Tag Archives: pardon power

Don’t let up on ‘former president’

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

In normal times I would be inclined to not be terribly concerned about the legal troubles of a politician who is about to leave the public stage.

These aren’t normal times. The soon-to-be former pol happens to be someone who is leaving the office he inherited in complete shambles. Donald Trump, that would be you … you dolt, you seditious provocateur!

I don’t believe President Biden needs to unleash the federal hounds in pursuit of whatever crimes that Trump might have committed. However, the 45th POTUS is in serious danger of being targeted by state and local prosecutors who are probing plenty of issues related to the individual’s use of campaign money.

Donald Trump’s de facto attorney, Attorney General William Barr, covered Trump’s ample backside before he had enough and resigned this past week.

We now have a district attorney in Manhattan, New York City, who is loosing his own legal hounds in pursuit of plenty of questions regarding hush money payments to women with whom he had trysts.

Trump’s efforts to subvert our democratic process just fills me with enough rage to actually hope that the Manhattan DA delivers the goods on the moral reprobate who is about to leave office.

Whether he actually pardons himself successfully, Trump’s presidential pardon power means nothing where it regards prosecutions that occur outside the federal realm.

Go for it, Manhattan prosecutors. Let’s see what you have!

An abuse of power? Yes, most certainly

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I won’t dignify the individuals who tonight received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump by printing their names here.

They are four contractors who, while working in Iraq during a war, committed war crimes by killing men, women and children. They were tried extensively by federal officials. They were convicted of those crimes and sentenced to prison.

Donald Trump today pardoned them, set them free in exercising his full presidential pardon power as prescribed in the U.S. Constitution. I don’t question that Trump has the power to exercise that provision. I do question why he would pardon four men who were convicted of murdering innocent victims.

We have just witnessed a supreme abuse of power. Donald Trump, I dare say, has committed what could be considered an impeachable offense. It is sickening in the extreme.

We have 29 days to go before this madman leaves office. My goodness. Donald Trump is an evil despot.

Just think of the hideous miscarriages of justice that could be offered up prior to Trump’s departure from the Oval office.