The Federalist Papers By Ryan Ledendecker
President Donald Trump is not afraid to look out for those who remained by his side and were later accused of wrongdoing and harshly sentenced as a result. Take former national security adviser and retired General Michael Flynn for example â Trump came through for him recently with a pardon that changed his life.
Axios reported that on Friday they allegedly received the inside scoop from the Trump administration that the president intends on handing out a number of pardons as his last days in the White House come to a close.
While itâs unclear as of this writing who Trump may or may not have on his pardon list, there have been a lot of hints dropped lately that could point us in the right direction.
One of those hints came this week from Sen. Rand Paul, who asked the president to consider a pardon for Edward Snowden, though sources say that Snowden is likely not on Trumpâs list. But in 2020, if weâve learned anything, itâs to expect the unexpected.
âSnowden is no traitor. He is a true whistleblower who was trying to expose those like (former Director of National Intelligence James) Clapper who used Deep State powers in secret to go after Americans. Snowden should be pardoned,â Paul said. He urged Trump to pardon Snowden for ârevealing the unconstitutional spying that was going on, even beyond what was envisioned from the Patriot Act.â
Republicans are currently split on whether or not Snowden is a traitor or a patriotic American who exposed some pretty deep government-spying that was taking place at the time.
Other potential pardons could include Trumpâs former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who Trump has said on multiple occasions was not treated fairly by the court system. Others believe that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be a strong contender for a Trump-issued pardon, with many high-profile conservatives encouraging the president to do so.
All of the aforementioned potential pardons would obviously carry with them a ton of controversy, depending on who receives one.
In a recent New York Times piece, it was reported that Trump has also discussed pre-emptive pardons for Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., along with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, fearing that the incoming Biden administrationâs Attorney General might come after them at some point.
Unfortunately for the Trump-hating mainstream media, they wonât be able to pile on the president over his pardons, as he remains one of the most conservative clemency-granting presidents on record, having granted clemency just 44 times, which is the lowest number since former President William McKinley.
