Mark Osler is the Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas , and a former federal prosecutor. The opinions expressed here are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.
Not long after the presidential election, an entirely predictable event could end up dominating the news and lighting up social media. Win or lose, President Donald Trump may well seek to pardon members of his family, officials in his administration, and possibly himself -- even, as Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon, before any of them are convicted of anything.
Mark OslerBecause I'm someone who studies and advocates in the field of clemency, I'll get a lot of calls if that happens. Mostly, people will ask"Can he do that?" My response will be,"He just did." Clemency, as structured by the Constitution, has no check or balance other than politics. And, in yet another political cycle, we are utterly failing to employ that lone check on this power of kings.
Opinion Pardon for what, making promises and keeping them. Bidens money laundering is a story you bunch of hacks
Opinion Stop lying DONALLLL
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Opinion Is that legal? If Trump does not cheat his way into getting re-elected, he and his family will not have the safe haven of the Office of The President. I imagine an avalanche of indictments coming their way, enough to make them pee in their pants.
Opinion Doesnt sound logic. He will leave office 2024 anyway. Why does he have to pardon someone this time. BS
Opinion A Learning Moment for CNN: That’s what presidents do.
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Opinion Let’s see if that really holds up. There’s nothing to pardon until they are tried & convicted which won’t happen until after he’s kicked out of the who’re racist house. So what can the fool realDonaldTrump pardon? An allegation? When he & his admin are accused of genocide? 🤞
Opinion His pardons don’t mean shit at the state level, right?
Opinion I hope that if that is the case, they can somehow find a way to overturn his pardons on the grounds that he’s a con man and a criminal. Someone who has knowingly let Americans die should never profit from their crimes and neither should their families and friends.
Opinion So he knows that the whole family is corrupt then
Opinion I wonder if POTUS would pardon BidenCrimeFamiily for selling us all out. Bobulinski
Opinion He may build a golf course on the moon.
Opinion Can someone please explain to me how the HELL you can pardon yourself? This is the craziest bullshit idea for one the most important jobs in the world we need done properly and HONESTLY...how is that ever even on the table as a possibility?!
Opinion glennkirschner2 would these stand up in court?
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Opinion Pardons from what?
Opinion WHATS TO PARDON Trump & family are. Patriots and are working very hard for us!!
Opinion Nooooo Wayyyyy!
Opinion Fake news
Opinion Indict now... why wait
Opinion Good. But not CNN. CNN is doomed assholes. Even if President Trump forgives CNN, I will NOT. I know I am a nobody, but this nobody turns off CNN!
Opinion Biden will need a Pardon from Kamala.
Opinion TrumpCrimeFamilyForPrison and all his cronies
Opinion You had an autocorrect error in the first sentence. It should read 'sell', not 'seek'. Happens to all of us. 👍
Opinion Can’t be pardoned before conviction
Opinion Pardon them from what? They haven't even been charged with any crimes.
Opinion A pardon palooza😱
Opinion Can you pardon them for treason?
Opinion Make america great trump2020
Opinion But it’s not going to help with State law breaches and having ripped into State Govenors they are not likely to pardon him!
Opinion He’s not going to pardon anyone because they have committed no crimes. If any charges are brought it will be prosecutorial misconduct and people in high offices will pay dearly. This is just more total bullshit CNN FAKE NEWS. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Opinion Pardon for what. Meme beds of his family. Are y’all so desperate for stories that y’all pull random thoughts out y’all Asses ?
Opinion Convicted of what exactly? Revealing and exposing all the systemic corruption, inequality, injustice and the ever-expanding wealth gap for the world to see? America needs four more years, maybe it will finally wake up to it all. We're the third world of the first world
Opinion here we go with the unnamed sources - aka fake news
Opinion Why would anyone put this out there?
Opinion Garbage CNN, Trump has no reason to pardon himself, but your gaslighting after giving Joe “the big guy” Biden a media pass is hypocritically precious. CNN has jumped the shark!!
Opinion Not once in that article did you site any crimes the family has done to need pardoning you are despicable to lead the American people to think they have committed any crime, do better
Opinion I doubt pardons are coming, considering your guys are committing all of the crimes.
Opinion What is there to pardon if they’re all innocent as they claim?
Opinion Convicted of what, idiot? So far all the stuff he's been accused of, we now see was done by the Bidens. The evidence you never had on trump, now came out against Biden and all you lackeys still beat the same drum
Opinion Maybe he’ll pardon Joe and Hunter Biden for their corruption too
Opinion What would they be convicted for exactly?
Opinion If he does. It means he knows he is going to lose
Opinion If this happens I would never believe in our Government again you can not let this happen
Opinion Lock em ALL up!!!
Opinion Oh there’s loads of state crimes that are searing to go.
Opinion Guilty of what ? Pissing liberals off ....
Opinion Thanks to Nasty Pelosi the American people have to go without the stimulus & unemployment extension. Why even bother to vote for Democrats.
Opinion To pardon yourself or your own family or associate should be against the law
Opinion Lol. He ‘May’ suck a banana suggestively in a stat spangled thong on CNN.....but I doubt it.
Opinion Who will pardon Joe Biden? TonyBobulinski
Opinion All this and nothing about the bidens✌️
Opinion Stop it, CNN comrades!
Opinion Here y’all go again. Saying he will do things he (in this case idk for sure but highly probable he hasn’t said anything) he hasn’t even said he’s do. Just some random secret source y’all got that’s also probably paid by u.
Opinion That's a lot of people to pardon but he cannot escape his mirror, he will see the faces of those he killed.
Opinion Of course he will
Opinion Can you blame him considering the witch hunt of the last four years? I expect Biden would do the same if he wins considering the stuff coming out about his family.
Opinion Please remind us how many people were Pardoned by Obama,Clinton, Bush
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Opinion What?!? Pardon people without being guilty of anything.... sounds like an admission of guilt.
Opinion Fake news CNN
Opinion As a non American as far as I know they first have to be indicted for a crime.....?
Opinion Fuck that taught and I mean fuck that
Opinion He’ll disappear to Russia in the middle of the night like the rat he is
Starscream35 Opinion SDNY will show them what’s what
Opinion Lol
Opinion Shut the hell up...the desperation reeks!!...you lost in 2016. Your going to lose again in 2020...you want to win?...then be better. MAGA2020 LatinosForTrump
Opinion are you people nuts ? your talking about the Biden family right ? they are the ones working with communist china!
Opinion What about Biden pardoning his family?
Opinion Once Trump is out of office the DOJ, FBI and CIA will watch everything he does. He will never be free in America again. Baahaha!
Opinion He cannot pardon himself or his family from state charges. Any government leader who can pardon his/her way out of crimes against America means the American democracy is a farce!
Opinion But he can only pardon them for federal crimes. Pretty sure there are plenty of state crimes to go around in that crew.
Opinion Nope. Nice try
Opinion SDNY;)
Opinion You just gave that nut an idea.😂
Opinion Will go down as either the last great President of the United States or the greatest President in American history for saving this Nation from a tyrannical government who has sold our nation to our adversaries. Wakeup America.
Opinion Yup. But at least he will be gone. We can work on the rest latter but it sucks knowing he will leave with billions of money he managed to screw us bad.
Opinion He can’t pardon them if they haven’t been charged yet. These prosecutors aren’t stupid. They will wait till he’s out of office to charge them.
Opinion Cause that’s what criminals do.
Opinion Thats JoeBiden plan, so he can pardon his family. However Biden wont get that chance because he wont win. Im willing to bet Hunter will just overdose somewhere with a hooker and Joe will plead insanity.
Opinion 1) Why did Joe Biden, without a vote of the U.S. Congress, use $1 BILLION in U.S. taxpayer money to bribe the leaders of a sovereign country to fire a prosecutor? 2) What did US taxpayers gain in return for their $1 BILLION? 3) What did Biden gain?
Opinion 😂😂😂 your desperation knows no bounds😂😂😂
Opinion New York State AG will be coming for him. He won't be able to pardon that.
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Opinion I’m sure he will, and that’s a shame.
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