Oriental Network Longitudinal News Reporter Zhou Anna
"The right not to use, expired and void". Trump is putting this motto into practice himself.
In the final hours of Trump's presidency, the White House finally released the long-awaited list of amnesty, cnn reported. The 143 pardons and commutations represent the president's final "boon."
"Thoughtful" release Bannon
Among the long list is Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Trump said Bannon's pardon was "deliberate" and his "last act" in office.
Bannon, who served as the head of Trump's campaign, is considered one of the main contributors to Trump's 2016 victory. After Trump's election, Bannon became the White House's chief strategist and senior adviser to the president, and was dismissed in August 2017. Last August, Bannon was arrested on suspicion of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors at a "We Build Walls" fundraiser.
Sources said there was a heated debate among the Trump team over whether to grant amnesty to Bannon. One of the big reasons is that Bannon is believed to be likely related to the January 6 riots. The day before the Capitol attack, Bannon had promised listeners on his podcast "War Room": "Everything will collapse tomorrow." "
According to Bloomberg, Trump has called Bannon several times in recent weeks to seek advice on how to turn the defeat around. While it's unclear how many times Trump and Bannon spoke, and when the recent call was, Bannon has made "considerable efforts" to regain Trump's favor.
It is reported that Trump is "obsessed" with Bannon and has been repeatedly discussing his amnesty until the evening of the 19th.
Bannon's hostility to China can be said to be undisguised. He has called the U.S.-China trade dispute a "fundamental conflict" and has called for China to "fight back into the third world."
The amnesty list is easy to guess and unpredictable
CNN said that unlike former presidents, Trump has shown little interest in using the Justice Department system to evaluate pardon requests. Instead, when petitioners can't reach Trump himself, they have to "get in direct contact" with the White House by phone or email.
So far, most of Trump's pardon list has been "expected" — accomplices like Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, who remain loyal to him in legal disputes; "affiliates" like Charles, son-in-law Kushner's father, who has friendly or family ties to the government; celebrities or associates like Rod Blagojevich, a former illinois governor who has appeared on reality TV with Trump.
However, notable names, including WikiLeaks founder Assange, Project Prism exposé Snowden, and his own personal lawyer, Giuliani, did not appear on Trump's pardon list.
Instead, underprivileged people like rapper Lear Wayne, former Detroit mayor Kilpatrick and Republican fundraiser Brody appeared on the final list.
(Pictured: Trump and rapper Lear Wayne)
The report said that these names want to appear on the amnesty list, and a large amount of "lobbying fees" cannot be saved.
According to the New York Times, there has recently been an "amnesty market" around Trump, where some officials who have access to Trump charge high fees to wealthy criminals or accomplices to promote these criminals to obtain amnesty. The lobbyists who collected the money were mainly former federal prosecutors, former private lawyers of the president and senior campaign advisers.
Overall, Trump's pardon record is unconventional, as the many "high-profile criminals" he released show little remorse for their crimes and few argue that they were wronged.
Congressional thugs and allies failed to clear customs
In a video of his "Final Farewell" speech released by the White House today, Trump called the congressional riots he single-handedly provoked "political violence," saying that "all Americans are shocked by the attack on Congress." Correspondingly, there are really no "directly" people on the pardon list who are "directly" related to the congressional riots.
Earlier, The Minotaur, Who shined in the riots, Hasley and many liquidated thugs said they hoped to get a pardon from Trump.
However, the commentary pointed out that the tens of thousands of people involved in the impact on Congress have long exceeded the number of Trump's planned "100-person amnesty" list. Considering Trump's status as a "speculative politician", he will not easily grant amnesty to any supporter, but will leave all the places to those around him.
In addition to the rioters themselves, sources revealed that several Republican lawmakers accused of participating in pre-riot rallies also seized the last chance to seek Trump's leniency. After hours of meetings, however, Trump did not give his allies a final "pass order."
In response, Trump's lawyers said that once the president announces the pardon of these allies, it will completely anger other Republicans in the Senate, who will decide Trump's fate in the upcoming impeachment trial.
After the "four no warnings", he gave up self-amnesty
Will Trump pardon himself? Can Trump pardon himself? For months, such discussions have been interrupted. The final list shows that Trump did not "let himself and his family go ahead."
The White House held a meeting over the weekend to deliberately discuss whether the president should pardon himself and his family. The meeting was moderated by the White House lead counsel and Trump's personal defense lawyer, and multiple lawyers attended by video.
One official present said Trump was largely silent throughout the entire process, and most of the time his video conferencing status was set to "mute."
White House advisers have previously said they have advised Trump to abandon self-pardon because it is quite suspected of "not taking a confession", including pardoning family members should also be avoided.
On the same day, the lawyers attending the discussion once again issued a "four noes" warning to Trump: they should not pardon themselves, they should not pardon their families, they should not pardon congressional thugs, and they should not pardon Republican members of Congress who challenge the outcome of the election.
They pointed out that if they do not do so, they may not only fail to "exonerate" in the court trial, but also be "caught in the handle" by democrats.
Many legal experts have previously pointed out that Trump's desire for self-pardon is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the basic principle that "no one can be a judge in their own case." Moreover, even if Trump succeeds in using pardons on himself, that will only save him from federal lawsuits, but he will still face accusations of tax evasion and other aspects from state courts.
In any case, Trump listened.
"As I prepare to hand over power to the new government at noon on the 20th, I want you to know that the campaign we have launched has only just begun." Trump said to his supporters at the end of his farewell speech.
Four years ago, Trump didn't come quietly; four years later, Trump didn't go quietly. In the final moments of the White House, Trump left this list of hidden amnesty, and in a state of controversy and surprise, he had to rush to Andrews Air Force Base and take "Air Force One" one last time.