The use of the presidential pardon is becoming absurd. It seems that every other day, we hear about another wealthy Bitcoin entrepreneur, political operative, or well-connected individual receiving clemency from the Trump administration.
A recent case in point is the pardon of former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and billionaire Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Martin Herrera Velutini. Unsurprisingly, this occurred after his daughter, Isabela Herrera made substantial donations to Trump’s super PAC.
She contributed $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. on December 31, 2024, followed by another $1 million donation in late July, shortly after prosecutors dropped the most serious charges against her father.
These “pay-for-pardon” optics have become a hallmark of Trump’s second term. He has granted clemency to hundreds of individuals, including many serving sentences for bribery or campaign finance violations.
The deals are mainly being negotiated by prior lawyers who have worked/supported Trump, so everyone is making money and no-one is trying to hide it anymore.
While presidential pardons have always been tied to political favors and allies, the blatant nature of these recent actions suggests the system is broken. If a pardon can be bought, federal prosecutions become a mockery every time a new administration takes office.
Without reform, America risks losing its status as a nation governed by the rule of law.
Andy, you are a twit. Of course these people are receiving pardons. They were illegally convicted and sentenced by the same corrupt judges who are now trying to circumvent presidenial decisions with their stays and national enforcements of purely local cases. If I were president, every case decided by a Semocratic jusge wold receive a pardonexcept the actual creiminals like robberies and murders and bodily injuries. The rest were likely political.
Welcome to the banana republic of America. Et Tu Trump?