Biden should consider giving Trump pardon
There’s been much speculation about President Trump opting to pardon himself — there’s no specific ban on doing so in the Constitution, but many experts debating its legality assert that he can’t.
There is someone who can make such a move — legally and freely — and that is Joe Biden. Once Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20, he has the power to issue a presidential pardon for his predecessor, much the way Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon in 1974 after the Watergate scandal. There were three articles of impeachment against Nixon — for obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.
Ford explained his pardon to Congress, saying the move was in the best interests of the country. Ford’s actions were controversial, as would Biden’s be if he chooses to go the same route.
But like Ford, Biden is also faced with a deeply divided nation, and it’s in that light that the idea of a Trump pardon is being floated.
Former FBI Director James Comey, hardly a favorite of the president, has said that Biden should consider pardoning Trump if he faces criminal prosecution after leaving office.
As The Hill reported, Comey discussed the issue in a BBC interview, saying a potential Biden pardon would help “as part of healing the country and getting us to a place where we can focus on things that are going to matter over the next four years.”
“I think Joe Biden is going to have to at least consider it,” he added.
It would not, of course, preclude prosecution for those involved in planning and/or carrying out the violent attack on the Capitol last week, and it would rile the Democratic hardliners who are eschewing motions toward unity for political payback. The latter would add to the rift between the centrists in the party, such as Biden, and the progressive wing. He has already faced their criticism over Cabinet picks.
But for a country in which many Trump voters view Biden as “not my president,” it could go a long way toward bridging the rancorous divide.
We’ve seen what four years of resistance have done to political exchange in America, and the “us” vs. “them” mentality has got to end.
Pardoning Trump would also give Biden room to address the country’s urgent problems, such as getting coronavirus vaccines to all who need them, freeing up stimulus checks to help struggling families, and taking steps to get the economy back on track after a devastating year.
This is where the oxygen needs to go.
A pardon, however, comes with a price for the president. If Trump accepts, it’s an admission of guilt. For that reason Comey is skeptical that Trump would go for it.
“He might figure out that if he accepts a pardon, that’s an admission of guilt, the United States Supreme Court has said, so I don’t know that he would accept a pardon,” Comey told the BBC.
Whether Trump accepts or not, it’s the offer from Biden that would speak volumes.
America is still reeling from the coronavirus, with the death toll mounting. We’ve seen our Capitol attacked, and wonder what might come next.
A broken country can’t move forward. President-elect Biden should examine all avenues — including a pardon of President Trump — to help heal the country’s fractures.