Do you believe there should be limits on the President's power to issue pardons for federal crimes?

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Abuse of the executive power to pardon pales next to Trump's impending plan to zero out the power of The Supreme Court as the final arbiter of the interpretation of the law.
Once that happens, The Constitution of the United States is null and void and the Rule of Law ceases to exist, as does the republic itself.

America without a functioning constitution ceases to be a republic in any way, shape or form.

 

[Mason66]

I believe we should have faith in our judicial system.
We all understand it is not perfect.
Pardon power is one among a slew of other powers that Trump has clearly abused.
It is time to revisit those powers, in order to ensure that the three branches remain coequal.
Sadly, we do not have a Congress that is capable of such in its current state.

The trumpers in Congress who have abdicated their responsibilities out of fear must be voted out.
VOTE THEM ALL OUT.
All of them.

I can't go along with that.

Prosecutors will use every dirty trick to convict somebody and the judges go right along with it.

I assume you have never been a defendant in a criminal case.

Unless you have the best of the best attorneys you don't stand a chance.

The state has unlimited to find and create whatever evidence they need to put you away.

 

[AZRWinger]

I’m not certain but at the point a President is obviously selling them it does seem a fair question.

Where's the evidence the Trump administration is selling pardons? Remember, bank records showing millions of dollars from foreign sources, laundered through shell LLC, before ending up in the bank accounts Biden family members with no legitimate business purpose, were dismissed as no proof of wrongdoings. But, you claim it's "obvious" President Trump is selling pardons so you must have incredibly persuasive evidence.

 

[ModernDiogenes]

Where's the evidence the Trump administration is selling pardons? Remember, bank records showing millions of dollars from foreign sources, laundered through shell LLC, before ending up in the bank accounts Biden family members with no legitimate business purpose, were dismissed as no proof of wrongdoings. But, you claim it's "obvious" President Trump is selling pardons so you must have incredibly persuasive evidence.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/politics/trump-pardon-paul-walczak-tax-crimes.html

”Many wealthy individuals paid tens of thousands of dollars to former advisors to Trump for them to lobby Trump to grant pardons, bypassing the review process of the Office of the Pardon.”

List of people granted executive clemency in the first presidency of Donald Trump - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists

With Trump issuing pardons on a rolling basis, lobbyists say clients are willing to pay significant sums to get their cases in front of the president.

www.nbcnews.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/politics/trump-pardon-paul-walczak-tax-crimes.html

All sorts of angles being played.

 

[AZRWinger]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/politics/trump-pardon-paul-walczak-tax-crimes.html

”Many wealthy individuals paid tens of thousands of dollars to former advisors to Trump for them to lobby Trump to grant pardons, bypassing the review process of the Office of the Pardon.”

List of people granted executive clemency in the first presidency of Donald Trump - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists

With Trump issuing pardons on a rolling basis, lobbyists say clients are willing to pay significant sums to get their cases in front of the president.

www.nbcnews.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/politics/trump-pardon-paul-walczak-tax-crimes.html

All sorts of angles being played.

Wow, people willing to pay lobbyists to lobby proves nothing. A UTube CT for true belivers isn't evidence. Lots of Orange Man Bad with no evidence isn't obvious.

 

[ModernDiogenes]

Wow, people willing to pay lobbyists to lobby proves nothing. A UTube CT for true belivers isn't evidence. Lots of Orange Man Bad with no evidence isn't obvious.

BYPASSING THE REVIEW PROCESS.

Read ALL the words.

 

[AZRWinger]

BYPASSING THE REVIEW PROCESS.

Read ALL the words.

The claim was that it's obvious Trump is selling pardons. People willing to pay lobbyists to lobby the President isn't proof of Trump selling pardons. READ ALL THE WORDS.

Remember the recently pardoned Hunter Biden sold direct access to the Big Guy. Demonstrating his power by calling the President on a speaker phone and introducing his clients. Democrats not only claimed this was no proof of corruption they impeached President Trump for trying to investigate it. There is no evidence Kim Jung Biden put him through the review process before granting Hunter a pardon.

 

[ModernDiogenes]

The claim was that it's obvious Trump is selling pardons. People willing to pay lobbyists to lobby the President isn't proof of Trump selling pardons. READ ALL THE WORDS.

Google A.I. disagrees:

Based on the search results, there is
evidence and reports of connections between donations and Trump pardons, which has led some to view the pardons as potentially "transactional" or influenced by personal connections.
Specific examples cited in the search results include:

• Paul Walczak: A report from The New York Times indicated that the Trump administration pardoned Paul Walczak after his mother, Elizabeth Fago, attended a "$1 million-per-plate fund-raising dinner for the president's super PAC." This pardon reportedly occurred three weeks after the dinner and freed Walczak from an 18-month sentence and $4 million restitution payment.
• Ross Ulbricht: Donald Trump openly promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht at a Libertarian Party convention, linking the pardon to gaining support from Libertarians.
• Larry Hoover: The release of Larry Hoover was championed by the artist Ye (formerly Kanye West), who publicly thanked Trump for the pardon.
• Alice Marie Johnson: Trump commuted her sentence at the urging of celebrity Kim Kardashian West and later pardoned her, with Johnson subsequently speaking at the Republican National Convention.
• Todd and Julie Chrisley: Trump announced his intention to pardon the reality TV stars, citing their "harsh treatment" and noting that Savannah Chrisley had been a vocal Trump supporter and endorsed his candidacy.

Furthermore, drug policy experts have noted that Trump's pardons often appear "transactional" and driven by the influence of powerful individuals, rather than a consistent philosophy of clemency.

Remember the recently pardoned Hunter Biden sold direct access to the Big Guy. Demonstrating his power by calling the President on a speaker phone and introducing his clients. Democrats not only claimed this was no proof of corruption they impeached President Trump for trying to investigate it. There is no evidence Kim Jung Biden put him through the review process before granting Hunter a pardon.

And I’ve stated, if a case can be made that supports it worthy of indictment I’d have no problem with it going forward.

I’m a retired law enforcer. My take on all of this is criminals belong in prison.

I can, and have, made the case that much of Trump’s civilly addressed fraud is criminal and could have and should have been charged as such. Trump belongs in prison.

 

[AZRWinger]

Google A.I. disagrees:

Based on the search results, there is
evidence and reports of connections between donations and Trump pardons, which has led some to view the pardons as potentially "transactional" or influenced by personal connections.
Specific examples cited in the search results include:

• Paul Walczak: A report from The New York Times indicated that the Trump administration pardoned Paul Walczak after his mother, Elizabeth Fago, attended a "$1 million-per-plate fund-raising dinner for the president's super PAC." This pardon reportedly occurred three weeks after the dinner and freed Walczak from an 18-month sentence and $4 million restitution payment.
• Ross Ulbricht: Donald Trump openly promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht at a Libertarian Party convention, linking the pardon to gaining support from Libertarians.
• Larry Hoover: The release of Larry Hoover was championed by the artist Ye (formerly Kanye West), who publicly thanked Trump for the pardon.
• Alice Marie Johnson: Trump commuted her sentence at the urging of celebrity Kim Kardashian West and later pardoned her, with Johnson subsequently speaking at the Republican National Convention.
• Todd and Julie Chrisley: Trump announced his intention to pardon the reality TV stars, citing their "harsh treatment" and noting that Savannah Chrisley had been a vocal Trump supporter and endorsed his candidacy.

Furthermore, drug policy experts have noted that Trump's pardons often appear "transactional" and driven by the influence of powerful individuals, rather than a consistent philosophy of clemency.

Ooh, AI and unnamed drug policy experts like the expert who claimed a Trump tower server traffic patterns showed there was Russian collusion. Nonsense.

It's amazing you claim bribes without any causal connection. Pertinent information is conveniently ignored such as Biden’s weaponized DOJ seeking revenge for publishing Biden’s daughter's diary relating her childhood trauma from showers with daddy.

And I’ve stated, if a case can be made that supports it worthy of indictment I’d have no problem with it going forward.

Nothing is sufficient to convince Democrat fanatics, not bank records, not testimony given under penalty of perjury, not blatantly incriminating statements to a special counsel.

I’m a retired law enforcer. My take on all of this is criminals belong in prison.

I can, and have, made the case that much of Trump’s civilly addressed fraud is criminal and could have and should have been charged as such. Trump belongs in prison.

Wow, a law enforcement official who refutes the principle of innocent until proven guilty. That's Democrat rule of law.

 

[ModernDiogenes]

Ooh, AI and unnamed drug policy experts like the expert who claimed a Trump tower server traffic patterns showed there was Russian collusion. Nonsense.

It's amazing you claim bribes without any causal connection. Pertinent information is conveniently ignored such as Biden’s weaponized DOJ seeking revenge for publishing Biden’s daughter's diary relating her childhood trauma from showers with daddy.

Right. I forgot. “Lawfare”

Nothing is sufficient to convince Democrat fanatics, not bank records, not testimony given under penalty of perjury, not blatantly incriminating statements to a special counsel.

Wow, a law enforcement official who refutes the principle of innocent until proven guilty. That's Democrat rule of law.

I don’t refute it. I state there is sufficient smoke to suggest a fire. It should be investigated.

I’d rank it way behind the fire we can see through the smoke. The obvious Emoluments Clause violations in Trump’s billion dollar crypto and real estate deals with foreign powers from behind the Resolute Desk.

 

[Fearandloathing]

Under the U.S. Constitution, the President has the power to grant pardons for federal crimes. This poll asks your opinion on whether that power should be limited.

Presidential pardons are part of the reason I do not recognize the United States as a true democracy.

Pardons were the power of kings in the days of the 'founding fathers' and they simply threw in pardons with the castle ...er ...'white house'.

Pardons should be the result of a legal procedure that determines whether the recipient is worthy

 

[LouC]

Biden used his final weeks as commander-in-chief to grant clemency and pardon more than 1,500 individuals.

1500 in a few weeks beats Trumps 1500 in 4 months.

You failed to add the number of Trump 1.0 Pardons, to his total, that he gave to all sorts of duly convicted or duly charged criminals.

So you can add another 237 to his grand total.

Donald Trump still has 1,323 Days 9 Hours and 26 Minutes to pardon CRIMINALS before he leaves office.

You also failed to mention the FACT that Donald Trump granted more than 1,600 acts of Presidential Clemency by January 22, 2025, so that means he did far more of them in his FIRST TWO DAYS than outgoing President Biden did in "a few weeks".

 

[AZRWinger]

Right. I forgot. “Lawfare”

Why the mockery when the Biden regime directed a campaign of partisan political persecution of Trump?

I don’t refute it. I state there is sufficient smoke to suggest a fire. It should be investigated.

Great. But Democrats impeached President Trump for attempting to investigate the Biden crime family and the special council declared him immune from prosecution due to cognitive deficiency. Nothing like a double standard.

I’d rank it way behind the fire we can see through the smoke. The obvious Emoluments Clause violations in Trump’s billion dollar crypto and real estate deals with foreign powers from behind the Resolute Desk.

It always comes back to Trumpity, Trump, Trump. Weak attempts at deflection.

 

[ModernDiogenes]

Why the mockery when the Biden regime directed a campaign of partisan political persecution of Trump?

Great. But Democrats impeached President Trump for attempting to investigate the Biden crime family and the special council declared him immune from prosecution due to cognitive deficiency. Nothing like a double standard.

It always comes back to Trumpity, Trump, Trump. Weak attempts at deflection.

That doesn't work when the discussion was about Trump and it was you folks who said.... But, but, but BIDEN! The deflection attempt is the one attempting to steer the convo away from the original topic, not back toward it.