Trump plots 100 pardons for allies but not himself or his family
:: Outgoing president planning ostentatious military send-off
DONALD TRUMP is set to issue a slew of pardons today on his final full day in the White House, though CNN and Fox News both reported he would not attempt to pardon himself.
As many as 100 pardons and commutations are reportedly being prepared for the US president to sign ahead of noon tomorrow when he formally hands power to Joe Biden. Those chosen will join a list of people pardoned since the November election, which already includes former Trump campaign figures, onetime Republican congressmen and businessmen.
Mr Trump’s willingness to use his presidential power to pardon criminals has spawned a lobbying drive, with lawyers paid tens of thousands of dollars to push potential beneficiaries.
Among the names speculated as possible recipients is Dr Salomon Melgen, a wellknown eye doctor from Palm Beach, Florida who is in prison for healthcare fraud.
For months now there has been persistent reporting across US media outlets Mr Trump has sounded out advisers about the possibility of pardoning himself. Such a move would be unprecedented and likely trigger an immediate challenge through the courts.
Mr Trump has also reportedly mulled over pardons for his children. Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, the president’s two eldest sons, took over the running of his business empire after he entered the White House.
As executives at the Trump Organisation, his sons could face legal complications from any future cases against the business. There is no suggestion they have committed any wrongdoing.
But both CNN and Fox News, two leading cable news networks on the left and right of the political spectrum respectively, reported White House figures do not expect Mr Trump to pardon himself or immediate family.
The storming of the US Capitol by his supporters earlier this month, which led to Mr Trump becoming the only US president to be impeached twice, may have shaped his thinking. CNN reported there had been plans for two days of pardon announcements before the assault took place but that is now being condensed into a single day.
Mr Trump faces a variety of legal pressures when he returns to being a private citizen tomorrow, including investigations into his tax affairs and allegations of sexual impropriety, which he has always denied.
Mr Trump has declined to attend Mr Biden’s inauguration as president.
Details of the send-off he is organising for himself instead tomorrow morning are beginning to emerge. It will be held at Joint Base Andrews, a military airfield in Maryland, at 8am local time. There have been reports Mr Trump wants an ostentatious military parade for his final departure as president.
Scores of cheering supporters are also expected to be present, with invitations embossed at the top with an image of the White House already circulating. But even once he leaves the Oval Office, the political headaches for Mr Trump will not stop.
The US Senate will hold a trial on whether to convict Mr Trump of the single article of
Melania Trump urged Americans ‘to choose love over hatred’
impeachment, “incitement of insurrection”, that passed the US House of Representatives last week.
At the heart of the impeachment trial will be Mr Trump’s culpability for the violent storming of the Capitol on Wednesday, January 6 which left five dead, including a police officer.
Mr Trump’s false insistence he won the November election and incendiary speech to supporters hours before some broke into the Capitol were cited by congressmen who voted to impeach.
Mr Trump has rejected criticism of the speech, claiming it was “totally appropriate”.
Melania Trump released a seven-minute video giving a departing speech yesterday in which she called serving as First Lady “the greatest honour of my life”.
She called on all Americans “to focus on what unites us, to raise above what divides us, to always choose love over hatred, peace over violence and others before yourself”.
The nation’s capital city has tightened security ahead of tomorrow in anticipation of further potential violence.
The city centre is essentially on lockdown, with streets blocked off, high fencing installed and tens of thousands of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers stationed in the area. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021)