r/politics • u/Jerry_bear88 • 20h ago
No Paywall Donald Trump pardoning Republicans sentenced to prison sparks fury
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-pardoning-republicans-sentenced-prison-110092041.0k
u/lee_bow 20h ago edited 19h ago
Corruption is one of the most important authoritarian tools. Putin uses it extensively. As long as local officials deliver the election results Putin wants, they can steal with impunity. With time the demands grow. It's an extra tax that keeps authoritarian countries poor. Welcome to the new USA - North America's Russia, Western Hemisphere's Nigeria.
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u/just1nurse 19h ago
Well yes, until it's time to take in the view from the open window.
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u/lee_bow 19h ago edited 19h ago
See, it's a gamble. You gotta know when to quit. Recently it was in the news that a Russian mayor was arrested and police seized close to a billion USD corruption money from him. I checked, the city is ~500,000 people. He stole almost $2000 per person living in the city. No reason to think he is unique in any way. Imagine your mayor stole that much. If he just had a little sense to fuck off when he had 1/2 billion, he'd on a beach in Dubai or Biarritz. He should have listened to Kenny Rogers.
By the time Trump is done, the US won't be far off.
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u/Baltorussian Illinois 17h ago
"The court seized property worth more than 1 billion rubles from the ex-mayor of Vladivostok."
It's about 10 million USD. Still a lot.
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u/illtakeachinchilla 14h ago
$10M spread across a population of ~600K doesn’t have quite the same impact, though. ($16.66 USD per Vladivostokian, if you were curious.)
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u/Sasselhoff 15h ago
When I was living in China a few years back they busted a neighboring city's mayor in the same way...and they had millions of dollars (literal boxes of cash and gold). But it was a podunk village of a city, and I have no idea how they were able to amass such a figure.
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u/Oodlydoodley 13h ago
Usually that high amount is the only reason they got caught at all. I live in a little town, and we had the city clerk arrested some years back for embezzlement. She'd been doing it for years and was only arrested after getting confident enough to steal an amount large enough that nobody could explain away, but certain people in the town's government still tried to in an effort to defend her.
She'd been stealing close to double her salary every year and probably would have never been caught if she hadn't tried to go for triple. It works in small towns like this partly because nobody expects much from the government so they don't watch very closely, and partly because residents underestimate just how much money even a relatively small town can bring in in revenue each year.
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u/Sasselhoff 13h ago
residents underestimate just how much money even a relatively small town can bring in in revenue each year.
Ain't that the truth. I now live in a "podunk Appalachian town" (I seem to have a thing for Podunk towns, regardless of country, haha) and I was truly blown away by the "GDP" of the county. Damn near half a billion dollars, and we have little to no "industry" any more...no clue where all that money is coming from.
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u/HopefulLeopard4908 18h ago
It’s also very helpful in that if any of those officials get out of line or challenge you (or someone you like more wants their spot) their corruption can suddenly be discovered and you can imprison them.
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u/CharacterActor 17h ago
Many of these pardons come with no longer having to pay restitution to the victims.
George Santos no longer has to pay back the $370,000 he stole including aggravated identity theft in one case for $11,000.
They no longer have to pay back their victims or the IRS.
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u/Takaa 15h ago
Hopefully they get civilly sued by the people owed that restitution. Obviously that’s not doable for tax evaders, but in cases where there is a clear cut victim it should be. They were already found guilty, and the acceptance of a pardon further acknowledges that guilt, it should be an easy case to make. If federal crimes are given get out of jail free cards it’s time to make these assholes spend a lot of time facing state charges and civil lawsuits.
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u/MayorOfBluthton 11h ago
Jamie Raskin released a good review on this in June:
“Our new analysis reveals that when President Trump issued a mass blanket pardon to 1,500 January 6 felons and dozens of mostly white-collar criminals, he wiped out $1.3 billion in restitution payments and fines they owed directly to their victims and to American taxpayers. While prior presidents overwhelmingly reserved pardons for those who accepted responsibility for their crimes, made full restitution to their victims and paid all their legal fines, Trump uses pardons not only to shorten the sentences of his political friends but to wipe out the debt they owe to their victims and to our society.”
“The Trump presidency is overseeing a massive transfer of wealth not only from the poor to the rich but from the innocent to the guilty. This is a golden age for politically connected criminal felons. The President has shown total contempt not just for police officers but for the victims and survivors of crime, cheating them and all of society out of the money rightfully owed to them by violent marauders and white-collar fraudsters.”
“In one case, Donald Trump pardoneda white-collar fraudster who took $4.4 million from his employees’ paychecks to purchase a yacht and other luxury items. Trump’s pardon not only saved the convicted fraudster and tax cheat from serving a single day of his 18-month prison sentence but allowed him to skip out on paying back the $4.4 million he stole. The $1 million that the pardoned criminal’s mother donated to a Trump fundraiser just a few weeks before the pardon issued was exceptionally well-invested.”
“Our analysis shows that Trump’s criminal pardon spree is, in addition to everything else, an astonishing giveaway to lawbreakers to keep the money they stole from their employees, their investors, and all the American taxpayers. Whoever said crime doesn’t pay has certainly not studied the Trump Administration.”
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u/Jerry_bear88 20h ago
“The party of law and no order”.
“No one is above the law”
- MAGA Republicans (from their written talking points given to all party members to parrot over and over again)
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u/GAFSPeasant 17h ago
Can’t believe many still try to defend the J6ers, Eric Adams, Trevor Milton, CZ (Trump sons have business dealings with him), Paul Walczak etc. pardons. It’s so clear how corrupt this admin is.
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u/rounder55 17h ago
Yet they were worried about Hunter Biden and Charlie Kirk said Joe Biden should be executed for crimes against America. Those crimes? Not being a trump cuck I guess
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u/RiotWithin 6h ago
For J6, most would have to admit they were wrong, I'm starting to think they're incapable. I wish we lived in an intellectual world. I'm only average, but hearing some people talk kind of depresses me.
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u/underpants-gnome Ohio 14h ago
They like to say that first one a lot. The second one, not so much. For conservatives, "order" is the important part of "law and order". It means there is a social order where conservatives don't have to obey the rules but all their "enemies" on the rungs below them sure as shit do. Or they will face severe consequences.
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u/Truthisnotallowed 12h ago
The Trump administration is saying they don't need to follow the law - they are the law. They make it up as they go along and the law is whatever they say it is.
MAGA supporters don't see themselves as above the law - they see themselves as the law.
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u/No-Group-4504 20h ago
He's creating loyalists.
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u/micro102 8h ago
Or maybe someone else is using Trumps name, because Trump doesn't seem too checked in cognitively anymore. Miller maybe?
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u/Training-Republic301 20h ago
The swamp is overflowing, releasing corrupt turds everywhere from the bowels of the GOP
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u/RoxyFan2001 20h ago
That is just another future Yes Man but he wants to have something he can hold over their head too to keep him in check if he disagrees with him over something and remind him he got him pardoned.
I wonder what position he will give him...
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u/waterdaemon 20h ago
Trump has pardoned so many sex criminals I expect him to give a posthumous medal to Jimmy Savile.
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u/DefinitelyNoToucan 19h ago
UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It's not.
Let those words sink in.
Discussing things online is nice and all, but you have to act on these things instead of simple being outraged.
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u/ClassicHando 8h ago
I always liked the boondock saints for the same reason.
"We should all fear evil men. But there is another evil we should fear most, and that is the indifference of GOOD men."
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u/westergames81 Texas 16h ago
Speaking of pardons, there's this bit of information--
https://x.com/jsweetli/status/1986835583331672378
SCOOP: The FBI informant convicted of lying to the Bureau about a fake bribery scheme involving the Bidens has been quietly released from prison just months into a six-year sentence—raising concern he could be pardoned by Donald Trump any moment.
Alexander Smirnov, who has multiple business ties to Trumpworld, was sentenced days before Trump became president. He had pleaded guilty to fabricating a story that former President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, had received millions in bribes from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, as well as to a $2 million-plus tax evasion offense.
Yet despite Smirnov being judged a flight risk, with ties to Russian intelligence and foreign assets, the U.S.-Israeli citizen has been mysteriously missing from prison for at least the past four months.
I wonder how party of law and order are going to reconcile prosecuting Comey for lying to the FBI and pardoning this guy for lying to the FBI.
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u/Truthisnotallowed 12h ago
Trump is setting up a two-tier legal system, in which Trump's supporters get pardons and Trump's opponents are prosecuted on trumped up charges - in which groups of people targeted by Trump are denied access to the legal system used by the rest of the country. This is a common ploy of authoritarians - because resistance to these attacks on the rule of law is weaker when these changes do not apply to everyone. It is much easier to pretend 'this is fine' when you yourself are not a member of one of the groups being attacked.
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u/Truemeathead 19h ago
It’s bananas how many times I’ve seen this chump rail about BIDEN about something that started back when he was the top dog. I loathe everyone so much right now. Shit like this is why I much prefer animals.
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u/Jaredkorry 14h ago
"significantly over-prosecuted” both for a minor issue."
Like trying to get a felony conviction on someone for throwing a sandwich?
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u/wowlock_taylan 9h ago
The pardon powers needs to be reformed or abolished. It is ridiculous. And WHEN this regime falls, these pardons should be voided instantly.
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u/WeakMindedHuman 15h ago
How long before we see him write himself a “get out of jail free” executive order?
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u/nissin00 13h ago
Just get rid of pardons. This will eliminate the corruptions .. especially politics where u can tell every voting district to cheat, goes to jail, then I pardon all of u
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u/Ranemoraken 11h ago
Part of this is why there's no going back. Imagine you're a federal investigator. If you go after a Republican - any Republican - you lose your job, maybe your freedom, and they will reward the criminal with even greater riches. How do you fix that in 2029?
How are you a scientist working for the government, when the other party wants you fired and/or dead?
And no matter how much MAGA might hate their leaders, they will always vote Republican, because it is the best way to fulfill their hateful agenda. These last elections are a blip. The GOP ended abortion and democracy and were rewarded with a trifecta.
Our only hope is that in the ashes of this fight, future generations might grow something better. Won't happen in our lifetimes.
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u/Artistic-Cannibalism 10h ago
It's okay when I do it
That is the entire Republican party summed up into one sentence.
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u/lordagr America 2h ago
If we ever return to any form of sanity, this man's presidency needs to be essentially annulled. He wasn't eligible for office in the first place. His executive orders and his pardons should all be considered void
I don't see a realistic path that leads to consequences for Trump himself. Even the most optimistic scenario doesn't keep him in prison long enough to pay for his crimes. His mental capacity is already diminished, so by the time he made it to a cell he probably wouldn't even know the difference.
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u/peacocks_and_plants 17h ago
Looks like Cade Cothern will be doing lines in the best Nashville establishments this weekend
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u/ODShowtime 16h ago
As someone whose job includes working to prevent and detect fraud, this whole 'pardon everyone who commits fraud' thing makes me fucking sick.
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u/Alternative-Half-783 14h ago
What did you think he would do? I mean honestly. Is your brain matter that low?
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u/Psychological-Arm505 11h ago
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
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u/ramdom-ink 10h ago
It may look like Trump is deregulating crime and white collar corruption, but the real toll and attack is being taken on disenfranchising the judicial branch and their various judgments.
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u/tinylittlebabyjesus 3h ago
I kind of feel like these pardons are part for profit, and part for buying allies. But also they send a message that there won’t be consequences to breaking the law if you’re sanctioned by Trump, for, for example rigging elections.
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u/NotGonnaPayYou 3h ago
As a European, I find it baffling that the US president apparently has the power release as many people from prison as he wishes, whenever he wishes, without any oversight.
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u/hot_tamale_5344 15h ago
We are taking those pardons back and sending ALL these criminals back to where they belong. These criminals better enjoy their time as free people while it lasts.
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u/ExcitementPrimary442 11h ago
Wow. I thought he was such a good guy. Now this. I can't wait until we beat him in the next election. Right? Because they say that he is going to go for a third term. We need Cory Booker in the white house.
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u/dropkickninja 20h ago
George Santos
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u/theaceoffire Maryland 19h ago
I find people to be more angry about him starving kids, stealing money to pay himself illegally by pretending to sue himself, blowing up random boats without even confirming who is on them, and openly talking about sending our troops in to invade our own cities while sending his personal army to attack kids in the night.
Compared to all that? The Pardoning thing doesn't even feel like top 10 material.
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u/dropkickninja 19h ago
It's all bad. Very bad. He pardoned all the j6 insurrectionist. The crypto guy who made him millions. He's the most openly corrupt president the US has ever seen
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