December 03, 2020
Trump’s lame-duck pardons will all be legal, no matter how corrupt they look
President Trump is reportedly considering whether to issue preemptive pardons for his adult children, his advocate Rudolph W. Giuliani and possibly others before he leaves office on Jan. 20. He has already recently pardoned his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and commuted the sentence of his longtime political guru, Roger Stone. So the prospect of more pardons in the next couple of months seems more likely than not.
The prospect of more pardons in the next couple of months seems more likely than not.
But ultimately, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop — or even effectively challenge — Trump’s lame-duck pardons of his cronies. They will all stand. Presidential pardon authority is broad. And the Constitution does not provide a mechanism for its review.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
Sharper: National Security in a Divided Congress
Commentary
Following the 2022 midterm elections, a new U.S. Congress was sworn in, resulting in a divided House and Senate with narrow margins. Key national security legislative items ar...
By Anna Pederson & Cameron Edinburgh
-
Schedule F: An Unwelcome Resurgence
Commentary
The U.S. government is able to take on high-risk, high-cost ventures—nuclear security, pandemic response, environmental clean-up, food safety, and more—because civil servants ...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman
-
Western Hemisphere Migration is a Long-Term Challenge
Commentary
Addressing western hemisphere migration should be a national and international priority....
By Carrie Cordero & Cris Ramón
-
The Lawfare Podcast: Klein and Cordero on the Latest FISA Numbers
Podcast
To discuss the latest in FISA transparency news, the data and what it all means, Benjamin Wittes sat down on Lawfare Live with Carrie Cordero of the Center for a New American ...
By Carrie Cordero
