Donald Trump could grant forgiveness to his children
Before leaving the White House, the president will pardon (very) relatives. His personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani could also benefit
As clan chief, Donald Trump has always sought to get rid of accusations of nepotism. Now he is thinking of granting forgiveness to three of his children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, as well as his stepson, Jared Kushner. According to the New York Times, which says his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani could also benefit from a presidential pardon, Donald Trump has had discussions on the matter with legal experts.
"Preventive" graces
For a president at the end of his term to decide to grant pardons has almost become a tradition, a presidential privilege. Before leaving the White House, Bill Clinton, for example, carried out 140 pardons and 36 commutations of sentence, not without having caused a scandal and shocked both Democrats and Republicans. Financier Marc Rich, who fled to Switzerland in 1983 before being charged with tax evasion, was among those who received leniency from Bill Clinton on the last day of his presidency.
The Democrat also acted on behalf of his brother-in-law, lawyer Hugh Rodham, accused of having received $ 400,000 to commute the sentence of a cocaine trafficker, and his half-brother, Roger Clinton, convicted for drug trafficking in 1985.
That Donald Trump thinks of his family is therefore not a first. However, what is striking about the intentions of the Republican president, who moreover still refuses to accept his defeat, is that they would be "preventive" pardons. Never seen.
Donald Trump Jr. and the Russians
Donald Trump is said to be worried that the future Minister of Justice under President Biden is seeking to harm his family. Donald Trump Jr. was worried by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, but never charged. He notably arranged a meeting with a Russian lawyer, who allegedly said she had compromising information on Hillary Clinton, then Trump's rival in the race for the White House. Donald Jr. now manages the Trump Organization with his brother Eric. The latter was recently heard by New York justice for suspicion of financial embezzlement.
Jared Kushner, who serves as an adviser to the White House, has, among other things, provided false information to authorities about his contacts abroad during the process to obtain a security clearance. What would be reproached to Ivanka, however, remains more vague.
The highly paid chief lawyer
Rudy Giuliani, for his part, is the chief lawyer who embodies the accusations of widespread electoral fraud. The one who, at the head of a team of lawyers, was tasked with challenging the victory of Joe Biden in various American states. He would be paid close to $ 20,000 a day. The New York Times says he had a discussion with Donald Trump about a pardon as recently as last week.
His business relationship with Ukraine, the pressure on the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, as well as his role in ousting the US ambassador in Kiev are at the heart attentions.
In July, Donald Trump already commuted the sentence of his former adviser Roger Stone, implicated in the Russian affair. The latest to receive his pardon is Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, also indicted in the 2016 presidential election for lying to the FBI. It was last Wednesday.
An investigation for corruption
Donald Trump could also seek to forgive himself. Or to resign so that his vice-president, Mike Pence, succeeds him before January 20, and grants him a presidential pardon. On Monday, Sean Hannity, one of Fox News’s main hosts, clearly urged him to "pardon himself and his whole family, should Biden ever become president."
The Justice Ministry also opened an investigation this summer into a suspected corruption scheme that allegedly involved campaign funding in order to obtain a pardon from the president. The document revealed on Monday contains no visible name - not even that of Donald Trump -, all of which have been redacted. The case allegedly involves a wealthy donor and a man who is currently in prison.
