New York Has Prepared Paul Manafort Charges If Trump Pardons Him

hislegacy said:

Staying in our hypothetical. Can’t Trump just pardon him a second time?

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HAHA that's cute but No!
Presidential pardons only apply to federal law as well as military court-martials, and convictions in the superior court of DC. That's it. He would still have to serve any state charges that are filed against him.
States rights have the right of way if the state of new york were to pursue charges. You'd have to get the governor of new york to pardon him.

Sparagmos said:

Fox News doesn’t really explain presidential pardons, I’m guessing?

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the less information they give out the better it is since they depend on their viewers being ill informed. fox has a political agenda created to satisfy rupert murdoch; that's why quite often we have incidents where the fox anchors themselves are flabbergasted by what they are saying.

SeventyOne said:

So, instead of prosecuting him for crimes they have evidence for, they are holding off as some form of a 'gotcha'? What a bunch of scumbags.

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Dude gets convicted on federal crimes and gets off free on a pardon and you whine about scumbags? Priceless.

Silverback said:

I think this is wrong, if he gets a pardon, then he should go on with his life as a free man. That's what a pardon is for.

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You weren't one of those chanting lock her up for the past 2 1/2 years, were you?

It never surprises me the extent to which people will defend criminals and letting them escape punishment just because they don't like liberals.

Silverback said:

There are many people who believe the President has the power...

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Are those many people saying...?

Silverback said:

Maybe, maybe...I'm not so sure the Current SCOTUS would agree. There are many people who believe the President has the power, and I'm not sure if it has ever been attempted. It is a minority view though. IMHO, I think he has the power.

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While I would agree, at the same time I think the Founding Fathers would have expected the Congress to Impeach the President and remove him from office, if they were involved in crime and pardoned their co-conspirators. I would hope, if such evidence is shown, our Congress would to that, as well, and not instead give their loyalty to party over the Country.

hislegacy said:

Staying in our hypothetical. Can’t Trump just pardon him a second time?

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Ladies and gents, this here is a true "states' rights" man, a person who truly understands the concept of state sovereignty.

Silverback said:

Pardons are an act of grace by the President. They are for what the President says they are for. And are not reviewed outside the executive.

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Why would Trump want to grace Manafort with a pardon?

Silverback said:

Maybe, maybe...I'm not so sure the Current SCOTUS would agree. There are many people who believe the President has the power, and I'm not sure if it has ever been attempted. It is a minority view though. IMHO, I think he has the power.

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Presidential pardon only applies to federal crimes. Who is saying otherwise?

Silverback said:

Pardons are an act of grace by the President. They are for what the President says they are for. And are not reviewed outside the executive.

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They don't apply to charges by states.

High Fidelity said:

Is that really a precedent you want to set? President pardoning criminals doing their bidding?

What would the Founding Fathers think of that?

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The precedent was set long before Trump. Ford pardons Nixon, Clinton pardoning certain donors like Marc Rich. Clinton's own brother was soliciting donations for possible pardons. Pardons scandal engulfs Clintons

Silverback said:

I think this is wrong, if he gets a pardon, then he should go on with his life as a free man. That's what a pardon is for.

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Amazing, isn’t it...?

Despite countless investigations, Hillary Clinton was never charged with any crime, yet Trump supporters could be heard mindlessly chanting “Lock her up!”

And here they are, faced with a Trump henchman who has been found guilty of a string of serious crimes and they blithely accept that he should walk free.

Incroyable......

SeventyOne said:

So, instead of prosecuting him for crimes they have evidence for, they are holding off as some form of a 'gotcha'? What a bunch of scumbags.

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Of course. Trials are expensive and resources are limited. Why would they go to the expense of a trial if the defendant is already imprisoned and unlikely to be freed in his lifetime? It's not scumminess; it's pragmatic.

Silverback said:

All Presidential pardons are given to criminals, if they weren't criminals they would not need to be pardoned.

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There are the wrongly convicted.

Silverback said:

Maybe, maybe...I'm not so sure the Current SCOTUS would agree. There are many people who believe the President has the power, and I'm not sure if it has ever been attempted. It is a minority view though. IMHO, I think he has the power.

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Sure, there're David Dennison, John Barron & John Miller just to name the most prominent.

That "many people" believe the president has the power to pardon his cronies is precisely one of this country's problems: a lack of understanding of presidential power and why it should have limits.
Ringo