Cryptocurrency billionaires. Disgraced politicians. Reality TV stars. And hundreds of political allies.
Since taking office for a second term, United States President Donald Trump has issued more than 1,840 acts of clemency to a range of personalities.
Presidents have long stirred controversy in their choices of people to pardon. But experts argue that the way Trump has exercised his clemency power violates rules and norms in place for more than a century.
Now, they warn that pardons and commutations have become transactional, with Trump using them to reward those loyal to his agenda.
Some beneficiaries have been supporters of his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, including the hundreds of rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He’s demonstrated that pardoning the wrong people doesn’t carry a political penalty, as was imagined in the past to be the case.
Of course, he also proved that being a felon doesn’t prevent one from being elected president, and being a documented paedophile doesn’t push approval ratings below 30%, because they’ll just stop measuring.