Venezuela 2025

[barnhart]

I am truly baffled by Trump’s pardons though. He seems to be just pardoning everyone that reaches out to him. The former president of Honduras is a convicted narco trafficker that his Trump’s own justice department began the prosecution of during his first term.

It seems consistent with the strong man rule everything doctrine. If one believes the world needs kings unrestrained by law and custom, it makes more sense. In this view everything that impedes the wishes of the king is wrong. Those who question are woke.

[Bootstrap]

I am truly baffled by Trump’s pardons though. He seems to be just pardoning everyone that reaches out to him. The former president of Honduras is a convicted narco trafficker that his Trump’s own justice department began the prosecution of during his first term.

It seems consistent with the strong man rule everything doctrine. If one believes the world needs kings unrestrained by law and custom, it makes more sense. In this view everything that impedes the wishes of the king is wrong. Those who question are woke.

And it's all negotiated in secret. Which makes you wonder if there's a deal and who benefits from that deal.

Look at the pardons of people convicted for crimes involving the dark web, money laundering, and cryptocurrency - Changpeng Zhao of Binance, Ross William Ulbricht of the dark web's money laundering system called Silk Road, the co-founders of BiMEX ... the list goes on ... hackers and cybercriminals, too ... so you wonder if this benefits other parties involved in cryptocurrency or wanting to hide their tracks financially.

I cannot think of any reason these pardons serve America's interests.

[Bootstrap]

You have no idea the ripple effects this has caused here.

Can you say more?

[Bootstrap]

I think that Biden's unprecedented number of pardons of family and friends upon leaving office has probably started a standard procedure for US presidents. You just pardon everybody and his brother and you're good.

But starting at the beginning of a presidency? Pardoning people for crimes in industries your own company is investing in while your family goes around the world making deals?

That's really quite different.

Biden's pardons were mostly for simple marijuana possession and low-level, nonviolent, older offenses. Most of Biden's pardons were the mass marijuana possession pardon. That affected thousands of people. He did not pardon high profile drug traffickers, cartel figures, or major narcotics offenders.

Biden issued only 16 individual pardons. All were for old, relatively minor offenses where the person who was pardoned had established a track record that shows they had turned their lives around. In DOJ language - “A strong record of law-abiding behavior since the offense.”

Biden did not pardon anyone in these categories:

• crypto exchange founders
• darknet market operators
• major money-launderers
• hackers or cybercriminals
• wealthy white-collar offenders with lobbyist teams
• political allies
• donors
• anyone with current large financial stakes

So ... what is the purpose of pardoning these people? Does it serve America's interests?

[mike]

I think that Biden's unprecedented number of pardons of family and friends upon leaving office has probably started a standard procedure for US presidents. You just pardon everybody and his brother and you're good.

But starting at the beginning of a presidency? Pardoning people for crimes in industries your own company is investing in while your family goes around the world making deals?

That's really quite different.

Biden's pardons were mostly for simple marijuana possession and low-level, nonviolent, older offenses. Most of Biden's pardons were the mass marijuana possession pardon. That affected thousands of people. He did not pardon high profile drug traffickers, cartel figures, or major narcotics offenders.

Biden issued only 16 individual pardons. All were for old, relatively minor offenses where the person who was pardoned had established a track record that shows they had turned their lives around. In DOJ language - “A strong record of law-abiding behavior since the offense.”

Biden did not pardon anyone in these categories:

• crypto exchange founders
• darknet market operators
• major money-launderers
• hackers or cybercriminals
• wealthy white-collar offenders with lobbyist teams
• political allies
• donors
• anyone with current large financial stakes

So ... what is the purpose of pardoning these people? Does it serve America's interests?

It serves the purposes and personal interests of the President. It may or may not serve America's interests. Apparently the office of the President comes with this kind of latitude. You can pardon your own kids to keep them out of jail. I am not aware Trump has done this, or needed to do it, but I am absolutely certain he would.

[JohnH]

I suppose if you don’t like that you could push for a Constitutional amendment getting rid of Presidential pardons. Let me know how that goes.

Overall saying “it’s ok when Biden does it but not ok when Trump does” is not terribly persuasive.

[barnhart]

You have no idea the ripple effects this has caused here.

Can you say more?

I'm curious as well.

[ken_sylvania]

I think that Biden's unprecedented number of pardons of family and friends upon leaving office has probably started a standard procedure for US presidents. You just pardon everybody and his brother and you're good.

But starting at the beginning of a presidency? Pardoning people for crimes in industries your own company is investing in while your family goes around the world making deals?

That's really quite different.

Biden's pardons were mostly for simple marijuana possession and low-level, nonviolent, older offenses. Most of Biden's pardons were the mass marijuana possession pardon. That affected thousands of people. He did not pardon high profile drug traffickers, cartel figures, or major narcotics offenders.

Biden issued only 16 individual pardons. All were for old, relatively minor offenses where the person who was pardoned had established a track record that shows they had turned their lives around. In DOJ language - “A strong record of law-abiding behavior since the offense.”

Biden did not pardon anyone in these categories:

• crypto exchange founders
• darknet market operators
• major money-launderers
• hackers or cybercriminals
• wealthy white-collar offenders with lobbyist teams
• political allies
• donors
• anyone with current large financial stakes

So ... what is the purpose of pardoning these people? Does it serve America's interests?

Oh come on. None of the people Biden pardoned were his political allies? None of them had contributed to his campaign? None of them were rich (I guess that's what you mean by "current large financial stakes)?

I'm sure if you wanted to look at the positive side of things you could put together a similar list for Trump. Here - I'll get you started:

Trump did not pardon anyone in these categories:

• siblings
• son or daughter
• judges who sent children to jail or rehab in exchange for cash payments
• secret service agents convicted of trying to sell Secret Service files

[HondurasKeiser]

You have no idea the ripple effects this has caused here.

Can you say more?

Not only did he pardon the previous president but he also inserted himself into the presidential elections held this past Sunday. He endorsed the candidate from the same party as the now-pardoned ex-president which seems to have had the effect of reinvigorating that candidate's (Nasry Asfura) chances of winning when, for all the world, it looked as though that one Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, the least of corrupt of the 3 main contenders would, after 4 attempts, finally get himself elected. It also had the strange effect of giving an excuse to the governing Libre Party (Socialist/Chavist) as to why they lost. They are now claiming fraud because the Gringos started meddling and are refusing to concede even though they were thoroughly shellacked. Nasralla too is claiming fraud on the party of the National Party (Asfura's party) and it's very difficult to know what's going on. The level of uncertainty in the country is very high right now. Add to that Trump's pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez who is loathed by the majority of his countrymen and the sense of bewilderment, unease and mistrust goes through the roof. Hondurans, even more so than Americans, are prone to conjecture, hearsay and conspiratorial thinking - the only way they make sense of the endorsement, pardon, slow vote count, failing counting systems, Trump's low-key threat to use force if the vote-counting doesn't wrap-up soon and the surprise of turnaround of Asfura's fortunes are to assume that the Americans are pulling all sorts of strings. Which they very well may be.

[Bootstrap]

You have no idea the ripple effects this has caused here.

Can you say more?

Not only did he pardon the previous president but he also inserted himself into the presidential elections held this past Sunday. He endorsed the candidate from the same party as the now-pardoned ex-president which seems to have had the effect of reinvigorating that candidate's (Nasry Asfura) chances of winning when, for all the world, it looked as though that one Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, the least of corrupt of the 3 main contenders would, after 4 attempts, finally get himself elected. It also had the strange effect of giving an excuse to the governing Libre Party (Socialist/Chavist) as to why they lost. They are now claiming fraud because the Gringos started meddling and are refusing to concede even though they were thoroughly shellacked. Nasralla too is claiming fraud on the party of the National Party (Asfura's party) and it's very difficult to know what's going on. The level of uncertainty in the country is very high right now. Add to that Trump's pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez who is loathed by the majority of his countrymen and the sense of bewilderment, unease and mistrust goes through the roof. Hondurans, even more so than Americans, are prone to conjecture, hearsay and conspiratorial thinking - the only way they make sense of the endorsement, pardon, slow vote count, failing counting systems, Trump's low-key threat to use force if the vote-counting doesn't wrap-up soon and the surprise of turnaround of Asfura's fortunes are to assume that the Americans are pulling all sorts of strings. Which they very well may be.

Thanks. That goes well beyond the coverage I see in most news sources here.