I hope they aren’t too quick to identify and arrest those involved in the attempted coup. Because if Trump is still in office, I wouldn’t put it past him to pardon them.
Then again, I wouldn’t be shocked if I woke up tomorrow morning to news he’d issued a blanket pardon to everyone. Fuck Trump.
I posted this in the other thread:
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anyone post that newly elected West Virginia state rep Derrick Evans filmed himself storming the Capitol with the rest of the thugs, and posted it to his Facebook, but later took it down after perhaps realizing that wasn’t the smartest move he made all day.
Hopefully he gets locked up for a long time.
Don’t you have to be convicted of a crime before you can be pardoned?
Nope. You only have to have committed a crime. Nixon was never tried, for example.
How can someone prove you committed a crime if you haven’t been convicted? Isn’t it innocent until proven guilty? Perhaps you mean accused of a crime.
Established precedent is that pardons may be issued in the absence of a criminal conviction. In addition to the Nixon example, consider also Carter’s blanket pardon of draft dodgers, many of whom were never subject to prosecution.
You are correct, however, to the extent that this seems to fly in the face of common sense. It is possible that — if this practice were to undergo comprehensive legal challenge — the courts would agree with your view and hold that a pardon cannot be issued unless/until the criminal conviction has been established.
However, no such legal challenge has ever been pursued, and no such ruling has ever been made. As such, the precedent stands.
I don’t like his politics, and know he has to do it, but Mike Pence announcing his own defeat with professionalism and grace is something to admire especially with the bullying he has been subjected to.
"We Bene Gesserit sift people to find the humans.”
The rioters weren’t trying to overturn the election.
They just wanted to take a stand.
What I mean is that you can’t be given a pardon for something in the future. You can’t be given a pardon that says “BIffster is hereby pardoned from committing mopery on the date January 17, 2021.”
But they can say “Biffster is hereby pardoned for his involvement for any mopery related crime he may or may not have committed on the date January 6, 2021.”
That’s the only limit, except maybe scope, as in what exactly you were pardoned from must be specified–I think. I believe something saying “pardoned for any crime” without any qualifiers might be found as too broad.
Though, as @Cervaise said, none of this has really been tested in court.
You mean Mike Pence of the adoring looks and fawning words? The one who never once stood up and told the Orange Toddler he was doing wrong? He’s as much an enabler of what happened as McConnell and the rest of the silent GOP.
Any bulling he may have “suffered” pales compared to the bullying he supported.
Eh, what can I say. I also rooted for Vader when he threw the Emperor down that shaft. I guess I’m a sucker for last-minute redemption stories.
I wonder what the Trumplings are doing? Packing and getting ready to flee? Trying to convince daddy to call out the armed forces?
I live there.
And I vote Blue.
And Georgia just put two Democrats in the Senate.
Ditto.
Admire? Seriously?
If a grown man takes a shit in the middle of a room every day and then finally decides to clean some of it up 4 years later, it is not admirable. It is simply what he is expected to do.
He barely cleared the lowest of bars. From a high ranking GOP figure, I suppose that is something to celebrate these days, but it is absolutely nothing to admire.
That said, if publicly lauding the simple task of “doing one’s job” is enough to get them to act like responsible leaders, then by all means let’s do so.
Yesterday, January 6, 2021, “Lardass” cemented his title as the worst president in American history. He has left no doubt.
< Trump > "I’m Number 1! “I’m Number 1!” </ Trump >
I have a new name for them that doesn’t involve dehumanization: they shall be hereafter referred to as the Insurrectionist Party.
Where’s the fun in that?