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January 23, 2021

Why didn't Trump pardon himself? My thoughts

The first thought is the starting point.

And, that's that Trump didn't think himself guilty of any crime. He believes it's "fake news," or more subtly, the student of Norman Vincent Peale believes that if he repeats to himself the mantra that he didn't do anything wrong, it means it's true.

Second? He's relying on any dregs of the "presidential club" that may drip down to him. He did leave a nice note for Status Quo Joe, after all.

Third? He knows that pardons only cover federal crimes, and perhaps fears that a self-pardon, in addition to dumping gas on "no unity" fires of some national Democrats, would remove his Fifth Amendment rights in any state criminal justice system legal actions.

More reasons may be uncovered in the future, but that's my initial take.

4 comments:

  1. What if he signed a document purporting to pardon himself that we don't know about yet? Is that something to worry about?

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  2. I don't think it's because he thinks he's not guilty. Your other reasons and the first commenter are more likely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Additional possible reasons 1. He worried it may push senators to convict. 2. He worried it could cause prosecutors to indict so as to test whether a self pardon is legal. 3. Image, makes him look guilty

    ReplyDelete
  4. 4. He plans to flee the country. Trump tower..Moscow, Riyadh, tel Aviv, manila, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul..probably not Pyongyang, although who knows. Some of these can probably be eliminated due to extradition laws, but not all. The Moscow deal was already in the works before he was president. It could be revived and others unveiled or started.

    ReplyDelete

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