in Politics 1,574 Words

Get in line and take a number

As if President Trump did not pardon enough criminals on January 20 when he pardoned some 1,500 insurrectionists from January 6, 2021, he has continued to issue pardons on a fairly regular basis. He has made a mockery of Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the US Constitution:

“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”

Traditionally, US presidents have used the power of the pardon to correct a miscarriage of justice – when a person known to be innocent was imprisoned, for instance. Sometimes its use has been questionable; however, it is a power given to the US President and there is no recourse.

Most pardons in the past would have been reviewed by pardon attorneys within the US Department of Justice. They would have advised the President about each particular case. Those attorneys are gone now, under Trump. There is no one to question or advise him except his political appointee Ed Martin.

President Trump appears to interpret the presidential power of the pardon to mean it is a “get out of jail free” or “avoid going to jail” card for registered Republicans who support him through violence against the peaceful transfer of power or through monetary contribution. And along the way, throw in activists who are supported by your anti-abortion base.

Before leaving office in 2021, Trump pardoned Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and seven Republican members of Congress who had been convicted of corruption.

1,500 January 6, 2021 Insurrectionists

He hit the ground running on Inauguration Day 2025 by pardoning 1,500 Capitol rioters, including those convicted of attacking police officers.

Photo of a newspaper box showing a newspaper with the headline: Pro Trump Mobs Storm US Capitol
Photo by little plant on Unsplash

23 Anti-Abortion Activists

He pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists who were convicted of being in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act by blocking patients’ entry to a facility. Under the Act, individuals can peacefully protest but they can’t block entrance to a facility that offers abortion services.

Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich

Then, Trump pardoned former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich. Blagojevich had served eight years in prison after being charged with trying to sell Barack Obama’s seat in the US Senate after Obama was elected President in 2008. NBC News reported that Blagojevich was convicted of “shaking down” a children’s hospital executive for campaign contributions. He also held up a bill in Illinois involving horse-racing in exchange for campaign contributions. In pardoning Blagojevich, Trump said, “I think he’s a very fine person. This shouldn’t have happened to him.”

Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey

On March 11, Trump pardoned former Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey who had served two weeks of a 21-month sentence for campaign finance fraud. It was beside the point that Kelsey had pleaded guilty.

Former Las Vegas City Councilmember Michele Fiore

In April, Trump pardoned former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore. She was convicted of six felonies stemming from her raising tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a statue of a slain police officer. The problem was that the statue was never made and she used the money for rent, plastic surgery, and her daughter’s wedding.

Culpeper, Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins

On May 26, Trump pardoned former Culpeper County, Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins. Charged with taking $75,000 in bribes, including $15,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents, Jenkins had been sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Trump said the case against Jenkins was “an elaborate conspiracy against an obscure local sheriff who was targeted by ‘monsters’ for political reasons.” Although Jenkins was sentenced after Trump took office, the president is blaming the Biden Administration for weaponizing the Justice Department against Jenkins.

Health Care Businessman Paul Walczak

On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Trump had pardoned Paul Walczak. Walczak pleaded guilty in November to “not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual income tax returns.” The Department of Justice presented evidence that Walczak had withheld nearly $7.5 million in taxes from his health care companies’ employees but did not pay that money to the Internal Revenue Service. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution. But Walczak’s mother paid $1 million to attend a Trump fundraiser at Mar-a-lago and a month later her son is miraculously pardoned. He gets to walk away from his prison time and he does not have to pay any restitution.

Todd and Julie Chrisley

Involved in a reality show I’d never heard of, Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to seven and 12 years, respectively, after being convicted of a $30 million bank fraud scheme and tax evasion.

On Tuesday, Trump called their daughter, Savannah, and told her he planned to pardon them because “they were unfairly treated.” (He is a broken record on himself being unfairly treated!) A jury found the Chrisleys guilty and the Appeals Court agreed with the jury.

It certainly did not hurt for Savannah to have been a speaker at the Republican National Convention. I guess that’s why Trump had her phone number.

Former US Congressman Michael Grimm

CBS News reported on Wednesday afternoon that President Trump had issued a full pardon for former FBI agent and former Congressman Michael Grimm of New York.

Grimm was convicted in November 2014 of tax fraud after underreporting wages and revenue and filing false tax documents related to a restaurant he owned. This went on for several years and then he lied about it under oath. He served eight months in prison.

Who’s Next?

During the swearing in ceremony for Jeanine Pirro as US Attorney for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Trump said he is considering issuing pardons for the men who plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Of course, Governor Whitmer is a Democrat.

Trump said he watched the trial and thought the defendants were railroaded.

It is shocking but not surprising that Trump would consider issuing the six people charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer because the indictment described some of the men as being linked to a militia group.

Included in the evidence presented by the FBI were videos defendants took of Whitmer’s vacation home, proof that they had estimated how long it would take police to respond to an incident at the home, and audio tapes of defendants talking about the “use of deadly force.” The US District Court Complaint, which lays out the evidence, including the use of explosives and tactical gear, can be read in full at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/press-release/file/1326161/dl?inline.

Trump has shown a liking for such groups since the deadly march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, after which he said “there were good people on both sides.” One side were neo-Nazis carrying torches and chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” The other side were peaceful protesters showing their dismay with neo-Nazis marching in the streets, spouting their hate.

People associated with militia groups were very much involved in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which included threats to “Hang [then US Vice President] Mike Pence, and threats against many individual US Representatives, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The irony is that on January 20, 2025, Trump pardoned the people who constructed a gallows on Capitol grounds and chanted “Hang Mike Pence”, but then claimed former FBI Director Jim Comey was threatening to assassinate him for posting a photo of seashells spelling out, “86 47.” The FBI investigated Comey over the incident and some Republicans in Congress said Comey should have been put in prison over the incident.

While campaigning, Trump said there were two systems of justice in the United States. He’s proving that is now true.

As I worked on this blog post on Wednesday afternoon, it was a challenge to keep up with the pardons being issued. I understand he pardoned seven people on Wednesday.

In case you’re keeping score

President Biden issued 80 pardons in four years. President Trump has issued at least 1,536 pardons since January 20, 2025. So far, Trump favors pardoning violent offenders and financial offenders. The only prerequisite is that they support Donald Trump.

Trump has appointed Ed Martin as his pardon attorney. Martin will vet applicants for pardons. Apparently, the floodgates are now open for anyone convicted of a crime while Joe Biden was President has a good chance of being pardoned… as long as they are registered Republicans.

I looked into Ed Martin’s past. In addition to his being a lawyer, there were three other prerequisites I found for him to get his new job: He organized “Stop the Steal” rallies for Trump, he called Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election that aided Trump’s election a hoax, and he said that 2020 US Presidential election results in which Trump lost to Joe Biden were a hoax.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read this weekend and that you find other ways to relax and escape the stresses of this world.

Don’t take anyone or anything for granted.

Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.

Janet

39 thoughts on “Get in line and take a number”

  1. Everyday another horrorshow from Washington! Incredible Janet and thank you for maintaining us informed. All the best and a great weekend to you.

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  2. Once again, it becomes painfully clear that everything he does is driven by self-interest. For him, a pardon is not an instrument of justice, but a tool for self-preservation, cronyism, and electoral deal-making. Those who support him—financially or ideologically—can count on forgiveness, regardless of the severity of their crimes. Those who oppose him are labeled enemies of the people. That’s not leadership; it’s a blatant abuse of power.

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  3. Yes, another day, another horror show. Today, he US Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to deport 500,000 Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans who had been allowed to stay in the US under a Biden Administration program. Instead of looking at them as individuals on a case-by-case basis, he can now apparently just round up all of them for mass deportation. This smacks of ethnic cleansing, but maybe that’s just my opinion. We’re in for a stormy couple of hours this afternoon with possible hail and damaging winds. The wind is already picking up. Trump is on TV now with Elon Musk. Trump is telling us how great he and Elon are, in case we did not know… and how “brilliant” Elon’s DOGE employees are. And how SpaceX is the most successful space company ever. (Odd how most of their rockets blow up! Just sayin’.) They make me gag. Have a nice weekend.

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  4. It is a blatant abuse of power. Trump is on live TV now from the Oval Office, along with Elon Musk. Trump is talking and can’t shut up, as usual, jumping from one topic to another. A close relative of mine is bipolar and that’s how he talks. On and on and on, with no rhyme or reason to what he’s saying, jumping from topic to topic that don’t relate, and making no sense. He’s thanking Musk now for doing a brilliant job attacking our government. I want to scream and cry. This horror show is wearing thin with me. Musk just claimed he has saved us $150 billion dollars. Now, he has transitioned into complimenting Trump for turning the Oval Office into a place of majesty by adding all the gold things. I truly want to vomit! What a mutual admiration society the two of them have going on. Musk needs to go back to his native South Africa. He has no understanding or appreciation for our democracy, but he has been allowed to destroy much of it. Now he claims to be leaving the US Government but is leaving it in the hands of his “brilliant” teenage employees. We are doomed.

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  5. I hope the storm and hail pass quickly and leave no damage Janet. There have been severe hail storms close to us in these last few weeks and they seem to get stronger and stronger. Reference the other storm, well, that too has an expiration date… all the best

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  6. The storm passed quickly, and the predictions for extreme weather did not come to pass. It is breezy but no damage. Thank you for your concern. Sometimes I really wonder about all the computer models the weather forecasters rely on. It’s a relief when they’re wrong, but then we become complacent when too many predictions are wrong. The good news is that they were wrong today. Enjoy your weekend.

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  13. I don’t either. It’s too depressing, but his supporters continue to love it. I don’t think I can put any more energy or time into trying to understand them.

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  14. Thanks for posting about Trump’s pardon record. It is almost unbelievable!

    Jim Gilmer

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  15. It is unbelievable, Jim, and I know I missed some people. I won’t try to keep up with his pardons, except I’ll be watching to see if he pardons the six men who tried to kidnap Gov. Whitmer. He is creating a Wild West mentality where anything goes and guns and might rule the day instead of laws. Thank you for reading my blog!

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  18. I think when this is over America will have to revisit its Constitution and put some restrictions on the power of the presidency. Currently the President has far more power than those monarchs Americans despise so much. I can only imagine what would happen over here if the king or the Prime Minister tried to pardon their friends.

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  21. We can only hope such adjustments on presidential power will be enacted when this is over. Trump pushes the limits daily and there aren’t enough people in Congress with the courage to say, “You cannot do that.” A few federal judges are the only people of authority holding his feet to the fire at all. And he fumes and fusses, then ignores their court orders. His disdain for our form of government is mindboggling.

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  23. At the same time that TACO is fighting with Anti-Semitic Harvard, one of the J6-ers he pardoned was photographed wearing a Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt–so much for his unequivocal support of Israel. Guess it depends upon who is doing the supporting or lack thereof.

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  31. Gurrrlllll. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Janet we gotta find a way to bulldoze this backwardness. There are a few indicators that some are turning on each other. What a mess! 😣

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  33. Girl Janet, I feel ya. But this is the very reason why we continue to fight for what is right and remind folks what honesty and decency looks like. Hopefully the complicit will grow a set of “balls!” Stay encouraged girlfriend. We can’t allow them to take our hope from us! 🥰🙏🏼💖

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  34. You are absolutely right, Kym. We cannot let them take away our hope! I’ll keep on keeping on with my blog posts as long as I can. Someday, I want to get back to blogging about reading and writing. I was writing an historical novel back before this current mess set in. Had to put it on the back burner. I miss writing fiction. Real life is the pits!

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  35. 🤣😱😂 LOL Maggie, I think many of us want to live in a fictional place like Disney’s Moana or Frozen! I never thought I would witness chaos like this at this stage of my life. It’s as if the cult is deep in their trance! Unbelievable! 😝

    Much love my dear! 🥰💖😍

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  36. Kym, I’m glad God didn’t let us know what was coming. We would have worried ourselves silly if we’d known about the backlash that was coming after President Obama left office. I think that’s the root of all this. The Obamas were so good, so honest, so caring and compassionate. (I yearn for those days when we had a president who spoke in complete sentences!) An element in the country just couldn’t stand it. They had to do something… and Donald Trump was the answer to their prayers. Hang in there, Kym!

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  37. Honey Janet, I think you are spot on…especially about the complete sentences! LOL 😝 But I simply don’t get how unfiltered the leader of a free country speaks and behaves that is acceptable to many people. He doesn’t care, plain and simple. This is truly a shock to our system, but we really do need to hang in here as you noted. For us, I believe better days are yet ahead. God just wants us to remember who is “still” in charge! He is! Hugs my friend. 🤗

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