Freind: Donald Trump should offer pardon to Hillary Clinton
Pardon me, Mr. President, but for the good of the country, it’s time. Time to pardon Hillary Clinton. The Right, of course, will be massively opposed, because it has never had a punching bag they liked more than Hillary, and doesn’t want to see its biggest fundraising tool vanish. Need proof? A staggeringly large number of Republicans are still obsessing about Hillary (and President Obama), despite both being yesterday’s news for a year, and the GOP holding all the power in Washington.
Many on the Left likely would not welcome a pardon either, because their arch-nemesis would be the one bestowing compassion – some would say a political favor – on their beloved hero. Hardliners might even prefer Hillary being “railroaded” rather than seeing their movement beholden to Mr. Trump. Others will affix political motivations, believing that a proactive pardon would make Clinton a criminal without her ever being charged.
Therefore, given that a pardon would be met with gasps from both sides, that must mean it’s the right thing to do. • Many readers will be shocked that this author is advocating a pardon, since he has rarely agreed with Mrs. Clinton on the issues, and has taken issue with how she has conducted herself.
But this has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with the bigger picture of the “greater good.” If we – especially conservatives whose very existence is to conserve that greater good – don’t seriously consider such things, then we’ll never break the vicious cycle of ultra-partisanship that has been eating away at our nation.
Let’s look at why pardoning Hillary makes sense, especially given that several Republican congressmen are calling for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate her.
The Practical
First, given our hyper-partisan atmosphere, fueled by 24/7 news and nonstop social media, it would be virtually impossible to find an impartial jury.
Second, while Clinton clearly mishandled classified information by using a private email and server for Secretary of State business, convicting her of those violations is not the slam dunk some Republicans believe. Additionally, the time and money expended would not merit the potentially insignificant penalty Clinton could incur. And let’s not forget that the case has already been investigated by the FBI.
Yes, former bureau Director Jim Comey made an unforgivable mistake related to that investigation. He bowed to political pressure from then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch (who discredited herself by privately meeting with Bill Clinton during the campaign), by announcing that the FBI was not recommending charges against Hillary. This is not the bureau’s job – never has been, never will be. The FBI’s role is to investigate, and present its findings to the Justice Department. Period. In overstepping his bounds, Comey should have been fired (which this column advocated in 2016 and earlier this year). But, Comey’s misconduct notwithstanding, that doesn’t mean that the FBI’s investigation was compromised.
Regarding possible pay-to-play activities with the Clinton Foundation, two words: Forget it. Take it from someone who knows firsthand how hard it is to successfully investigate, let alone prove, pay-to-play, even when overwhelming evidence is uncovered.
Proving pay-to-play at the state and federal levels is hard enough, but is damn-near impossible when the scope includes international components. Many Clinton Foundation donors are foreign nationals, diplomats, and governments. Translation: There is no motivation whatsoever for any of them to talk with FBI agents possessing zero enforcement power. And even if, by chance, some evidence was discovered, prosecuting such a case would be expensive and excruciatingly difficult.
You fight the battles worth fighting, but you also fight the battles you can win. Investigating the Clinton Foundation jigsaw puzzle – where admittedly many transactions do not pass the sniff test – is nonetheless not worth the effort. Hillary is not president, the Clintons are no longer in power (thus eliminating any future pay-to-play overtures), and the world’s spotlight is still shining on the Foundation – the best antidote for preventing illegal activity.
The other Clinton-is-guilty theories – such as Hillary/Democratic National Committee campaign collusion with Russia, and the Uranium One deal on which Hillary signed off – are substantially lacking in evidence and accuracy. That said, a Clinton pardon does not preclude investigations into those entities, should facts warrant them.
The Political
Despite the difficulties in proving Hillary’s guilt, there remains a chunk of the electorate that is following the lead of Republican firebrands calling for more investigations.
That is a boon for GOP fundraising heading into an election year, but accomplishes nothing on the policy agenda, and serves only to further divide the nation.
It would behoove Mr. Trump to end that clamoring by issuing a pardon. In sparing the country the non-stop bickering that would accompany the appointment of a special prosecutor, President Trump would engender goodwill from the Great American Middle, and his credibility would rise. That, in turn, would pave the way for the bipartisan enactment of policies that would move the country forward, from health care and tax reform, to favorable trade deals, to dealing with North Korea.
Americans, sick of Washington infighting, elected an outsider – controversial as he was – to fix what was broken, clean house and improve America’s standing. As such, it is far more productive to have policy debates than drag a weary nation through another endless round of partisan “who-struck-John” fights.
If pardoning a politician past her prime allows Washington, and America, to work more closely together, then nothing could be more presidential.
The Precedent
No one in America should be “above the law,” especially our top political figures. The fact that we strive for accountability for all, and not just some, is what separates us from dictatorships and banana republics.
And that is why advocating a pardon is not an easy position to take. There is merit in stating that if Hillary Clinton broke the law, she should be prosecuted, just as anyone else. It shouldn’t matter that she was a presidential candidate, First Lady, U.S. senator, or Secretary of State. Being part of the political elite does not entitle one to disregard laws, nor should it shield her from prosecution.
But that’s not what pardoning Hillary would be.
A pardon would not be so much for Hillary, as it would be for the country’s “greater good.” Fair or not, many will perceive it as a witch hunt and refuse to accept the outcome. And that would be extremely dangerous, for when Americans do not accept decisions of jurors and judges, our adherence to the rule of law takes a substantial hit.
Pardoning Hillary is not the perfect option, but let’s not forget that our justice system, while the best in the world, isn’t perfect. Celebrities sometimes receive harsher-than-normal sentences because of their high profile. Had they been “regular” people, many of those cases would never have seen the light of day.
And what of criminals who walk free after making an immunity deal with the prosecution? And convicts who have their sentences drastically reduced because of prison overpopulation? Bottom line: Nothing is perfect.
Most of all, let’s not forget that presidential pardons aren’t new. Every president utilizes that power, with thousands having had their slates wiped clean over the years.
Life isn’t always fair. Richard Nixon, in an incredibly selfless act borne out of his belief of what was best for America, allowed the criminals who stole the 1960 election from him (due to voter fraud in Chicago and Texas) to go uninvestigated, and thus, unpunished. Nixon realized that dragging the nation through a contested election would do more harm than good, and walked away the bigger man.
Likewise, President Gerald Ford, knowing his prospects for re-election would likely be irreparably damaged if he pardoned Nixon, nonetheless did the right thing by allowing his predecessor to fade away, sparing the nation the spectacle of a president on trial.
Pardon me for being presumptuous, Mr. President, but the best way for you to turn around your ailing presidency is to make Hillary Clinton an offer she can’t refuse.