The silly Presidential turkey pardon tradition has prompted two new pieces about Prez Donald Trump's clemency record that strike markedly different tones. Here are the headlines, links, and excerpts:
By John Gramlich and Kristen Bialik at Pew Research Center, "So far, Trump has granted clemency less frequently than any president in modern history":
As he enters the home stretch of his White House tenure, Donald Trump has used his clemency power less often than any president in modern history, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice. Trump’s sparse use of pardons, commutations and other forms of official leniency stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who used the clemency power more frequently than any chief executive since Harry Truman.
As of Nov. 23, Trump had granted clemency 44 times, including 28 pardons and 16 commutations. That’s the lowest total of any president since at least William McKinley, who served at the turn of the 20th century. Obama, by comparison, granted clemency 1,927 times during his eight-year tenure, including 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations. The only modern president who granted clemency almost as infrequently as Trump is George H.W. Bush, who granted 77 pardons and commutations in his single term.
By Steven Nelson at the New York Post, "Turkeys, Corn and Cob, expected to be first in slew of final Trump pardons":
People close to the White House believe President Trump may pardon humans in addition to turkeys this holiday season — with one advocate saying they expect Trump to close out his term with a bang as the “most merciful” president in history. Trump will “pardon” gobblers named Corn and Cob in an annual tradition at the White House on Tuesday, but in a potential twist, allies and reform advocates are anticipating more serious reprieves in the coming weeks.
“President Trump has moved mountains since taking office and I’m certain he’s not done yet,” said Amy Povah, a clemency advocate and founder of the CAN-DO Foundation. “I would not be surprised if he goes down in history as the most merciful president when it comes to correcting injustices carried over from the horrifying tough-on-crime era of the late ’80s and ’90s that is responsible for sending many good people to prison for life, including life for pot.”
Presidents generally are more generous with clemency — including pardons and prison commutations — toward the end of their terms, contributing to the anticipation.
Though I am always eager to complain about Presidents failing to use their clemency powers more, I think the Pew piece is a bit unfair because it compares Prez Trump's record in his first term to mostly two-term Presidents. In fact, Prez Trump has already granted more clemencies his his first term than did Prez Obama or Prez George W. Bush at this point in their first terms. Moreover, as the NY Post article suggests, there are reasons to expect Prez Trump will grant some more clemencies — perhaps a lot more clemencies — over his last few months in office.
I sincerely hope Amy Povah and others are effective in encouraging Prez Trump to become "the most merciful president when it comes to correcting injustices carried over from the horrifying tough-on-crime era." But I cannot help but wonder how Prez Trump's own vision of his political future and legacy might impact his clemency work in the months ahead. Any attempt at a self-pardon or granting clemencies to lots of family members or close advisors could be viewed as a tacit admission of serious wrong-doing and thus could, perhaps, hurt the Trump political brand. But since I have never been quite able to figure out the Trump political brand, I will close here by highlighting some notable cases mentioned in the lengthy NY Post piece:
Some clemency aspirants were jailed-for-life for marijuana dealing or importing crimes under President-elect Joe Biden’s 1994 crime law, giving Trump an opportunity to thumb his nose at his 2020 rival.... Allies see the final two-month stretch of Trump’s term as an opportunity to cement his first-term legacy before handing over the reins to Biden, who authored some of the most punitive drug laws.
Paraplegic Michael Pelletier, 64, has a life sentence for smuggling marijuana from Canada into Maine in the early 2000s. Both jurisdictions later legalized the drug and he ruefully notes that pot shops have been deemed “essential” during COVID-19 lockdowns.... Another clemency seeker, Corvain Cooper, 41, has a life sentence for his role transporting marijuana from California to North Carolina, also under the three-strike provision of Biden’s law....
Many prisoners pushed by clemency advocates aren’t public figures and were sentenced for drugs. David Barren, 55, whose drug-dealing life sentence was reduced to 30 years by former President Barack Obama, told The Post he hopes to be free while his parents, in their 80s, are still alive. Rufus Rochell, 69, who is under home arrest as he completes a 40-year drug sentence, said his family is grateful that his brother Richard Williams, convicted in the same drug conspiracy, was released from prison this year under Trump’s reform law, but that he would be grateful to have his record cleared.
Physical lists of convicts seeking commutations and pardons have swirled in the West Wing since June 2018 when Trump freed Alice Johnson from a life sentence at the request of Kim Kardashian. Johnson spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention and traveled with Trump to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. Trump often speaks proudly of freeing Johnson and turned to her for recommendations. During this year’s campaign, Trump pledged minority voters a new clemency commission if he won re-election.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
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