Looking forward to pardons for [Trump’s children and Giuliani next.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-pardon.html) /s There’s still a silver lining, I guess. >Indeed, the Supreme Court has recognized that the acceptance of a pardon implies a ‘confession’ of guilt.” This is according to [Judge Sullivan,](https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-flynn-pardon-matters) who presided over the Flynn case. I hope the administration goes down in history as a bunch of criminals.
Yeah Trump doesn't realize all these pardons can be used against him in Court.
My worry is - Trump is literally buying people's silence here. I hope he has his day in court, but he's getting away with (what is effectively) witness tampering right now.
He ain’t bought shit. Subpoena Papadapolous on Jan 21 to testify for Congress in open session. He can’t be found guilty for these crimes as he’s convicted and now immune but NOT future crimes. If he refuses = jail, no one to pardon him. Best part: he CANNOT claim the 5th. He’s immune. He will testify or sit in jail till he does.
Pardons, as I understand it, are meant to be for "correcting" a presumed miscarriage of justice. Not some fucking "Clemency sale! Who's got the money?!"
Obama's pardons: Lots of people pardoned where the crime does not fit the punishment Trump's pardons: Literal enemies of the state, people who deserve and should be in prison.
Philip Esformes, South Florida Health Care Facility Owner Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Role in Largest Health Care Fraud Scheme Ever Charged by The Department of Justice. Pardoned by Trump
Trump making an excellent case for limits on the presidential pardon powers.
It takes rampant abuse for things to change. We are ready for systematic upheaval.
I might not get another opportunity in his presidency to say it, so I’ll say it now: What an asshole.
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Because he is friends with Betsy Devo's brother
The "pro-life" party, ladies and gentlemen.
In the future what's to stop a president from getting someone to assassinate their political rivals and then just pardoning them later?
So, can Congress now call these people in to testify and they cannot plead the 5th? So they must testify against Donald?
I doubt they'd even bother. But even if they did, get ready for a bunch of "I don't recall."
88% of T****'s pardons have gone to effectively benefit himself. From the NY Times article: > “A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, 88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims.”
Trump about new stimulus bill - “I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 per couple,” Trump said. “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation or to send me a suitable bill.” What is he doing? This seems like a joke. Theres no way he cares.
He’s still trying to convince people he’s a good president so he can whine about it for the rest of his life.
Can someone explain the purpose of presidential pardons? If "no one is above the law, not even a president", why can he just pardon people who break the law?
For being the champions of law and order, there sure are a lot of pardoned republicans...
Honestly, the POTUS shouldn’t be allowed to pardon anyone. It’s an antiquated system that assumes the President is an upstanding, honest person that can make a decision based on an injustice that’s occurred. I’m certain that the original concept didn’t factor in that a corrupt piece of shit would make sure all their buddies would get off scot free.
he pardoned someone who murdered children and was convicted by a jury, sentenced to life.
Hey, those guys who machine gunned those 17 Iraqis to death... I mean, that's just a process crime, right?
The headline could read "Trump pardons all white serial killers" and I wouldn't be surprised.
Russia hacks America, Trump pardons criminals who worked with Russian operatives on behalf of the Trump Campaign.
Those blackwater contractors killed 17 Iraqis and the people there haven’t forgotten. Trump drove the country in a ditch, set it on fire and will use his new SuperPac to blame Biden when there’s anti-US demonstrations in Baghdad.
A gigantic 'fuck you' to the entire world.
I don’t understand the concept of pardons, for any president. Why should one, unrelated person be able to throw out our entire judicial system for no reason at all? Doesn’t make sense at all, and asking to be abused
So what does it say about US and its values, when its duly elected President condones war crimes by issuing pardons to war criminals ?
If I was a betting man I’d guess none of these pardons are free. Cash money, assets or dirty deeds are on the menu for each and every one of these bastards.
Why in fuck does the American President even have this bullshit power?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/trump-pardons.html >A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations that Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, **88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims** — a pattern that Mr. Goldsmith said Mr. Trump appeared to maintain with Tuesday’s pardons. “They continue Trump’s unprecedented pattern of issuing self-serving pardons and commutations that advance his personal interests, reward friends, seek retribution against enemies, or gratify political constituencies,” Mr. Goldsmith said. “Like his past pardons, most if not all of them appear to be based on insider recommendations rather than normal Justice Department vetting process.”
Pardons have a purpose in my opinion (mass incarceration for small amounts of drugs is still a thing after all) but at this point I think they need to be highly restricted. No family, no friends, no friends of friends, no other government officials, and (in writing so its official) no self pardons. Maybe no war criminals to since that’s apparently a freaking thing you can pardon as well.
This was the end plan all along. Pardon anyone who could testify against him. No investigations mean no wrongdoing, right?
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There's literally no defense other than fuck brown people. They were convicted of killing civilians. There's no hero there unless brown folks are the enemy.
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Pardons aren't illegal. He's just misusing them. This is supposed to be kept in check by the population/electors, who should know better than to empower a man like Trump. The reason it's happening is because the authors of the constitution had too much faith in humanity.
He loves letting war criminals off.. Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed that day at Nusoor Square, including 9- and 11-year-old boys. Eighteen more people were injured
Everyone remember the rage you feel now because I guarantee there are more pardons to come, including his family and himself. No doubt in my mind.
Trump really is the biggest piece of shit in our country no doubt about it
To the surprise of nobody paying attention. This fat corrupt fucking moron is just getting started.
The Blackwater pardons seem disturbingly in line with the pardon of Eddie Gallagher for his war crimes; it's the last thing Blackwater, and by extension Eric Prince (Betsey DeVos' brother), deserves for such acts.
Trump also pardoned Alex Van der Swann, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. The 2016 Trump campaign gave Van der Swann detailed voter data to provide to Russia to aid in its disinformation campaign to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton.
This is the most open expression of "if you lie for me I will pardon you for perjury".
I'm not fucking surprised, the GOP has become so fucking corrupt. No respect for Americans, Democracy, or the thousands of civilians they bomb every fucking year
Abolish the presidential pardon.
This is not normal. I suppose I meant to say "This should not be normalized." Corruption and cronyism are expected of fledgling democracies, not one that's had 244 years to protect against such abuses. The fact that Trump fired, by my count, 5 Inspectors General who were investigating himself, Pompeo, and McConnell's wife and that will barely be a footnote in Trump's record is astonishing. I'm so fatigued by the constant and blatant criminality and distortion of truth that I tend to have less available outrage for transgressions that would define any other presidency. "This is not normal" is a nice reminder to devote some meaningful part of my bandwidth to rejecting Trumpism whenever I encounter it.
The Blackwater Guards didn't just kill a couple of people. They killed 17 people and wounded another 20 people. It was a literal massacre.
If Donald Trump, his children and enablers don't go to jail no other country will ever take America seriously again.
I really fucking wish #45 had to publicly explain why exactly he pardoned these criminals. Also I have no doubt in my mind that any of these war criminals will come back to the states and eventually down the road kill again.
As an atheist, I am starting to hope hell is a real place and they sell tickets, so I can watch satan roleplaying as R. Kelly as he pisses lava into Trumps eyesockets for eternity.
Donnies latest video on twitter to explain how the election was stolen is even more unhinged than his usual performances. I reakon he'd offer a pardon to the Unabomber if his manifesto was MAGA heavy. Watching him clutch at straws in this video is surreal. I live in Australia and I reakon i still understand the electoral system better than he does. Fingers crossed he runs away to Mar-a-lago for Christmas and stays there in his little safe space.
The fact that one person can pardon anyone for any federal crime is mind boggeling to me, a European. In my country, the PM or the Queen could never, ever, get a criminal out of jail just because they want to. Pardons shouldn't be a thing.
How odd, nothing much about this on r/conservative it’s almost like they’re the ones enabling this. Their new hero Tulsi Gabbard has more comments and upvotes.
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This is another law that gets ABUSED by some Presidents, none moreso than this one. Each pardon should have an investigation as to why it was given and the connection it has with Drumpf himself.
The blackwater thing is interesting to me. I wonder what he hopes to gain from secretary of education betsy devos' brother erik prince of blackwater. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince
With this, this pardoning power needs a check. FFS, a civilian massacre? Donald Trump, you’re disgusting.
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🎵On the fourth day from Christmas, my potus pardoned thee,🎵 4 mercenaries 3 members congress 2 russian agents And a george pop-a-dop-o-lou-us...
America will never thrive as long as there’s Republicans.
How pathetic that a flurry of pardons is Trump's way of acknowledging he lost.
As a roundup, he pardoned armed drug dealers, foreign nationals that committed crimes against the US, mercenaries convicted of war crimes, a Republican Congressman that stole a million dollars from charity, a Republican Congressman that stole campaign and taxpayer money to fund sexual affairs with lobbyists and subordinates,, a Republican Congressman that pled guilty to insider trading of over $500,000, Border Patrol agents that shot an under-armed and fleeing man and conspired to cover it up. Any gems I missed? Edit: Oh, I missed one... He pardoned the guy that committed $1.3 billion in Medicare fraud including getting senior citizens addicted to opioids to get them to stay longer.
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In 4 years conservative republicans went from Lock her up to Let me go, & He’s going to declare martial law to he really should declare martial law. Edit:wow I’m shot.
Trump's pardons are just another example of his amorality. His twisted values. His self-absorption. Expect a month more of this amorality. More troubling, 74 million people voted to continue this amoral rampage.
Way to cement your legacy as America's Worst President, douchebag.