Joe Biden should pardon Donald Trump, save us the impeachment mess

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Opinion: I am not naive enough to believe that forgiveness will in any way begin the process of healing or mending our broken fences. But it’s still the right thing to do.

AP Explanation: Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges

A stone-faced Donald Trump made an important court appearance Tuesday as the only former president to be charged with a crime as he faces a 34-count felony indictment. (April 4)

AP

Back in the day, the founders of our nations had the crazy idea to build a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility.

I say crazy because almost 2 centuries later the union is nowhere near perfect, justice for all has not been established and almost no aspect of our domestic situation is quiet.

These days, one of the main reasons for this chaos is former President Donald Trump, a man who has never been particularly keen on silence.

On the contrary.

His game is chaos.

That may be one of the reasons he’s in trouble, recently charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Opinions won’t change on Trump’s indictment

He also faces possible indictment outside of Atlanta for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

As well as more potential indictments stemming from the Department of Justice’s investigation into classified documents Trump brought to Mar-a-Lago, as well as any connection he may have had to the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

The general public’s reaction to Trump’s accusation fell into two categories. People may believe this is proof that no one is above the law, or proof of a politically motivated witch hunt.

If any of the cases against Trump go to trial, where a verdict is reached, no one’s opinion about it will change.

Not one.

Pardon was right for Nixon. And for Trump

If Trump is found guilty, there will be an appeal, or perhaps many appeals.

And no matter how those cases are resolved, I don’t think he’ll spend any time in jail because, basically, we’ve never formed a more perfect Union, establishing Justice, ensuring Tranquility at home.

Because of all that, President Joe Biden should pull a Gerald Ford and pardon Donald Trump. And, yes, I know, a president can’t pardon someone for a state crime, only for federal offenses. But Biden could drop the federal complaints. He can set the tone. He can, in a way that Trump never was president.

In 1974, after former President Richard Nixon resigned over his involvement in the Watergate scandal, for which he faced criminal prosecution, Ford announced that he had decided to grant Nixon a full, free and total pardon.

The apology was not well received. The majority of Americans wanted Nixon impeached, and Ford’s decision may have cost him the subsequent presidential election.

Years later, even the critics changed their minds

Ford, however, did not budge.

He appeared before a congressional committee and told them, I was absolutely convinced then and I am now that if we had a case, a trial, a conviction, and anything that happened after that that the attention of the President, of Congress and the American people would have been distracted from the problems we need to solve.

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One of those who disagreed with Ford at the time was Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.

In 2001, however, while presenting Ford with a Profile in Courage award, Kennedy said, Unlike many of us at the time, President Ford recognized that the country had to move forward, and that it could not be done without sustained effort. to prosecute former President Nixon. His courage and dedication to our country made it possible for us to begin the healing process and put the Watergate tragedy behind us.

‘We don’t need to be diverted,’ said Ford

Every president grants a pardon.

Barack Obama issued 212. George W. Bush did 189. Trump, in his time, issued 143.

They are often controversial. More proof of our messed up justice system.

I am not strong enough to believe that pardoning Trump will in any way begin the healing process or put the tragedy behind us.

But it’s still the right thing to do.

Ford told the House committee, Our nation is under the greatest challenge today to use all its strength and effort in pursuit of a sound and growing economy at home and a stable and peaceful world around us. We need not be diverted from meeting those challenges if we as a people remain sharply divided over whether to impeach, prosecute, and punish a former President.

Yes, he said.

Reach Montini [email protected].

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