Obama should Pardon Hillary.... And Trump

Politics & Elections
#1

So, after the 2008 election, there were quite a number on the left who wanted to see Bush and co. held to account for their actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo… pretty much everything that they could be nailed with.

When Obama came in, he disappointed all those people by saying that the best thing for the nation was to move on, that revisiting the past would not help us to heal. It would not bridge the divisiveness. Though I was quite annoyed with Bush’s actions and the consequences that he foisted off on the american people, I found myself agreeing with this assessment.

Now that Trump is pres, if he keeps his promise to go after Clinton, then he is not going to be uniting much. The democrats will continue to defend her, and the republicans will continue to hate her. Personally, I don’t think that she has actually done anything that can be proved to have broken any laws worth prosecuting, so they are either going to get her on some trivial technicality, or they are not going to get her on anything. Either way, it will be long and drawn out, and distract us from being able to do what we all want to have happen.

Trump also has some issues. Between the university, the charity, the taxes, and the alleged sexual misconduct, there is a pretty good chance that, even if never convicted of anything, our next president will spend his days embroiled in controversy. I do not see that as useful to the nation.

Now, Obama has the power to pardon Clinton, and make sure that no investigation sticks. Whether or not she broke any laws, Obama can declare through his presidential powers that, legally, she cannot be held to any account, and no prosecution or even investigation is possible. Even Giuliani agrees that there would be nothing to go after her if this were to take place. (Though he still looks forward to prosecuting the rest of the Clinton team for anything he can find.)If I were Clinton, I don’t know that I would take the pardon, I might be willing to take my chances that they can’t find anything to pin on me, rather than go after my team, my friends, and continuing this issue long past any reasonable person would have let it the fuck go.

Now, this would seem a partisan act, and may very well be quite divisive. People would talk about the corruption and cronyism, and it would not be all that great for healing the nation. the same could be said for pardoning trump.

By pardoning both, he can say “I don’t think either of you have done anything worth prosecuting, much less investigating, and now, legally, you haven’t. I said so.”

This could prompt some level of healing and reconciliation between the parties. Neither side can threaten the other with legal issues. Neither side can point to the other saying that the pardon proves that they are guilty.

#2

Obama can only pardon federal crimes.

#3

And Trump isn’t having any criminal issues. The University thing is civil. The taxes are … nothing? Don’t even know what that refers to. I doubt any of the accusations of groping is going to get a DA to bring charges. The charity might lose it’s status and pay a fine or something but I doubt it’ll be some drawn out court battle.

#4

I am quite confident that if people go after Trump as hard as they did after the Clintons, they’d find something to charge him with.

Taxes… he is under audit, and has been under audit forever. Whether he did anything worth being criminal over, I don’t know, but I would know if he was pardoned, it would be “no”.

I don’t know, I am just looking at ways that the transition can be made better and more inclusive.

Even if it doesn’t cover state issues, or prevent lawsuits, it would have h effect of calming things down at bit.

#5

There are better ways to do that and I don’t see why it’s on Obama or Clinton to take a hit. Step 1 should be for trump to take a hard stance against all the racial and sexual hate crimes happening in his name. This is no political wizardry, it’s the most simple and basic humanity and maturity that a president should have. If he can’t do that, I see no reason to pardon an innocent person and cast a shadow of guilt on them.

#6

Agree Trump should tell the scum to knock that shit off. And urge prosecutors to nail the creeps to the wall. At the same time I’d like to see Clinton personally address a few protests urging them to get over themselves. No matter what their opinions, Trump won the election under the rules in place. And next time they should do a better job convincing those in states that voted the other way.

#7

Obama will issue a pardon for Clinton. He has to. He has firm grounds and there’s ample precedent.

Politically, Trump is going to turn Obama into an asterisk, Obama might as well turn one of Trump’s campaign promises into an asterisk.

There will be a lot of noise about this before the inauguration.

There’s no reason to expect Trump to say he won’t have Clinton prosecuted, why should he take it off the table when he can make Obama do it?

Even if he does say it, there’s no reason for anybody to believe it.

#8

If there is anyone Obama should pardon, it is the Snowden. And Chelsea Manning. He should also pardon Bradley Manning, just to avoid any future lawyers prattle. Whistleblowers are going to be very important in the near future.

#9

Wait…pardon Clinton for some nebulous crimes that she’s never even been charged with, let alone convicted of?

#10

It would prevent the witch hunt of trying to find something, anything, that she could be charged with.

Even if they never find out about her overdue library books (“Shelve her up!!!”), the investigations will still be distracting and divisive.

#11

And by accepting the pardon, she has to admit guilt.
Sorry. Not into lamb-sacrificing to appease my political opponents.

#12

That’s where pardoning Trump *too *comes into play (I like the idea).

#13

Clinton would have to admit to guilt(and the negative press would say she was admitting that everything said about her was true) and her career is over, while Trump wouldn’t give a shit(while his supporters would call it a cheap ploy and “Rally 'Round The Rug”), then go on to scam and cheat to his heart’s content.
Yep. Sounds Fair and Balanced to me.

#14

You don’t have to do or say anything to get a pardon, if the President wants to grant one. It’s an implication of guilt of something, yes, but not by the recipient. So Obama can say he’s preempting Trump from following through with another silly promise, while giving his successor a clean slate.

#15

Another problem is that a President may grant any pardon that is requested. Can you see either Clinton or Trump asking for a pardon from Obama? From here:

#16

Nixon didn’t request his (at least not formally), but he did accept it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/benton-l-becker-negotiator-of-fords-pardon-of-nixon-in-1974-dies-at-77/2015/08/04/eda22892-3ac0-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html

#17

At this point, distraction of the Trumpistas is the best we can hope for.

#18

He should absolutely not pardon Clinton or Trump, for multiple reasons. Even for purely political reasons – a prosecution against Clinton, I think (though I’m far less confident in my political instincts than I was before this election), would fail spectacularly and hurt Trump and the Republican party politically, while helping the Democrats. Obama and the Democratic party should be praying for Trump to try and prosecute Clinton.