# Can and will Trump pardon all the DC rioters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 11, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249 "2021-01-11T11:42:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/61 "2021-01-15T20:24:40Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > I lean toward thinking he won’t pardon if he thinks it could increase his own legal jeopardy. IMO he’d place self preservation above the adulation of his base. I’ll go on the record with saying this is what I expect. One of the many reasons they were right to impeach. Now he claims to oppose violence. All part of his ultimate defense. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/62 "2021-01-15T20:46:54Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Trump has only one concern ever: what benefits himself. … Even if his rabid base would eat that raw meat up, it goes against his interest as that action would be enough to pull 17 GOP senators vote to convict him, and to punish him as severely as possible. The other fallout to his businesses that he’s already experienced would both persist and even grow. He has the adulation of his rabid base without doing that already. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/63 "2021-01-15T21:48:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > … it goes against his interest as that action would be enough to pull 17 GOP senators vote to convict him _could_; not “would” The Senate GOP may be significantly less deranged that the House (due to requiring at-large statewide votes and many of them not having to worry about reelection for 4 or 6 further years) but I’m not counting on them with any certainty – then again, _ **he** _ knows he can’t _reliably predict_ what would happen, either… ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/64 "2021-01-15T22:14:06Z")
deleted post ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/65 "2021-01-15T22:23:45Z")
Obviously my opinion so “could” but I believe would. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/66 "2021-01-15T22:27:09Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Even if his rabid base would eat that raw meat up, it goes against his interest as that action would be enough to pull 17 GOP senators vote to convict him, and to punish him as severely as possible The most severe punishment possible from impeachment is being banned from holding another federal office. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/67 "2021-01-15T22:31:23Z")
Trump will ignore the ban, like he ignores everything else. Pardoning the insurrectionists is an outrageous act that extends Trumps power into the Biden administration. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/68 "2021-01-15T22:46:19Z")
One thing I’m wondering is why Traitor1 has not dismissed the director of the FBI. That would seem likely to add to the anarchy factor and hinder the Bureau from finding evidence that might be damaging to Donnie. According to Wikipedia: _(…) although the FBI director is appointed for a 10-year term, the president has the power to dismiss the director for any reason. (…) although Presidents have occasionally clashed with FBI directors, Comey was only the second director to be dismissed since the Bureau’s foundation_ The FBI seems to have emerged as the main government entity fighting the traitor. It seems likely that the next dictator wannabe will put more effort into packing the FBI leadership with loyalists. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/69 "2021-01-15T23:10:11Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > He has the adulation of his rabid base without doing that already. Agreed completely. I think he’s going to let those who were arrested pound sand. In fact, his rabid base has already decided it wasn’t “their kind” in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/70 "2021-01-15T23:45:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The most severe punishment possible from impeachment is being banned from holding another federal office. No. An ex-president receives benefits including a pension and an expense account. An impeachment could strip him of these. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/71 "2021-01-15T23:56:37Z")
Does he also lose the Secret Service protection? That’d be great. After all, if they’re not required to follow the clown around, then he can’t gouge the Secret Service on the hotel charges. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/72 "2021-01-16T00:33:05Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No. An ex-president receives benefits including a pension and an expense account. An impeachment could strip him of these. Nothing in the Constitution says anything of the sort. He isn’t entitled to those benefits according to the Constitution, and so can they cannot be stripped from him by impeachment. Those are government policies, to be granted or removed at the whim of the administration of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/73 "2021-01-16T00:41:33Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Does he also lose the Secret Service protection? Probably not. It’s unprecedented. Mind you, I hope that his protection will be handled by prison staff. Perhaps the security detail will have to get jobs as prison staff to protect him. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/74 "2021-01-16T00:43:11Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Does anyone else find it creepy and horrifying that Pence isn’t invoking the 25th when he was the intended hangee? It’s entirely possible he put his feelers out and found out a majority of the Cabinet wouldn’t go along with it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/75 "2021-01-16T00:54:22Z")
The law in question only removes those if he’s impeached and removed from office. So it wouldn’t apply if he is only convicted after the 20th. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/omdi1zib7rw/maxresdefault.jpg "Will Trump Lose His Pension? #shorts") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omdi1zib7rw) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/76 "2021-01-16T00:54:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Nothing in the Constitution says anything of the sort. Not the Constitution, the Former Presidents Act 1958 grants the perks, and allows them to be withdrawn from impeached and convicted Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/77 "2021-01-16T19:24:32Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Trump will ignore the ban, like he ignores everything else. How will he ignore the ban? Please explain. Since the impeachment, his behavior has been, well, unimpeachable. I think that is purposeful and means he really fears the ban. He also fears losing his pension, his expense allowance, and, most importantly, his secret service protection that allows him to screw hundreds of thousands $$ out of the government for housing his guards. So no, he will not pardon the rioters. This fact alone puts me on the side of thinking the impeachment was a good idea (not whether it was warranted–it clearly was–but whether a good idea). Only four more days. In fact only 93 hours and 36 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/78 "2021-01-16T20:08:01Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > He also fears losing his pension, his expense allowance, and, most importantly, his secret service protection that allows him to screw hundreds of thousands $$ out of the government for housing his guards. It does seem that @BigT is correct on this. Conviction after he leaves the office on 1/20/21 leaves those all in place. He is then “a former president” and all so defined “former presidents” are entitled to them. The disqualification is not conviction but _removal_ by being so convicted. Under most circumstances a distinction without a different but these are … unpresidented times. 🙂 > **[Under the Former Presidents Act, A Removed President Does Not Receive a...](https://reason.com/volokh/2021/01/10/under-the-former-presidents-act-a-removed-president-does-not-receive-a-pension-office-staff-office-space-and-secret-service-protection/)** > > But an impeached-but-not-removed President would still receive the benefits. > [@](#): > > (f) As used in this section, the term “former President” means a person– > > (1) who shall have held the office of President of the United States of America; > > (2) whose service in such office shall have terminated other than by removal pursuant to section 4 of article II of the Constitution of the United States of America; and > > (3) who does not then currently hold such office. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/79 "2021-01-16T20:13:17Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > The disqualification is not conviction but _removal_ by being so convicted. Yep, that one single word seems to make the difference in how it would be interpreted, especially by more textualist judges. I could see an argument from an originalist that the intent was to include those convicted by impeachment, but I trust the lawyer whose short video I linked, as he tends to lay out the arguments like that. He claims that the one given in the Reason article seems to be the “best reading”–i.e. the one the judges would likely side with. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249/80 "2021-01-16T20:33:21Z")
Regardless of whether a former President is impeached or not, his pension and Secret Service protection are matters of policy and can be changed at anytime. Back in the nineties Congress removed the lifetime Secret Service protection for former Presidents, changing the law so that future former Presidents would only get protect for ten years after leaving office. That was quickly reverted after 9/11. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-and-will-trump-pardon-all-the-dc-rioters/930249.md?page=5)