ArcaMax

It goes with the territory. As a political commentator, I read a pile of political books every year, some of them worthwhile, most not. But one of the best political books I read this year is “Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy” by CNN’s Jeff Toobin.

Citing the broad pardon power given the president in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution – “He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment” – Toobin notes this is the one and only place where, in effect, the president is a king. He has absolute power to pardon anybody he wants, anytime he wants, for any reason he chooses. Nobody, not even Congress, can stop him.

King Donald has made the presidential pardon his personal playground. While most presidents wait till the end of their term to grant a few pardons, usually to persons recommended by the Justice Department who’ve not received a fair trial, Trump’s been issuing pardons from day one of his second term.

The pardon process used to be complicated. Hire a lawyer. Apply to the Justice Department. Lots of time and paperwork. But no longer. Trump’s made the pardon process totally transactional and political. For him, it’s the ultimate quid pro quo. Just say you’re a victim like him and claim you were charged with a crime only because you were a Trump supporter – and you’re free! It doesn’t matter what you were charged with or how guilty you are, Trump’s got a presidential “get out of jail free” card for you! He handed out many of them in the last few weeks. Of which, a few of the more outrageous.

Example one. Scott Jenkins, former sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia. Jenkins was convicted by a jury of accepting $75,000 in bribes from local businessmen in return for making them auxiliary deputy sheriffs and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In his defense, Jenkins argued the district attorney only went after him because he was a big Trump supporter. That was enough for Trump. On Memorial Day, the day before reporting to prison, Jenkins received a presidential pardon.

Example two. Paul Walczak, a Florida nursing home executive, convicted of $10 million in tax fraud and sentenced to 18 months in prison. But even after pleading guilty, Walczak claimed he’d only been targeted because his mother, Elizabeth Fago, had held three fundraisers for Trump. Last month, Ms. Fago paid $1 million for a Trump fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Less than three weeks later, Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son.

Example three. Brian Kelsey, former Tennessee state senator, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegally funneling money to his failed campaign for Congress. Once Trump was re-elected, Kelsey accused the Justice Department of coming after him only because he was a MAGA supporter. In February, he reported to prison for a 21-month sentence. Two weeks later, he received a Trump pardon.

Example four. Michael Grimm, former member of Congress from Staten Island, indicted in 2014 for failing to report nearly $1 million in receipts and hundreds of thousands in employee wages from a restaurant he owned. After serving seven months in prison, he became a TV host on Newsmax, where he strongly defended Donald Trump. Bingo!

Example five. Reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, convicted three years ago of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their luxurious lifestyle. Their daughter Savannah, a big Trump supporter, spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention and said the magic words: claiming her parents, like Trump, had been “persecuted by rogue prosecutors” because of their conservative political beliefs. They walked out of prison this week.

And then, of course, there’s the worst pardon abuse of all: Trump’s wholesale pardon of nearly 1,600 people who stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Several were serving long sentences for assaulting police officers, including Daniel Rodriguez, whom a judge labeled “a one-man army of hate.” But Trump called them all “patriots,” insisted the Justice Department went after them only because they were Trump supporters, waved his magic wand, and their crimes disappeared.

For would-be criminals, the message could not be more clear. If you’re even thinking about committing a crime, don’t worry about the police. Just make sure you send a big check to Donald Trump first. If Charles Manson had thought of that, he might have been out of prison a long time ago.

(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.