Adam, If TFG pardoned all 1,500 of the J6 insurrectionists how does that compare with the number of felons illegally crossing the border? In other words did TFG release more felons into the country than have come over the border? I happen to believe that he did.
Exactly, and seems more than a tad hypocritical to complain that other countries are opening their prisons to send criminals here when we are doing the same (without the pesky business of having to get across the border). Those who Biden offered pardons to are more likely to need bodyguards than lawyers.
Nah, the rioters are a drop in the bucket. Remember the most true and excellent statistics the orange one shared during the campaign? There are millions and millions of felons and lunatics crossing the border.
I happen to believe you’re absolutely right, Ken. It’s already been shown statistically through various sources that undocumented immigrants commit far fewer crimes than Americans.
As an immigrant, I can confirm this. Since I do my best to educate people about the realities of immigration and look up stats pertaining to the popular myths about immigrants, I can confirm that the crime rate among immigrants is much lower than among regular Americans. While we are undocumented or legal but still in the immigration process, we do our best to stay under the radar because we don't want to harm our chances to gain or maintain our legal status. Besides, contrary to MAGA, we don't come here to commit crimes. We come here to work and maybe live a little bit more like human beings. It doesn't always work.
I’m sure you’re absolutely right, Maria, but we’re not dealing with rational people here. We’re dealing with a sociopathic malignant narcissist who has literally been let loose on this country because over 70 million Americans don’t know what on earth they are doing.
Absolutely! Unfortunately, those who are using this lie to their political advantage don’t care about facts. But lies harm people. I am so sorry for the pain we are causing immigrants. It is utterly lacking in decency, and it is ignorant. We are all immigrants.
Can we all agree that pardon powers given to a President should removed ASAP. It has nothing to do with running the country and was a poor policy decision from the get-go.
Yes! It is ridiculous that one person (even if he is a President) can simply cancel a conviction that was reached through the due processes of the law. Appeals - OK, Pardons - No.
The thing to keep in mind is the number of people who are imprisoned on the thinnest of threads of evidence, the ones who are given sentences that grossly exceed the crime, and throw in general racial disparity and political maneuvering for good measure. In that case, the use of pardon is appropriate. I do think that the number of pardons a president is allowed should be limited to a reasonable number so blanket pardons can’t occur.
100% agree. I wrote here in Adam’s Substack months ago that one factor in the deception and corruption of some elected officials in Washington is “career” politicians. Our founding fathers did not envision our government made up of people who stayed in Washington for the entirety of said careers. They envisioned elected leaders coming to Washington to do the people’s work and then go back to their respective careers, having served their country. I still firmly believe that someone elected can go and serve perhaps three 6 year terms, for example, then go home, back to being a banker or business owner or whatever it might be. Surely intelligent women and men can digest issues and find the best solutions within an eighteen year period. I know experience Is important, but so is the absence of temptation for corruption. Not saying everyone falls prey, but just sayin’.
Agreed. Our founding fathers warned against a government structure that allowed citizens to vote on every proposed law. They reasoned that citizens would not be knowledgeable enough to understand the impact of such laws.
That's why we have representatives but what if a proposed law directly impacts the representatives themselves. Shouldn't that conflict of interest be removed by allowing citizens to vote on those laws like term limits?
I'd say 18 years for senators (that's 3 terms) and Congress 10 (that's 5 terms) and 20 years for SCOTUS. The corruption is no longer hidden -- it's in your face every day.
Spot on!! Biden did some good things with his pardon power, but what we are witnessing now has changed my mind completely about whether this is a force for good or evil. Had there not been this pardon power, Nixon would have gotten what he deserved. And that pardon of Nixon helped get us to where we are right now. It paved the way to this criminal presidency we are going to live through.
It’s tempting to latch on to suggestions like this, but the fact is people like Trump will pervert any system of rules society can write. The only thing that will really help is getting through to voters.
Personally, I never understood why ANY President would need that power. A President has a lot of power as is and to grant him/her the authority to wipe out the outcome of a legit, legal process, is nonsensical to me.
I'd more be in favor of limiting pardons as a first step, including issuing pre-emptive pardons and self-pardons. I know this sounds pro-Trump, but it's not meant to. We have to look at the bigger picture on these things, not just countering Trump. Pardons, if used wisely have been an effective tool for past presidents to right some wrongs.
the only reasons Biden did pre-emptive is because we never had someone threatening to prosecute political enemies so blatantly and innocent people just doing their jobs. It would break them financially if they had to defend themselves for no reason.
Yes! It has clearly taken a wrong turn! Or at least some limitations. I am all for those that get ridiculous sentences for non violent so called crimes. Mostly possession , not talking about the murderous drug dealers.
Trump has always been clear about who he is and how he will govern. He’s a dictator on Day One. His goals are to wield power and accumulate wealth. Democratic standards such as the health and prosperity of the people are not his concern. How can we defend against him? The legal and legislative routes have failed. I remain optimistic, and grateful for your leadership. I’m all in.
I believe we need to pick fights carefully. However, we need to point out and make very clear every egregious, disgusting and senseless actions taken by Trump and his administration. I hope the constant elucidation of Trump's oversteps, senseless and sometimes (even frequent) illegal actions will cause voters to recognize their error.
I don't think anyone is surprised by these pardons. I am concerned about the trend that has been escalating for some time with both the GOP and DEM presidents bypassing Congress and ruling with Executive Orders. That just leads to a tyranny. We need someone to take action to limit the scope of Executive Orders.
Well, if congress could work together , would that help limit executive orders? Thers has t been meaningful immigration reform since the 70’s? I may be wrong on that. But , the can has been kicked down the road for years, the world has changed and so many disastrous events are impacting people around the world, and we still look good to them. There was something hashed out his last year and TRUMP wielded his power form his Fl castle and Mike Johnson bowed to him. Yes, trump said many times he would pardon these insurrectionists, yet Americans still approved of him!
Trump called the 2020 election into question almost as soon as he entered the White House in 2017. He planned on being crowned King of America for life from the beginning.
The most mentally disturbed teenagers dream of being King and lording it over everyone else. And of trampling those they don't like underfoot. They don't have millions of supporters and billions of dollars like Trump. But Trump is no different.
Steve Bannon was asked before the 2020 election what Trump would do if he lost and he replied, deny it. Question the loss. So, this was in the works well before. If he had lost to Harris, he would have done it again, but with more force. He may never leave office unless he dies there. Constitutional safeguards will be ignored. Count on it.
Adam, we knew he would do this. That is why I applaud President idea’s preemptive pardons, one of which I hope you will accept to reduce the waste of taxpayer money the felon in chief will spend on his retribution tour. I say that as someone not a fan of the too-ready use of the pardoning power, as it renders a total loss all the hard hours spent by prosecutors, judges and juries in reaching verdicts that declare people guilty of crimes.
If I were the reanimated POTUS, I would really worry about my security around the Secret Service and the Capitol police, whose lives he has just declared worthless compared to his mob of MAGAts. May he lose sleep over that for every public appearance he may hereafter make.
Keep at it, Adam. You are one of the few people around whom those of us who see the future darkly could rally. We have entered the bleakest time since the Presidency of James Buchanan. We know that did not end well, and it took a Lincoln to save the Union, even if an unrepentant white South and its fellow travelers still plague us.
Middle paragraph - yyyup. You would think getting a tiny fiber of ear shot off would make him think twice about who was protecting him, but he thinks 99.5% of America would have stepped in front of him and taken the bullet.
Not a big surprise that the felon in chief would pardon his most loyal followers on day one. Can't wait to hear all the excuses and justification from the rule of law party on this one.
He pardoned them because they are his “military” when he staged his next coup. Think about most coups we hear about in other countries. A strong man or some general in the military orders the army to depose current President and then occupies their equivalent of the White House. I believe that orange man-baby knows this country’s military would in all likely hood not do his bidding, so he needs to source an army somewhere. Guess who he can count on? The J6 insurrectionists who now know they won’t have to pay for their crimes because they don’t have to pay for what happened 4 years ago.
And as an aside, what ever happened to what the orange baby said, and was repeated by jd Vance, hegseth and cotton et. al, “we’ll look at the J6 criminals (my word) on a case by case basis to see who gets pardoned.” First day, nope, just let them all out, no examining of individual cases. Those that committed serious crimes, assaulting and injuring Capitol police, free. Pathetic and so unAmerican.
There’s no talking to the trumpsters. They are not thinking from a place of sound reasoning. They have ingested the kool-aid and it has grown a rootstock as stubborn as kudzu. Eradicating it is going to take them personally suffering the consequences of his actions.
Thanks for continuing to stick up for what makes our Republic great, the polar opposite of pardoning a jailhouse full of Trump incited insurrectionists. They dishonored our U.S. Capitol and the free and fair elections that are the foundation of a free Republic. A pardon will never wash away the stain of that.
Adam, Thank you again for your sound reasoning in bringing information to light. I am unable to describe how utterly disgusted I am by DJT's pardons for the January 6th insurrectionists AND the support by others in our Country for these pardons. Following the report of the pardons, I watched a clip of Michael Fanone who stated he felt betrayed by his Country. I watched Mr. Fanone during the January 6th Committee Hearings, many subsequent interviews and read his book. He is a man I have come to greatly admire. Mr. Fanone (and his family) have been betrayed by the systems currently operating in our Country. Being unable to contact Mr. Fanone directly, and understanding it is not my place to do so, please communicate with Mr. Fanone and other law enforcement officers who took place in defending the Capitol on January 6th, that there are many of us who continue to respect and admire their efforts. Those men and women deserve better! They are heroes.
Would love to contact Pam, but she is on Twitler. Of all places to be when you are trying to repent. Hit her up and tell her to get out of the cesspool and go to BlueSky.
What a disgrace! For this guy to pardon all the J6 violent offenders of the Capitol is a huge slap in the face to anyone who's worn the uniform and took an oath to protect, and preserve our Constitution but also to every American who genuinely loves this country.
Adam, If TFG pardoned all 1,500 of the J6 insurrectionists how does that compare with the number of felons illegally crossing the border? In other words did TFG release more felons into the country than have come over the border? I happen to believe that he did.
Exactly, and seems more than a tad hypocritical to complain that other countries are opening their prisons to send criminals here when we are doing the same (without the pesky business of having to get across the border). Those who Biden offered pardons to are more likely to need bodyguards than lawyers.
Nah, the rioters are a drop in the bucket. Remember the most true and excellent statistics the orange one shared during the campaign? There are millions and millions of felons and lunatics crossing the border.
Groan…so many delusions, so little time.
Don’t forget the asylum seekers who he thinks escaped from asylums. Donny Dumb dumb.
…and I definitely misspoke yesterday when I said I thought Bidens pardons would make them safer safer from retribution. Mea culpa
I happen to believe you’re absolutely right, Ken. It’s already been shown statistically through various sources that undocumented immigrants commit far fewer crimes than Americans.
As an immigrant, I can confirm this. Since I do my best to educate people about the realities of immigration and look up stats pertaining to the popular myths about immigrants, I can confirm that the crime rate among immigrants is much lower than among regular Americans. While we are undocumented or legal but still in the immigration process, we do our best to stay under the radar because we don't want to harm our chances to gain or maintain our legal status. Besides, contrary to MAGA, we don't come here to commit crimes. We come here to work and maybe live a little bit more like human beings. It doesn't always work.
I’m sure you’re absolutely right, Maria, but we’re not dealing with rational people here. We’re dealing with a sociopathic malignant narcissist who has literally been let loose on this country because over 70 million Americans don’t know what on earth they are doing.
Absolutely! Unfortunately, those who are using this lie to their political advantage don’t care about facts. But lies harm people. I am so sorry for the pain we are causing immigrants. It is utterly lacking in decency, and it is ignorant. We are all immigrants.
Unfortunately Klown-47 is only talking about non-white immigrants as far as I can see. He's a racist and a bigot.
I agree with you.
To mis quote Rummy, unknowable uknowables
Can we all agree that pardon powers given to a President should removed ASAP. It has nothing to do with running the country and was a poor policy decision from the get-go.
Yes! It is ridiculous that one person (even if he is a President) can simply cancel a conviction that was reached through the due processes of the law. Appeals - OK, Pardons - No.
The thing to keep in mind is the number of people who are imprisoned on the thinnest of threads of evidence, the ones who are given sentences that grossly exceed the crime, and throw in general racial disparity and political maneuvering for good measure. In that case, the use of pardon is appropriate. I do think that the number of pardons a president is allowed should be limited to a reasonable number so blanket pardons can’t occur.
Any move away from unlimited pardon power is a step in the right direction.
Yep, the President has enough power already. Having him/her meddling in a legit legal outcome is foolish.
The president has that power because for years now, Congress has ceded theirs.
Our country needs term limits, but our Congress will never do that.
100% agree. I wrote here in Adam’s Substack months ago that one factor in the deception and corruption of some elected officials in Washington is “career” politicians. Our founding fathers did not envision our government made up of people who stayed in Washington for the entirety of said careers. They envisioned elected leaders coming to Washington to do the people’s work and then go back to their respective careers, having served their country. I still firmly believe that someone elected can go and serve perhaps three 6 year terms, for example, then go home, back to being a banker or business owner or whatever it might be. Surely intelligent women and men can digest issues and find the best solutions within an eighteen year period. I know experience Is important, but so is the absence of temptation for corruption. Not saying everyone falls prey, but just sayin’.
Along with term limits for SCOTUS
Agreed. Our founding fathers warned against a government structure that allowed citizens to vote on every proposed law. They reasoned that citizens would not be knowledgeable enough to understand the impact of such laws.
That's why we have representatives but what if a proposed law directly impacts the representatives themselves. Shouldn't that conflict of interest be removed by allowing citizens to vote on those laws like term limits?
To expand on my first post above, I think senators would have a maximum of 24 years and the house maximum of 18.
I'm tired of all this nonsense and I've been watching it for 70 years!!
I'd say 18 years for senators (that's 3 terms) and Congress 10 (that's 5 terms) and 20 years for SCOTUS. The corruption is no longer hidden -- it's in your face every day.
Totally agree. Elected officials having to decide their own fate is kind of like asking the fox to guard the hen house, isn’t it?
exactly
I would go less on both, I really want term limits on supremes!
same for federal judges
Spot on!! Biden did some good things with his pardon power, but what we are witnessing now has changed my mind completely about whether this is a force for good or evil. Had there not been this pardon power, Nixon would have gotten what he deserved. And that pardon of Nixon helped get us to where we are right now. It paved the way to this criminal presidency we are going to live through.
It’s tempting to latch on to suggestions like this, but the fact is people like Trump will pervert any system of rules society can write. The only thing that will really help is getting through to voters.
Personally, I never understood why ANY President would need that power. A President has a lot of power as is and to grant him/her the authority to wipe out the outcome of a legit, legal process, is nonsensical to me.
And granting ANY President one iota of immunity is just as nonsensical!
I think the point is that legal processes are not always legit. The Founders anticipated that like something fierce.
That's why we have appeals courts. Why would a President have any special insight into what makes one case legit over another?
Dan and Michael, I think you both have excellent points!
At this point, I think 49.9% who voted for him will let him have anything he wants. Including an autocracy
Yes YD -
Regardless of tv evidence right in front of their eyes , the true believers will support the ridiculous narrative that 6 January was patriotic.
Now , TFG’s Ministry of Truth will control the present - which will allow him to alter the past to fit his narrative. Big Brother has arrived.
“ Fair is foul , and foul is fair “ so saith Mc Beth
Yes, that is the crux right there.
Agree 100% with this.
I'd more be in favor of limiting pardons as a first step, including issuing pre-emptive pardons and self-pardons. I know this sounds pro-Trump, but it's not meant to. We have to look at the bigger picture on these things, not just countering Trump. Pardons, if used wisely have been an effective tool for past presidents to right some wrongs.
the only reasons Biden did pre-emptive is because we never had someone threatening to prosecute political enemies so blatantly and innocent people just doing their jobs. It would break them financially if they had to defend themselves for no reason.
You’ll have to take it up with the Constitution.
Yes! It has clearly taken a wrong turn! Or at least some limitations. I am all for those that get ridiculous sentences for non violent so called crimes. Mostly possession , not talking about the murderous drug dealers.
Good idea.
Trump has always been clear about who he is and how he will govern. He’s a dictator on Day One. His goals are to wield power and accumulate wealth. Democratic standards such as the health and prosperity of the people are not his concern. How can we defend against him? The legal and legislative routes have failed. I remain optimistic, and grateful for your leadership. I’m all in.
I believe we need to pick fights carefully. However, we need to point out and make very clear every egregious, disgusting and senseless actions taken by Trump and his administration. I hope the constant elucidation of Trump's oversteps, senseless and sometimes (even frequent) illegal actions will cause voters to recognize their error.
The maga cult will never recognize their actions as being erroneous.
Me, too Don!
Begin impeachment.
I don't think anyone is surprised by these pardons. I am concerned about the trend that has been escalating for some time with both the GOP and DEM presidents bypassing Congress and ruling with Executive Orders. That just leads to a tyranny. We need someone to take action to limit the scope of Executive Orders.
Well, if congress could work together , would that help limit executive orders? Thers has t been meaningful immigration reform since the 70’s? I may be wrong on that. But , the can has been kicked down the road for years, the world has changed and so many disastrous events are impacting people around the world, and we still look good to them. There was something hashed out his last year and TRUMP wielded his power form his Fl castle and Mike Johnson bowed to him. Yes, trump said many times he would pardon these insurrectionists, yet Americans still approved of him!
Since an Executive Order are used by presidents to pursue agendas they can’t get through Congress,.....my guess he'll be issuing those like $1 bills.
Trump called the 2020 election into question almost as soon as he entered the White House in 2017. He planned on being crowned King of America for life from the beginning.
The most mentally disturbed teenagers dream of being King and lording it over everyone else. And of trampling those they don't like underfoot. They don't have millions of supporters and billions of dollars like Trump. But Trump is no different.
Steve Bannon was asked before the 2020 election what Trump would do if he lost and he replied, deny it. Question the loss. So, this was in the works well before. If he had lost to Harris, he would have done it again, but with more force. He may never leave office unless he dies there. Constitutional safeguards will be ignored. Count on it.
Getting the Brown Shirt vibes on day 1 as expected from the POS
Adam, we knew he would do this. That is why I applaud President idea’s preemptive pardons, one of which I hope you will accept to reduce the waste of taxpayer money the felon in chief will spend on his retribution tour. I say that as someone not a fan of the too-ready use of the pardoning power, as it renders a total loss all the hard hours spent by prosecutors, judges and juries in reaching verdicts that declare people guilty of crimes.
If I were the reanimated POTUS, I would really worry about my security around the Secret Service and the Capitol police, whose lives he has just declared worthless compared to his mob of MAGAts. May he lose sleep over that for every public appearance he may hereafter make.
Keep at it, Adam. You are one of the few people around whom those of us who see the future darkly could rally. We have entered the bleakest time since the Presidency of James Buchanan. We know that did not end well, and it took a Lincoln to save the Union, even if an unrepentant white South and its fellow travelers still plague us.
Middle paragraph - yyyup. You would think getting a tiny fiber of ear shot off would make him think twice about who was protecting him, but he thinks 99.5% of America would have stepped in front of him and taken the bullet.
NOT me!
Next 4 years going to play out just as we thought. Sorry for all the hard work the committee put in, to have it come to this.
I'm keeping a list of all trumps policies, bills, etc.
Hoping some of them will be good for the country.
"Gulf of America". Are you kidding me?😵💫
Did you see Hillary’s reaction to that one? She was flat out laughing. A moment of hysteria from an otherwise sober individual.
Not a big surprise that the felon in chief would pardon his most loyal followers on day one. Can't wait to hear all the excuses and justification from the rule of law party on this one.
He pardoned them because they are his “military” when he staged his next coup. Think about most coups we hear about in other countries. A strong man or some general in the military orders the army to depose current President and then occupies their equivalent of the White House. I believe that orange man-baby knows this country’s military would in all likely hood not do his bidding, so he needs to source an army somewhere. Guess who he can count on? The J6 insurrectionists who now know they won’t have to pay for their crimes because they don’t have to pay for what happened 4 years ago.
And as an aside, what ever happened to what the orange baby said, and was repeated by jd Vance, hegseth and cotton et. al, “we’ll look at the J6 criminals (my word) on a case by case basis to see who gets pardoned.” First day, nope, just let them all out, no examining of individual cases. Those that committed serious crimes, assaulting and injuring Capitol police, free. Pathetic and so unAmerican.
Well one Trump supporter I confronted over this demanded we talk about crime in Chicago instead.
There’s no talking to the trumpsters. They are not thinking from a place of sound reasoning. They have ingested the kool-aid and it has grown a rootstock as stubborn as kudzu. Eradicating it is going to take them personally suffering the consequences of his actions.
Deny, Deflect and Delay. That is the Deflect part of it.
Assume these thugs will end up on Pete Hegseth’s paramilitary unit.
Or as Trump’s personal brown shirts.
I’m sick. Just sick.
Thanks for continuing to stick up for what makes our Republic great, the polar opposite of pardoning a jailhouse full of Trump incited insurrectionists. They dishonored our U.S. Capitol and the free and fair elections that are the foundation of a free Republic. A pardon will never wash away the stain of that.
Adam, Thank you again for your sound reasoning in bringing information to light. I am unable to describe how utterly disgusted I am by DJT's pardons for the January 6th insurrectionists AND the support by others in our Country for these pardons. Following the report of the pardons, I watched a clip of Michael Fanone who stated he felt betrayed by his Country. I watched Mr. Fanone during the January 6th Committee Hearings, many subsequent interviews and read his book. He is a man I have come to greatly admire. Mr. Fanone (and his family) have been betrayed by the systems currently operating in our Country. Being unable to contact Mr. Fanone directly, and understanding it is not my place to do so, please communicate with Mr. Fanone and other law enforcement officers who took place in defending the Capitol on January 6th, that there are many of us who continue to respect and admire their efforts. Those men and women deserve better! They are heroes.
Sounds like another book to put on my list. Thanks for the reminder.
Would love to contact Pam, but she is on Twitler. Of all places to be when you are trying to repent. Hit her up and tell her to get out of the cesspool and go to BlueSky.
What a disgrace! For this guy to pardon all the J6 violent offenders of the Capitol is a huge slap in the face to anyone who's worn the uniform and took an oath to protect, and preserve our Constitution but also to every American who genuinely loves this country.
This guy really needs to go.
This made me sick. We knew he said it, knew it was coming, still a gut punch. 💙🇺🇸