This was published 3 years ago
First Trump pardons the turkey, then Flynn, next himself?
Washington: US President Donald Trump has appeared in public only a handful of times since the November 3 election, but this week he maintained the tradition of the annual presidential turkey pardon. Each year just before Thanksgiving, the president appears at the White House and spares a turkey from the chopping block. This year, the lucky birds were named Corn and Cob.
It’s a light-hearted tradition but one that reflects the sweeping pardon powers US presidents possess.
In many ways, presidents are less powerful than people imagine; Congress and the courts often stop them from getting their way. That’s not the case with pardons. The US constitution says: "The President [...] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of impeachment."
Donald and Melania Trump walk away after the US President pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys on Tuesday.Credit: AP
Corn was expected to be just the first of many pardons before Trump departs the White House on January 20. But few expected the President to act so quickly by pardoning his former national security adviser Michael Flynn just a day later.
Flynn was forced to resign from the role when it was revealed he misled Vice-President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak after the 2016 election. Flynn insisted he and Kislyak had not discussed Russian sanctions on America when they actually had. He later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak.
Trump has maintained ever since that Flynn had suffered enough by losing his job. So it was only the speed of his decision to pardon Flynn, rather than the pardon itself, that came as a surprise. In his tweet announcing the move, Trump said: "Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!"
Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he speaks with Michael Flynn at a campaign event in 2016.Credit: AP
There will almost certainly be many more pardons to come. Unrestrained by the desire to win re-election, it’s common for outgoing presidents to use the "lame duck" period before departure to issue a high number of pardons and commutations. Often they are controversial.
Bill Clinton famously issued 140 pardons on his last day in office. The recipients included several Democratic Party politicians, Clinton’s brother Roger, and Marc Rich, a fugitive who had been charged with 51 counts related to tax fraud. It just so happened that Rich’s former wife had donated to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign and the Clinton Library. Former Democratic president Jimmy Carter called Bill Clinton's pardons "disgraceful".
Two days before the end of his presidency, Barack Obama pardoned 64 people and commuted the sentences of 209 others — including Chelsea Manning, who was jailed for leaking highly sensitive information to WikiLeaks. On his final day in office, Obama commuted the sentences of 330 prisoners, including many who had been jailed for drug offences.
(Pardons are usually awarded to people who have finished their sentences or are awaiting trial, while commutations apply to those currently in jail. A pardon also erases the conviction, while a commutation does not.)
It would be unsurprising if Trump were to commute the sentence of Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager, who was sentenced to 7½ years in jail for obstructing justice and violating lobbying laws. Manafort was charged as part of the Mueller inquiry into Russian election interference, which Trump maintains was a "witch hunt".
He may also pardon George Papadopoulos, who famously triggered the FBI's investigation into Trump's ties with Russia by holding an indiscreet meeting with Alexander Downer, then Australia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom, in London. Papadopoulos served 12 days in prison for lying to the FBI.
Trump may even consider pre-emptively pardoning himself, which would be a first in US history. He has said he believes he has "an absolute right to pardon myself". Many legal scholars disagree, saying the pardon powers outlined in the constitution imply two different people. But Trump may try anyway and leave it to the Supreme Court to decide.
Crucially, any pardon would only protect Trump from federal prosecution. State officials — such as those in New York, who are probing into his business dealings — could still charge him with crimes when he leaves the White House.