Shabby use of Trump's pardon power

Another end of a presidential term, another cache of questionable last-minute pardons.

In this respect, outgoing President Donald Trump was no different from so many of his predecessors.

The waning hours of Trump’s presidency saw clemency extended to more than 140 individuals, including some deserving penitents who will benefit from a second chance, and many less-repentant rogues and close Trump allies who are just cashing in on proximity.

That includes Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist who was accused of helping to defraud unsuspecting Trump supporters who wanted to contribute to a border wall, not Bannon’s pockets. It includes Elliott Broidy, a Trump fundraiser who pleaded guilty to lobbying the government on behalf of foreign interests. Albert J. Pirro Jr., tax evader and ex-husband of Trump-boosting Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, also received a pardon.

The group makes for a shabby collection with the other clemency offers of Trump’s term, from former campaign manager Paul Manafort to former adviser and political trickster Roger Stone.

The annals of embarrassing presidential pardons are full of well-connected criminals, perhaps led by President Bill Clinton’s end-of-term pardon of billionaire Marc Rich, indicted on tax crimes. Rich, who fled the country rather than face his misdeeds, was a donor to Democrats and various Clinton family initiatives. Clinton also pardoned his own brother, Roger.

Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, who resigned in disgrace, and on his way out the door George H.W. Bush gave amnesty to six defendants in the Iran Contra scandal, including former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. The action effectively shut the door on any further investigation of Ronald Reagan’s administration.

Trump’s offers of clemency went not just to regular allies but people sometimes connected to Trump’s own myriad legal troubles. Witnesses central to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia inquiry may have been less inclined to cooperate fully with the possibility of pardons being dangled in their near future.

The president’s pardon powers, outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, go back to the king’s prerogative to grant mercy, dating in England to the first century reign of King Ine of Wessex. The powers are extremely broad, and the Supreme Court has indicated that the president’s use of the pardon power is in many ways beyond Congress’ control.

The path to reforming the presidential pardon would therefore likely be through a constitutional amendment, an extraordinarily heavy lift but not an impossible one. There have been previous attempts to amend the Constitution to stop presidents from pardoning themselves, family members, or members of a president’s campaign or administration. Some other reforms would restrict the time frame for issuing pardons, not on the last day or last month as is the custom, but in a period when the president could be rebuked by voters of his or her party.

When appropriately used, pardons can help soften the harsh blows of justice. Now there are little more than historic norms to prevent presidents from abusing this far-reaching power. As we have seen, norms are not enough.

— The editorial board