Reply To: The Silver Lining of the Trump Loss

Huju: As skeptical as I am about anything he touched, I doubt there were any “direct” payoffs that would be actionable by federal prosecutors and/or legitimize any of the pardons granted Sadly, the political pandering and “paying-for-pardons” has been around longer than trump. In the case of the pardons granted this week, many were legit but too many were clearly based on being FoTs or FoKs (friends of Trump and Kushner, respectively). Some were clearly based on having hired lawyers and consultants with close Trump connections. However, absent amending the Constitution, there is not a lot that can be done through legislation that remove the President’s virtual absolute discretion to grant a pardon without even offering a reason. (The fact that a wealthy yid or goy can become a big baal tzadakah after being convicted of a felony should not be a basis for a pardon but is typically among the reasons cited as was the case this week). i