Although the practice is highly unusual for Norwegians, pardons have been an American tradition since the first American president in 1795. Eirik Løkke, a consultant in Civita and an expert on the US, says that this has been a kind of last resort for people who have not received justice in the judiciary. More and more presidents have used their power to pardon people they are connected to, either family or close allies. According to Løkke, what was supposed to be a kind of safety valve now works far from the way it did with Biden and Trump. – It is reminiscent of corruption, he notes. President Joe Biden with John Zimmerman, head of the National Turkey Federation, and his son Grant Zimmerman during the pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey Peach on November 25. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP Joe Biden Despite promising not to pardon the accused son Hunter for a long time, President Joe Biden has now done just that. The younger Biden was charged with three counts of the Weapons Act, and was found guilty of all three. He was also accused of not having paid 1.4 million dollars in taxes, and pleaded guilty. The pardon from the father means that Hunter Biden will not be tried for his crimes and will avoid a prison sentence. President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, despite strong criticism. Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters – Does the pardon Joe has given Hunter also include the J-6 hostages, who have been imprisoned for years? For an abuse of power and judicial murder, Trump wrote on Truth Social. The adviser thinks it is unwise for Joe Biden to pardon the son. – In many ways, he also gave the right to those who say that the political system, i.e. the Ministry of Justice, has been politicized, and that creates a very unfortunate precedent for the next four years with Donald Trump. Biden has also pardoned over 70 non-violent drug offences. Donald Trump Donald Trump is also not unknown for pardoning his own family members. Just before he was to step down as president in 2020, he pardoned Charles Kushner, who is the father-in-law of his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Kushner had been convicted of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign donations. The same Kushner was appointed American ambassador to France by Trump at the weekend. Trump, like Biden, has pardoned a family member. Photo: ALLISON ROBBERT / Reuters Among others whom Trump pardoned are Roger Stone, a longtime friend and adviser, as well as Paul Manafort, who was his former adviser. Manafort was convicted in 2018 for having collaborated with Russia during the presidential election in 2016. – President, my family and I humbly thank you for the presidential pardon you have granted me. Words cannot fully express how grateful we are, Manafort wrote at the time. Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress about his connection to Wikileaks. He received a full pardon from Trump. Løkke believes that it is dangerous that American presidents constantly use their power of pardon to help people who are in their family or allied with them. Photo: Hanna Johre / news Trump also pardoned his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was charged with fraud related to a fundraising project. – Trump is in a category by himself with all the pardons he has had, says Løkke. Barack Obama None of those Barack Obama pardoned were persons with direct personal ties or family ties to him. One of them was intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. When Obama was president, he among other things pardoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Chelsea was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret documents to Wikileaks. Most of the documents dealt with the US’s warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. The documents revealed, among other things, that the number of civilians killed was much higher than previously known. Obama shortened her sentence, and she was released in 2017. George W. Bush Like Obama, the Republican and the younger Bush should not have pardoned people who were in his inner circle either. Most of his pardons were for minor offences, and one of the people who escaped his sentence was the rapper John Forté. Forté served a drug sentence. Former President George W. Bush also pardoned a turkey during Thanksgiving, in line with the tradition his father George HW Bush started in his time. Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP According to Løkke, the most common thing has been what Obama and the younger Bush have done by pardoning “ordinary” people with whom one has no connection. Bill Clinton Democrat Bill Clinton once pardoned financier and billionaire Marc Rich. Rich had fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for tax evasion and fraud. He risked being sentenced to over 300 years in prison. Rich’s ex-wife, Denise Rich, was a major contributor to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Presidential Library. When Bill Clinton was president, he pardoned billionaire Marc Rich, who thus escaped prosecution for tax fraud. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP There was great suspicion that personal connections influenced the pardon of Rich. – It was a real betrayal by Bill Clinton against everyone who had strongly supported him, to do something so unfair. It was despicable, said congressman and fellow party member Barney Frank at the time. Clinton also pardoned her half-brother Roger Clinton, who was convicted of drug offences. – It is simply unwise and unapologetic, concludes Løkke. Published 03.12.2024, at 13.08
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American president’s pardon – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
