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When power slipped from his grasp, Trump realized that an amnesty was the only weapon he could deploy in his “arsenal” of power.
In the latest announcement of his amnesty decisions, President Donald Trump said that Roger Stone, his longtime friend and adviser, was “treated very unfairly” by prosecutors. Former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is pardoned for being “one of the most prominent victims of what is known as the greatest witch hunt in American history.”
Peter Baker, editor of The Times of New York City, claiming that Trump also considers himself a victim of the US judicial system. And the way he responded was by using his own executive power to issue a series of amnesty orders to many former officials, allies and acquaintances. This same week, the president of the United States announced 49 amnesties and reduced sentences.
“Trump is in the middle of a fight with the criminal justice system, at least for him and his friends,” Baker wrote. Amnesty is a right that Trump can freely use before January 20 and in the last days of his term he is making the most of it to discredit the investigations directed at him and his associates.
Roger Stone (middle, dark glasses, hat) arrives for trial in Washington on February 20. Image: The Times of New York City.
The publication of a series of amnesty orders by Trump is seen as a sign that he has implicitly lost in the November 3 election, as amnesty orders are generally only widely used just before the departure of the President of the States. United. office. Yet it also shows that a president is outraged and desperately trying to “shake up” American politics when he notices his doors are slowly closing.
49 clemency orders and a week-long reduction in sentences could be seen as Trump’s way of expressing his resentment and outrage at the judicial system before leaving the White House. This is the supreme power that the Constitution of the United States has granted to presidents, in which they can make their decisions, without the approval of Congress and the courts, and irreversible.
There have been other presidents who have been criticized for using amnesty on political allies. In December 1992, President George HW Bush pardoned six defendants in the Iran-Contra scandal (senior officials during Reagan’s second term secretly facilitated arms sales to Iran). During his last week in office in 2001, President Bill Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich, who was charged with tax evasion and fraud. Rich’s ex-wife has donated a lot of money to the Clintons.
But few people use this power to “attack” the judicial system as Trump did. According to the general guidance of the Ministry of Justice, amnesty is generally only considered 5 years after the person requesting the amnesty has completed the sentence and must be certified to have served it well.
But the president of the United States is not by the rules and Trump is known for “breaking” the rules. He does not see amnesty as an act of mercy and in the service of the public good, but as a way of affirming justice.
In addition to Stone and Manafort, the president this week pardoned three other people convicted of perjury in the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. The amnesty comes after Trump decided last month to amnesty Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser. It was all in Trump’s best effort to erase what he called the “hoax” investigation.
Critics accused Trump of abusing his power to obstruct justice by “rewarding” allies for blocking an investigation against him. “These president amnesties are no different from granting amnesty to a tycoon,” Andrew Weissmann, Mueller’s senior associate, wrote on Twitter.
Some participants at the conference on the drafting of the US constitution expressed concern about a similar scenario. George Mason, one of the “founders of America”, argued that “the president should not have amnesty, because he can forgive the crimes he orders to proceed.”
While many critics say Trump’s amnesty orders may hamper justice, they note that the president often referred to an amnesty at a time when Manafort was under pressure to cooperate with investigators.
At the hearing to approve William Barr as Attorney General in 2019, Senator Patrick Leahy, a member of the Vermont Democrats, asked Barr about that. “Do you think a president can issue an amnesty in exchange for a promise not to impeach him?” Leahy asked.
“No. That would be a crime,” Barr replied then.
President Donald Trump joined Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on December 23. Image: AP
Several Democrats have tried to stop Trump’s pardon. Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen proposed a bill last year that prohibits the president from forgiving himself, his family, and his administration or campaigning. Connecticut Senator Christopher Murphy even called for the amnesty to be removed from the Constitution.
Manafort and Stone are not the only ones who benefit from the amnesty that Trump offers to his allies or friends. Charles Kushner, Jared Kushner’s father and Trump’s housekeeper, was also pardoned on December 23.
With these amnesty decisions, Trump argues that he is working to combat the misconduct of the police system, which he believes is also its victim. And Trump has made no secret of the fact that he is discussing amnesty for his family and himself.
Observers affirmed that with that point of view, in less than 4 weeks that they remain in the White House, President Trump will continue to make full use of the latest “weapon” in his energy store.
Thanh tam (According to the The Times of New York City)
