Donald Trump is not the only one to use the controversial presidential pardon, which has sometimes been a sordid feature of United States politics for more than two centuries.
In his final hours in office, Trump is expected to forgive more than 100 people, including political allies, friends and cronies. He has already granted clemency to the key figures in his 2016 campaign.
In an attempt to promote his self-interest, Trump is just following in the footsteps of White House predecessors. According to article two of the United States constitution, presidents enjoy broad and indisputable powers to forgive individuals for federal crimes. This right is “unlimited”, decided the Supreme Court.
The exercise of this prerogative has been a source of discussion. In 1795, George Washington gave amnesty to two men who had engineered the Whiskey Rebellion against a federal alcohol tax. In the 20th century, Gerald Ford forgave wretch Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.
Ford’s successor Jimmy Carter forgave those resistant to recruitment for the Vietnam War. And in 1992, George HW Bush extended an amnesty to six defendants in the Iran-Contr scandal of the Reagan era, including former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger, a move that actually ended the investigation.
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton was responsible for a particularly notorious pardon. On January 20, 2001, he exonerated fugitive billionaire Marc Rich, one of 140 pardons issued on his last day at the White House, including one given by Clinton to his brother Roger.
The movement sparked outrage. Rich, a commodities trader, has spent decades evading US justice, hidden in Switzerland. The justice department tried to put Rich on trial for evasion of more than $ 48 million [£33m] in taxes, as well as fraud and participation in illegal oil deals with Iran.
Clinton denied that forgiveness had anything to do with Rich’s generous donations to the Democratic party and his presidential library. In a painful article for the New York Times, Clinton said that Rich obtained clemency for his contribution to the Israeli peace process and for his secret work with the Mossad.
Clinton later admitted that the Rich episode damaged his reputation. He made a point of pointing out that other presidents issued more pardons during his time at the White House. Carter reached 566 against Clinton’s 450, with Reagan reaching 406 in two terms. Ford managed 409 for just over two years as president.
Trump has not yet reached those figures, although his decisions have come under similar criticism. He has forgiven people since his first year in office. They include Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff. Arpaio was convicted of contempt of court for defying a judge’s order to prevent Latinos’ racial profile.
In December, close political allies who were caught up in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections received leniency. They included former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who lied to the FBI, former campaign president Paul Manafort and Trump’s longtime confidant Roger Stone. In addition to Charles Kushner, the convicted father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared.
Trump’s behavior in the office has always been transgressive and abrasive. But when it comes to presidential pardons, he’s just following the existing poor convention.