Should Biden pardon Trump, either to avoid a trial altogether or if he’s found guilty at the conclusion of his trial? Absolutely not.
I just finished reading a piece on the Maddow Blog that explored this idea a bit. While there are a lot of aspects to this entire unprecedented situation we, as a country, find ourselves in, pardoning Trump cannot be the answer.
It would trade one set of problems for another. The people are tired of toiling their lives away and following the rules while watching the upper echelon do as it wills with absolute disregard for either the rule of law or any of the principals upon which this nation was founded. Sick and tired.
Either there is to be rule of law or there will be rampant lawlessness. It cannot continue as one set of rules and punishments for some and another for the rest. This needs to stop. It needs to stop now.
At least half the country has been waiting since January 6, 2021 to see some accountability cross the path of the former president, many even longer. The documents case was a situation created entirely by his own doing. Let it play itself out. If his part in the events of January 6 also make it to a federal courtroom, let that play itself out, too.
What does it say to the millions of Americans who want—nay, need—to see this man held accountable for his actions if he were to be pardoned? It would simply further confirm that loud-mouthed rich folk can get away with absolutely anything at all.
Pardoning him is not the way to heal the country. Fixing things is.
We got to this place because money comes first. We got to this place because the people are largely ignored. We got to this place because Washington doesn’t work for the people the way that it should. We got to this place because for far too long, a deep-seething resentment has been growing. We got to this place because no one wanted to deal with things and because no one gets anything done. We got to this place because Congress goes round and round, lining their pockets with the knowledge and payouts from lobbyists, while doing jack shit for the people who are in dire need of change in our system and who elected them believing that they would work to effect that change!
Understanding Rule of Law
Rule of law is comprised of four basic elements: accountability; transparency; equality and impartiality; and accessible remedy. One of its essential purposes is to ensure that no government official is above the law. It’s not so much a rule about following the law as it is a rule about creating, imposing, and applying laws in a manner consistent with equality in a civilized society.
That last bit has been a problem for quite some time—applying laws in a manner consistent with equality in a civilized society. We know this to be true because not all people in this country experience the same system of justice and levels of accountability, not even when facing the exact same charges.
The experiences of poor, Black, and other minority communities in our system of justice differ vastly from those of other groups and, yes, that includes government officials. It’s been broken this way for such a long time, that often the only people who seem to fully recognize it are the communities suffering at the hands of it.
Rule of law is *supposed* to set each individual upon level footing in regard to our legal system of justice. Trump has already, many times over, been afforded undue deference that would not be extended to *anyone* else.
We all know that the rule of law historically struggles to maintain its health, but pardoning Trump? Well, that could be its kiss of death.
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Rule of Law
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