Why Biden should pardon Trump — and we Democrats should want him to

They're trying to soften the tone because they can't find enough Republicans to back Biden.

^ Bingo and they are afraid that if they don't do this, Trump will stage a succesfull coup.

How many more threads do we need on this?

Pardon for what? The impeachment charges?

Biden will do nothing for Trump, after all the shit Turd has put Joe and his family through.

There needs to be an investigation into the whole Giuliani/Bannon/China/laptop fiasco. Did Trump issue it? Were they all conspiring with hostile foreign powers? So many sleazy creepies involved in this, from Moscow to Minsk.

And Hunter needs to sue Giuliani & Co. for stealing his private videos and photos and putting them on the internets in a nefarious plot to defame him, and in turn derail his father's election prospects.

I want to see him rot in jail, but I say let the SDNY and Letitia James do the dirty work. Trump will be taken down and it will give Biden the appearance of being above the fray.

Let the DOJ pursue any and all appropriate investigations, while Biden stays out of the process. Keep the DOJ independent, as it should be.

Letitia James should effectively prosecute Trump.

When these actions result in a sentencing, Letitia should be canonized*.

[italic]*On an exceptional basis, death will not be a requirement of canonization.[/italic]

This reads more as a nuanced diplomatic means for Biden to remove himself from any responsibility for what happens to Trump when he leaves and is indicted - which will happen. It's difficult to imagine Biden doesn't want Trump to be held accountable but this is a smart move on his behalf - with the tacit awareness NYS will take Trump down and Biden can legitimately claim its not his decision.

Only if he agrees to leave the country. Go into exile. Never do business here or step foot in this land again. Have his citizenship revoked.

Capitulating to Republicans is what fucked Obama.

They should be pursued and jailed.

THIS is what they respect.

if the pardon can render him impotent, then yes

[quote] if the pardon can render him impotent, then yes

It wont

[quote]if the pardon can render him impotent, then yes

Too late.

Biden will stay above the fray.

What happens to TheOrangeShitAss, is up to New York state and the rest of the states.

There's no reason for Biden to pardon Trump. No upside. The writer is either naive or disingenuous.

The idea that it would help "heal the country" is nonsense. The Trump base might be somewhat mollified by the gesture, but they will not suddenly accept a Biden presidency nor will they change their attitudes. They'll just think Trump is entitled to immunity just because. On the other hand, the larger number of people who voted for Biden (and, for the most part, against Trump) will be pissed as hell. So much for healing. And Biden would get blowback that would haunt him for the entire term.

The writer says that accepting a pardon is like admitting guilt. That's a dear, sweet thought, but we all know how Trump can twist things to mean the opposite of what it really is (e.g. not being convicted in the Senate somehow equaled vindication/100% innocence). I can easily imagine how he would spin a pardon: "I accepted it not because I did anything wrong, but because if I didn't, the Dems would harass me for years with phony charges." And his base would believe that 100%.

As for state charges, the minute that Leticia James or Cy Vance lodges charges against him, any goodwill that Biden's pardon may have engendered will go right out the window. The Trump base will blame Biden for it, call it a betrayal, etc. even though the pardon doesn't cover state charges (not that Trump's base will grasp or care about that). As far as the Trump voters are concerned, he should get immunity for anything and everything. Again, so much for healing.

Moreover, a pardon for Trump will do absolutely nothing for his base in terms of jobs, health, paying bills, raising kids, etc. A pardon would benefit only one person - Trump. And what kind of message about respect for the rule of law would such a pardon have on the populace? It basically says that no matter how corrupt you are, as long as you're rich, powerful, and a President, you can get away with anything (at least on a federal level). What's "healing" about that?

People have been bitching for the last 4 years about this administration's complete disregard for the rule of law. Republicans are always going on about "personal responsibility", so it's about time they lived up to their words.

What Biden should do is just stay away from all this and let NY State do what it needs to do. No pardon is necessary - he can just say that Trump hasn't been convicted of any federal charges so there's nothing to pardon. If the DOJ decides to be hands off re: Trump until NY gets something real to pin on him, then the Democrats can point to the fact that Trump is indeed corrupt and have a perfect foundation for pursuing federal charges if there is evidence to support them.

I'm really sick and tired of all this hand-wringing about accommodating and mollifying the Trump base. Somehow, Democrats are always being coerced to reach out, etc. to a bunch of people who never EVER have any intention of returning the gesture. It's all a one-way street with them.

If Trump's base wants to heal the country (and I'm not sure they do), they need to ante up to the healing process as much as Democrats do.

I'll wait and see if that happens....

R10, in Theory that is the perfect idea. But tRump NEVER keeps his promises. He is a pathological liar.

Bump

It didn't do a damn thing for Gerald Ford

Pardoning Trump and/or letting the SDNY have at him does absolutely nothing about people like Graham, McConnell, and Pence. All it will do is reinforce the belief that the Republican politicians can do whatever they want, whenever and however they want. They need to be made an example of, to discourage any of this shit from happening again. THAT is what will help heal the country.

If Biden pardons Trump we should have a recall election and pull Dementia Joe out of the job.

Guys like Trump, McConnell and Graham should get punished the way they really feel it: Take away, their money and take away their power.

However, the sad truth is that scam artists look at Trump and go "well, he may have failed, but I am way smarter! I will succeed where he failed!" and will attempt their own scheme to become POTUS looking for backers like Putin and the Mercers. I am afraid this type of threat will never go away with people scheming their way into a powerful position like POTUS to take advantage of it, especially political outsiders.

I possibly, maybe would have considered this an option before the election, but Trump’s post-election conduct has disabused me of this entirely.

Did you read what Edward Norton.

Hell, got cut off

What Edward Norton said about Trump trying to bluff his way to a deal excusing his criminal behavior & how everyone should call his bluff.

He can only pardon him from federal offenses.

There's no way he pardons him. I just think he doesn't explicitly goes after him.

The man committed fucking sedition. Hell no, he gets no pardon for anything. He’s in the WH right now trying to get hold of hard drives, trying to empty the classified system for highly sensitive information — like phone calls to Ukraine....

So here’s the link to Edward Norton’s Twitter thread

I say pardon him and get him out of there. He will have enough problems once he leaves office. Most of the public knows about his character to know he is now worthless. And that goes his kids too.

[quote] they are afraid that if they don't do this, Trump will stage a successful coup

If they are that afraid, we deserve trump and the dems are lot fucking dumber than any of us can imagine. This won't stop anything. It will just delay it and there won't be a second term for Biden or Harris. People will stay home and not vote the next time around

R31, trump's not going away. Not at all. He'll be tweeting day and night

Jail is probably the only thing that might shut him up a little bit. Even in jail, he'll be calling reporters all day

Pardon him & he’ll bounce back, twisting it into a triumph over dem corruption, proving the Russia investigation & impeachment were a hoax. His kids will coast into congressional seats they buy in red states.

Graham, McConnell, and Pence (and Graham) need to be the focus of Trump corruption investigations.

Positive that there is enough criminality between McConnell and Elaine to send them both to jail.

I can think of several reasons why prosecuting cheeto would be a bad idea.

- It sets a bad precedent that WILL be followed by the rethugs for all time.

- It'll take years and won't really result in anything meaningful. He won't be convicted even if he's prosecuted.

- In a perverse way, it will generate less faith in the government.

- It will distract from much more important things that need to get done to fix all the damage he's caused.

[quote]It'll take years and won't really result in anything meaningful. He won't be convicted even if he's prosecuted.

His seven obstruction of justice counts are already documented with evidence and witnesses. All it take is an indictment and a filing. I hope he gets jail time. Same with Individual One who directed crimes to be done. Easy Peasey.

The main reason not to prosecute him is that it keeps him front and center and all the news is about Trump for several more years and it lets him control the agenda and prevents the country from moving on.

Best to forget about him and hope that his morbid obesity and unhealthy living take their toll sooner than later.

[quote] Let the DOJ pursue any and all appropriate investigations,

there's talk biden wants to make Merrick Garland Attorney General

he was the repug's choice before he was Obama's choice

No, it lets Trump get front and center for his corruption. It controls him not his agenda.

It lets Biden go about running the country.

Fuck moving on. It was Obama's big mistake.

The media and the part of the public that can't stand him should just give him the absolute minimum amount of attention necessary when he leaves office,. This doesn't mean that DOJ and NY should refrain from taking prosecutorial actions, though.

[quote] there's talk biden wants to make Merrick Garland Attorney General

Fuck that. Merrick Garland is too old. Get someone young who will be on the courts for another 40 years.

Dumbocrats keep thinking that treating Repsychos with kids' gloves is going to unite the nation and earn them the admiration of red state America, but we've seen this movie before, with the Bush-Obama friendship, and we know that these elite bromances have no impact on public discourse.

[quote] Get someone young who will be on the courts for another 40 years.

Attorney General, not Supreme Court. Garland is quite capable of serving there, it’s not a lifetime gig.

DLers love revenge

Trumps ass needs to be charged and prosecuted! I don't give a fuck. Thus lawlessness shit needs to be broken up, Trump is decades overdue for real consequences to be paid.

Stop letting these crooks get away with bullshit!

At this point, I think Dump could easily be prosecuted for inciting rebellious insurrection and/or seditious conspiracy -- both of which disallow someone from ever holding any office under the United States.

That's what I'd go for.

Biden is a lawyer. Ne needs to prove that NO ONE is above the law.

We snowballed from Reagan to Bush to Trump. We must stop the Republican progression to madness.

WTF would the NEXT Republican President be like?

Caligula and Nero and Hitler and Mussolini AND STALIN?

This madness must stop with Trump.

Well, the surviving boomers wanted a moderate democratic candidate, as always. So, this is what you get.

Reach arounds across the aisle.

McConnell is leaving no federal court vacancies unfilled for Biden, so a Merrick Garland AG nom would also serve to open up a federal court appointment. But will McConnell agree to a vote on a Garland nom?!

[quote] and we Democrats

Impact statements are not written like this. I am a Democrat and support Democrat causes. There is no "we Democrats."

[quote] should want him to

So you have single handedly determined what "we Democrats" should do? That is not democracy. You know nothing about democracy or furthering a cause. What you seem to embrace is mob mentality.

Your intentions are suspect and your concern for the Democratic party is fake.