{"id":41063,"date":"2025-12-04T08:32:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/?p=41063"},"modified":"2025-12-04T09:38:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:38:04","slug":"should-presidential-pardons-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/should-presidential-pardons-exist\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Presidential Pardons Exist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the <\/span>Constitution of the United States<\/span><\/a> states that the president, \u201cshall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For centuries, the clause has sparked debate because it gives the president liberty to forgive any federal criminal offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Andrew Johnson <\/span>granted<\/span><\/a> full amnesty to all confederates charged for treason after the civil war.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1974, President Gerald Ford <\/span>pardoned<\/span><\/a> his predecessor Richard Nixon for all federal crimes he \u201ccommitted or may have committed or taken part in\u201d during the Watergate Scandal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bill Clinton <\/span>pardoned<\/span><\/a> his half-brother for drug dealing offenses, and Marc Rich, a <\/span>fugitive<\/span><\/a> who evaded more than\u00a0 $48 million in taxes and ran illegal oil deals with Iran during the Iranian Hostage Crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, not all pardons are corrupt. Some have been used to overturn wrongful convictions\u2014such as when <\/span>former President Biden granted pardons<\/span><\/a> to U.S. armed service members who were convicted of violating a now extinct law that criminalized consensual gay sex.<\/span><\/p>\n

Presidential pardon power can help Americans, but it has become a means for advancing political agendas and granting personal favors.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his last moments in office, President Biden <\/span>granted preemptive pardons<\/span><\/a> to protect individuals of future prosecution from the Trump administration. The list included Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, the House Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attacks and <\/span>his son Hunter<\/span><\/a>, who faced a possible prison sentence for felony gun and tax convictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Trump began his second term, one of his first decisions was to <\/span>grant clemency<\/span><\/a> to those serving sentences for storming the Capital building during the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some Jan. 6 rioters had <\/span>previous criminal convictions<\/span><\/a> as grave as child rape and domestic violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, at least <\/span>13 of the individuals who were pardoned<\/span><\/a> have been charged with new crimes since being released, including child pornography possession, sexual assault of minors, threats to kill government officials and DUI\u2019s that involved fatalities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While these pardons were within legal bounds and presidential authority, they raise serious ethical concerns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Does the rule of law stand if you\u2019re in the president\u2019s circle or have their personal sympathy? Americans are saying no.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a post-Watergate era, should we allow the president to hand out a personal \u201cget out of jail\u201d card?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As American citizens, we should scrutinize our elected officials’ decisions\u2014the president, Congress, state legislatures, all public officials\u2014and weed out corruption to hold the government accountable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of relying on pardons to bring justice to individuals who have been wrongly persecuted, we should demand more efficiency from the justice system to better serve common individuals and voice our opinions when the government acts corrupt or self-serving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States states that the president, \u201cshall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.\u201d\u00a0 For centuries, the clause has sparked debate because it gives the president liberty to forgive any federal criminal offense.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13482670,"featured_media":41062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3814],"class_list":{"0":"post-41063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-forum","8":"tag-presidential-pardons"},"yoast_head":"\nShould Presidential Pardons Exist?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Throughout American history, presidents have taken advantage of their power to grant pardons. 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