“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.” This is how the current President of the United States ended his statement concerning his pardon of his convicted son. Certainly, almost every father in this country would relish the opportunity to pardon their son and to wipe away any conviction imposed upon their son. However, there is only ONE father in this country that has the opportunity to do that, and that is the current President of the United States of America. Sorry, fathers, 99.9999999999999% of all of you do not have that power or option. For the current President to stroke the heart strings of fathers imploring that they must understand because they would do the same, is beyond the scope of reality. We are offended that such a statement would be made.
Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of our Constitution, the President does have this “. . . Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States . . .” It is interesting to note that this is buried within a section addressing the President’s power as Commander in Chief for those in ” . . . actual Service of the United States . . .” Few pardons have ever been challenged in the United States Supreme Court. More broadly, pardons covering an extended time for any crimes committed, or may be revealed during the time-boundaries of the pardon, have never been tested in the Supreme Court. The only pardon covering an extended period of time, rather than specific charges or offenses, was one given by then President Ford to President Nixon, which covered a five-year period of time covering his time in United States service. There is much to be questioned about the current President’s pardon of his son, who was neither currently in the armed forces service or the United States service in general, and which covered a time frame of nearly 11 years, over twice the timeframe granted to President Nixion.
Let us also note that Presidential pardons ONLY cover Federal charges, violations, or convictions, they do not cover state charges, violations, or convictions. Any state pardons are a function of the governor of that state. Also note that they do not cover any charges, violations, or convictions that extend beyond the end date of the granted pardon. To the current President’s son, we would recommend a life of purity from the end date of his pardon forward, for any charge, violation, or conviction going forward would leave him vulnerable to potential prosecution, conviction and incarceration.
A very concerning and troubling development is that the current President is considering pardons covering people who have not been charged or convicted of any crime, and who may not have committed any violation of National law. These potentially extensive pardons have not been tested in our court systems, and will undoubtedly, if they become reality, consume our Nation for months and years, extending into Presidential terms for years to come. Pardons offered where no crimes have been charged or convicted, only open the door for speculation that nefarious activities during those years covered by those pardons are suspected or actual in reality.
For those who treasure our FREEDOM and LIBERTY, we must be vigilant to pardon actions taken by the current President to be prepared to make our voices heard in the halls of Congress, so that those who may have wronged our Nation will be held accountable if they are found to have violated laws, committed crimes, or have conspired in treasonous fashion, to achieve for themselves power and wealth at the expense of “WE THE PEOPLE”.