Congress To Act To Take Away Trump’s Abuse Of Pardon And Commutation Powers

Speaker of the House Pelosi said that Congress will act to take away Trump’s ability to use pardons and commutations to shield himself from criminal prosecution.

Speaker Pelosi said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:

President Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of top campaign advisor Roger Stone, who could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct, is an act of staggering corruption.

Congress will take action to prevent this type of brazen wrongdoing. Legislation is needed to ensure that no President can pardon or commute the sentence of an individual who is engaged in a cover-up campaign to shield that President from criminal prosecution.

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Roger Stone’s seven felony crimes, which include lying to Congress and witness tampering, constitute grave crimes. All who commit these illegal acts should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

This decision and Trump’s many other acts of corruption point to the urgency of electing a President in November who will respect the Constitution, the rule of law and the will of the American people.

Given that Mitt Romney is the only Senate Republican so far who has spoken out against Trump commuting Roger Stone’s sentence on seven felonies, the odds of such legislation getting through the Senate with a veto-proof majority are slim.

However, with potentially just months left in Trump’s presidency, Democrats are reaching the point where it is time to plan for the future to stop a criminal president like Trump from ever happening again.

Legislation to make sure that no future president can do what Trump has done is a good start, and even if Republicans insist on going down with Trump ship, Democrats can still take steps to check presidential power.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association