04-18-18
Trump should start cranking out the pardons
By Fritz Pettyjohn
"...the proper constitutional remedy to the Deep State assault on the presidency is a blanket use of the pardon power, beginning with retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn. Every potential legal target of Special Counsel Robert Mueller should also be pardoned. The president doesn't have to fire anyone. He can simply take away legal jurisdiction through the exercise of his pardon power....."
"..."It extends to every offense known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission." In other words, it may be pre-emptive. It's not just after conviction, but before any criminal prosecution has even begun...."
"... its more important function is as a tool to serve the broader public interest. This was the precedent set by President Washington in 1795 when he pardoned two leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion who had been condemned to death as traitors. President Jefferson used this power to pardon all those convicted under the blatantly unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. President Ford pardoned Nixon not as an act of clemency, but to save the country from a prolonged national nightmare. Most recently, President Carter pardoned 200,000 young Americans who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. In these cases, the exercise of the pardon power was in the higher national interest, above strictly legal considerations...."
"...What's called the Deep State is a cabal of lawyers embedded in the Justice Department and the FBI. They are an extra-constitutional self-selected legal elite who believe they are the guardians of public virtue. They think of themselves as a fourth branch of government, assigned the task of policing the other three. They model themselves after the execrable J. Edgar Hoover, who used wiretaps to compromise and blackmail politicians. This made him invulnerable, and his example is what inspires the cabal. They want the kind of power he had...."
"...Like a cunning beast of prey, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin can smell weakness, and it now emboldens him to challenge the United States in the Middle East. He thinks President Trump has been paralyzed by his political enemies, and he wants to exploit Trump's plight at our expense. This is why President Trump should use the pardon power as soon as possible. It is in the highest national interest. It sends a message to all our foreign foes. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. The Constitution offers the president the chance to disarm his domestic enemies and send a message of strength to those abroad who wish us ill. The pardons can be made pursuant to his duties as commander in chief.
With every power granted by the Constitution comes a responsibility. President Trump swore to support this Constitution. He can do so through the use of the power the Constitution gives him...."
Trump should start cranking out the pardons
By Fritz Pettyjohn
"...the proper constitutional remedy to the Deep State assault on the presidency is a blanket use of the pardon power, beginning with retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn. Every potential legal target of Special Counsel Robert Mueller should also be pardoned. The president doesn't have to fire anyone. He can simply take away legal jurisdiction through the exercise of his pardon power....."
"..."It extends to every offense known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission." In other words, it may be pre-emptive. It's not just after conviction, but before any criminal prosecution has even begun...."
"... its more important function is as a tool to serve the broader public interest. This was the precedent set by President Washington in 1795 when he pardoned two leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion who had been condemned to death as traitors. President Jefferson used this power to pardon all those convicted under the blatantly unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. President Ford pardoned Nixon not as an act of clemency, but to save the country from a prolonged national nightmare. Most recently, President Carter pardoned 200,000 young Americans who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. In these cases, the exercise of the pardon power was in the higher national interest, above strictly legal considerations...."
"...What's called the Deep State is a cabal of lawyers embedded in the Justice Department and the FBI. They are an extra-constitutional self-selected legal elite who believe they are the guardians of public virtue. They think of themselves as a fourth branch of government, assigned the task of policing the other three. They model themselves after the execrable J. Edgar Hoover, who used wiretaps to compromise and blackmail politicians. This made him invulnerable, and his example is what inspires the cabal. They want the kind of power he had...."
"...Like a cunning beast of prey, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin can smell weakness, and it now emboldens him to challenge the United States in the Middle East. He thinks President Trump has been paralyzed by his political enemies, and he wants to exploit Trump's plight at our expense. This is why President Trump should use the pardon power as soon as possible. It is in the highest national interest. It sends a message to all our foreign foes. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. The Constitution offers the president the chance to disarm his domestic enemies and send a message of strength to those abroad who wish us ill. The pardons can be made pursuant to his duties as commander in chief.
With every power granted by the Constitution comes a responsibility. President Trump swore to support this Constitution. He can do so through the use of the power the Constitution gives him...."
