Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="BrownArmy" data-source="post: 3038891" data-attributes="member: 18225">Therr are a few problems with this pardon, hence the stink.Generally pardons are given at the end of a Presidents tenure, so this an anomaly, but who cares - that&#039;s irrelevant.What is relevant, and why there&#039;s a stink, is that this particular pardon is a big FU to the Constitution.Trumps pardon of Arpaio is problematic in the sense that it drop-kicks the separation of powers inherent in our governmental system.Sure, sure, a sitting President can pardon anyone he or she wants, and there doesn&#039;t seem to be a proscribed limit to that power.But, forget Trump and Arpaio for a second. This sets a precedent in which someone who violated the law, violated the Constitution, was then found guilty, gets a free pass for simple political reasons.Again, forget Trump:&nbsp; if this flies, any future President could say, &#039;Hey, I know it&#039;s unconstitutional and illegal, but do it anyway, I&#039;ll pardon you&#039;.The powers of government are separated for a reason, but Trump&#039;s pardon of Arpaio is an end-run around that separation.If something occurs, and a citizens only redress is through the courts, but the Prez says, &#039;Wrong!&#039;, and pardons anyone who does his bidding or is politically aligned or is a friend, then we&#039;re hitting a Banana Republic style of government.You may personally like Arpaio, and have no problems with his pardon, but there&#039;s always a next time, with a different President.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BrownArmy, post: 3038891, member: 18225"] Therr are a few problems with this pardon, hence the stink. Generally pardons are given at the end of a Presidents tenure, so this an anomaly, but who cares - that's irrelevant. What is relevant, and why there's a stink, is that this particular pardon is a big FU to the Constitution. Trumps pardon of Arpaio is problematic in the sense that it drop-kicks the separation of powers inherent in our governmental system. Sure, sure, a sitting President can pardon anyone he or she wants, and there doesn't seem to be a proscribed limit to that power. But, forget Trump and Arpaio for a second. This sets a precedent in which someone who violated the law, violated the Constitution, was then found guilty, gets a free pass for simple political reasons. Again, forget Trump: if this flies, any future President could say, 'Hey, I know it's unconstitutional and illegal, but do it anyway, I'll pardon you'. The powers of government are separated for a reason, but Trump's pardon of Arpaio is an end-run around that separation. If something occurs, and a citizens only redress is through the courts, but the Prez says, 'Wrong!', and pardons anyone who does his bidding or is politically aligned or is a friend, then we're hitting a Banana Republic style of government. You may personally like Arpaio, and have no problems with his pardon, but there's always a next time, with a different President. [/QUOTE]

Verification