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FLYNN PARDON SETS OFF CLEMENCY SPECULATION

Just as predicted, President Trump pardoned turkeys Corn and Cob last Tuesday. But the act may have whetted the President’s appetite for something besides Big Macs, because the day after pardoning the turkey, Trump pardoned Michael T. Flynn, his first national security adviser.

Flynn, you may recall, has been seeking to have the case against him dismissed after twice pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.  Much of the media (and opposing politicians) have responded with howls of indignation, believing that he must have pled guilty because he knew he was guilty. Those of us familiar with the federal criminal system, of course, know better: a plea of guilty is irrelevant to actual guilt: instead, it’s just a white flag waved at an enemy force of superior strength, hoping that negotiated surrender is better than being overrun and massacred.

But that’s a discussion for another day. The Flynn pardon was followed by a New York Times report that the White House is weighing a number of pardons and commutations for Trump to issue in his final weeks in office. The consideration is prompting jockeying by a range of clemency seekers and their representatives. Besides the usual cast of people connected to Trump and his campaign, several groups that have previously pushed for criminal justice reform are working with an ad hoc White House team under the direction of presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, which has what the Times called a goal of announcing as many as hundreds of commutations for federal prisoners.

“Lists of people are being circulated,” federal post-conviction attorney Brandon Sample told The Times. In addition to a number of Trump associates who may benefit from clemency, Trump is said to be focused on ways to use clemency to further burnish his criminal justice reform credentials, which were made when he supported passage of the First Step Act. The Times said, “A blitz of late pardons or commutations for federal crimes — over which presidents have unchecked power — is seen by some criminal justice reform activists as another way to build his record on that issue.”

Kodak Black, a rapper doing time on a § 922(g) felon-in-possession-of-a-gun conviction, publicly announced he would donate $1 million to charity if Trump granted him clemency, Another celebrity inmate,  Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage (that’s “Joe Exotic” to you) – convicted in 2019 on two counts of murder-for-hire for plotting to kill his nemesis and Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin, as well as eight counts of falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act – has had representatives lobbying the White House for a pardon since last April. Trying to beat a 22-year sentence, Joe reportedly had his people stay in a Trump hotel, dropping $10,000 in an attempt to get the President’s attention. A group of celebrities, Republican officials and civil rights advocates sent a letter to President Trump last Wednesday, urging him to pardon or commute the sentences of people in federal prison for nonviolent federal marijuana offenses.

The New York Post said last week that the President’s “allies see the final two-month stretch of Trump’s term as an opportunity to cement his first-term legacy before handing over the reins to Biden, who authored some of the most punitive drug laws.”

Physical lists of convicts seeking commutations and pardons have swirled in the West Wing since June 2018, the Post said, when Trump freed Alice Johnson from a federal drug conspiracy sentence at the request of Kim Kardashian. Johnson spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention and traveled with Trump to the first presidential debate.

Trump often speaks proudly of freeing Johnson and turned to her for recommendations. During this year’s campaign, Trump pledged minority voters a new clemency commission if he won re-election. Yet, with over 13,000 clemency applications on file, Trump has used his clemency power less often than any president in modern history, according to data from the Dept of Justice. Trump’s sparse use of pardons, commutations and other forms of official leniency stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who used the clemency power more frequently than any chief executive since Harry Truman.

As of Nov. 23, Trump had granted clemency 44 times, including 28 pardons and 16 commutations. That’s the lowest total of any president since at William McKinley, who was elected in 1897. Obama granted clemency 1,927 times during his eight-year tenure, including 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations. The only modern president who granted clemency almost as infrequently as Trump is George H.W. Bush, who granted 77 pardons and commutations in his single term.

Politico, Trump pardons Corn the turkey as a finishing White House act (November 24, 2020)

The New York Times, Trump’s Pardon of Flynn Signals Prospect of a Wave in His Final Weeks in Office (November 25, 2020)

Marijuana Moment, Republican Lawmakers And Celebrities Push Trump To Free Marijuana Prisoners Before Leaving Office
(November 25, 2020)

New York Post, Turkeys, Corn and Cob, expected to be first in slew of final Trump pardons (November 24, 2020)

Pew Research Center, So far, Trump has granted clemency less frequently than any president in modern history (November 24, 2020)

– Thomas L. Root