Remember: no Republicans are arguing Trump didn't break the law.
They're arguing he shouldn't be punished for it.
They’re arguing he shouldn’t be punished for it
They are really arguing that all Republicans shouldn't be punished but if you aren't in the club you get the full blast of the law.
Yea I think he has to be found guilty of the crime to be pardoned, right?
No. Nixon was never charged, but he was pardoned.
I think you have to admit guilt? Which is bullshit because the purpose of a pardon isnt to get guilty people off but to act as a check against judicial power. I'm not sure though.
Nope.
A pardon stops all punishment from the judicial system. You don't have to plead guilty and criminal proceedings stop. A pardon further undoes any legal handicap (for example, you can own firearms again).
That said, if you accept a pardon you can't plead the fifth when it comes to details related to the crime you've committed.
There's also a commutation, which is weaker than a pardon. Instead of having the crime fully forgiven you are simply let out of jail with the understanding you committed the crime and must face follow up consequences (like not being able to own firearms).
Finally, there are also conditional pardons. Those are ones where the president could impose a "you must plead guilty" style rule before the pardon can be applied. He could also apply a rule that says "you must perform 10 jumping jacks".
Pardon powers are some of the most broad we have in the US.
About the only limitation is you can't pardon for future crimes.
Ford was, based on the behavior of the Reagan, W Bush, and Trump administrations, entirely wrong to pardon Nixon. There is no reason to repeat his mistake.
And there ya go groveling to your orange master, Romney. What a spineless bitch.
Well, not that we needed one, but I really appreciate you giving us a reminder for why we should never ever make you president, Mittens. It's very thoughtful of you.
Don't worry, at some point he'll say one normal thing and people will remark on how he's so reasonable compared to the others.
It is true, though. If he were to run for president, he'd be the best candidate the Republican party has put forward in 2 decades. And he's still a gigantic piece of shit.
The smallest coil of shit turned out onto the chests of voters in decades!
Romney again trying to ride both dicks at the same time.
I, for one, am sick of this whole "Oh lets pardon the past president to protect the institution of presidency"
Presidents should not be above the law. They are not gods, they are not kings, they are elected as representatives.
especially when the one in question turned the white house into a goddamn criminal enterprise
Seriously, I don’t know why so many people get this wrong!
We give guns to our cops to enforce the laws, and we should have higher expectations for the handling of their weapon than random schmuck off the street licensed gun owner.
We give the military and various other resources and powers to the President to execute the laws. They should also be held to an even higher standard! A bad guy as President can do a million times as much damage than they can as a cop.
Agree. These people are given the public trust. betraying the public trust should result in severe punishment. More severe than a random schmuck doing the same act, cause that random schmuck wasnt given the public trust and the power of authority.
Maybe the ex-president shouldn't have been such a criminal, Mitt.
Mitt Romney is an idiot
And this guy is supposed to be the “moderate” GOP. Crooks and liars all the way down their bones.
Just when you thought he wasn't half bad.
Anybody who thought that was half stupid.
Shut up romney.
I can see discussion if he committed crimes related to being in office, that time was past, and we wanted the country to move forward, but none of that is true. Trump is finally facing justice for crimes throughout hiss adult life and he’s trying to skip justice to gain the presidency. This is not the Nixon situation. Even worse, Romney reasons it “to be a bigger man”, wtf, this isn’t just play acting as part of the presidential campaign
And pardoning Nixon just set the stage for Republicans continuing to commit crimes while or in order to get into office.
If you want to see how bad stuff gets for someone constantly trying to stay in power to avoid jail time, all you have to do is look at Netanyahu
Biden can't pardon state crimes.
Presidents should be prosecuted for crimes. They are not Kings and Queens.
Well, Trump could just try not being a criminal if they care so much about prosecuting an ex-president
Wow, this is an impressively stupid take.
Just shows how much of a mistake pardoning Nixon was the first time. Now there's a precedent for giving Presidents immunity to save face.
And that's why you'll never be president.
Fuck off and die
All I did was post an article, you big meanie
Can't take the snivelling, manipulative, lying scumbag out of the republican, I guess.
how is this news? we already knew Romney was a turd
It may surprise you that a very large number of Republican politicians have spoken ill of Trump in the past, so it always makes it into the news when they flop on the issue and go back to subservience.
Ford pardoned Nixon. He didn't get elected to a full term after finishing the remainder of Nixons. We can argue about if the pardon was the final nail in the coffin (The economy shitting the bed didn't help, I'm sure.), but I think we can agree it was definitely one of the nails.
I actually had an idea that Biden could pardon Trump, then Trump couldn't plead the 5th when called as a witness against anyone else. So he would have the choice of truthful answers or perjury.
Seeing how this current judge has been handling him with kid gloves I wouldn’t expect anything bad to happen to him even if he did perjure himself.
If I were Mitt I would immediately transfer everything I own to rockandsock.
It's really easy to say what you'd hypothetically do in someone else's place isn't it?
Doesn't there have to be a conviction in order for there to be a pardon? Or is that a myth?
Nixon got a full pardon and I don't think he was ever charged.
He was talking some sense on his way out, then this. Repubs are incapable of being normal.
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