‘No MAGA left behind’: Trump pardons of loyalists are a dictatorial abuse of power
Adopting the “No MAGA left behind” mantra created by a member of his DOJ, Donald Trump is engaged in a dictatorial abuse of power by issuing pardons to individuals based solely on their fealty to the magnanimous mango messiah.
During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump promised to use the office of the presidency to destroy those he considers his political enemies, and with the full cooperation of Attorney General Pam Bondi, he is unfortunately keeping that promise. He also promised to “defend” those he claims have been “wronged by the government,” which we now are beginning to see was Trump politispeak to describe his MAGA base.
Beginning with his pardon of thousands of J6 insurrectionists, we’ve witnessed several instances of Trump’s dictatorial abuse of the power to pardon, but his “No MAGA left behind” philosophy has been picking up steam recently thanks to his Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin (via NewCivilRightsMovement.com):
President Donald Trump’s highly controversial head of the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney appeared to suggest on social media that all Trump supporters could be eligible for pardons.
On Monday, Martin thanked President Donald Trump for giving an unconditional pardon to a Virginia Sheriff who had been convicted on federal conspiracy, fraud, and bribery charges.
Martin, who also serves as Trump’s weaponization of government czar, posted a thank-you note on social media on Monday: “Thank you, President Trump! I am thrilled that Sheriff Jenkins is the first pardon since I became your Pardon Attorney. Congratulations, Sheriff Jenkins: Do great things and make us proud.”
He followed that up with a second note: “Thank you, @potus Trump, for pardoning Sheriff Jenkins!”
And then, this vow: “No MAGA left behind.”
It should be noted that Ed Martin represented January 6 defendants and was an organizer for Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rallies that falsely alleged widespread fraud in the 2020 election. He was installed as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on Trump’s first day in office, but his background was so controversial that even pro-Trump Republicans were forced to join Democrats to prevent him from getting the gig permanently.
We recently learned that Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a man who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes, after his mother attended a $1 million dollar-a-plate fundraiser held at Mar-a-Lago (via TheHill.com):
The [NY] Times reports that a pardon application submitted around Trump’s inauguration cited efforts by Walczak’s mother, Elizabeth Fago, to support Trump and other Republicans — and contended that Fago’s political activity motivated Walczak’s criminal prosecution.
Fago later attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner with a $1 million cost per person, according to the Times, and Walczak was pardoned less than three weeks later.
Walczak had pleaded guilty back in November, shortly after Trump’s election, to not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual income tax returns, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). He’d withheld nearly $7.5 million in taxes from workers at his health care companies but did not pay those over to the IRS, the DOJ said, among other issues.
In early April, the Floridian was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution. His pardon spares him both from serving time and paying the fees.
According to the Times, Fago had helped host at least three Trump campaign fundraisers and attended events at both of Trump’s inaugurations. (Emphasis mine)
As a former reality TV star and convicted felon of financial crimes, Trump has taken a liking to pardoning reality TV stars who are guilty of financial crimes (via FOXNews.com):
Trump said he plans to pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley, likely by Wednesday, after they were found guilty of fraud and tax evasion in 2022.
Todd and Julie, who became famous on the reality series “Chrisley Knows Best,” were convicted of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans as well as tax evasion and sentenced to 12 and seven years respectively.
“It’s a terrible thing, but it’s a great thing because your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” Trump told their daughter Savannah Chrisley, in a phone call from the Oval Office on Tuesday.
In what I’m sure was just a coincidence, Savannah Chrisley had appeared on Lara Trump’s My View program prior to Donald Trump’s promise to pardon her parents. She was on the program to advocate for so-called justice reform because, “You don’t understand the justice system until it affects you.”
Getting back to Ed Martin and “No MAGA left behind,” it was announced last week that the administration is considering granting a pardon to Barry Croft and Adam Fox, the men convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the summer of 2020 (via AlterNet.com):
Appearing on a conservative podcast last week, Martin said that the administration of President Donald Trump “can’t leave” Croft and Fox “behind.”
Martin also called Croft and Fox “victims” and likened their cases to the criminal charges that were brought against the January 6 Capitol insurrectionists, the Associated Press reported.
Martin appears to be among those who viewed the prosecution of Croft and Fox as the weaponization of the federal government, a running theme in the Trump White House. Martin on the podcast vowed to take a hard look at their cases in his new role. Both Croft and Fox are serving nearly 20-year prison terms in a high security federal prison located in Colorado.
Several other men were charged with conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer but were either acquitted of or pleaded guilty to the crimes. (Emphasis mine)
Trump has abused the power of the presidency to deny due process to immigrants, and he recently announced that he is considering suspending habeus corpus as well as declaring martial law. He is also pressing charges against Democrats in Congress for “assaulting” ICE officers. So, granting “No MAGA left behind” pardons fits his pattern of dictatorial abuse of power.
Trump’s dictatorial abuse of power isn’t new. In a February 2020 exclusive interview with ABC This Week host George Stephanopoulos, Trump made the dubious claim that Article II of the U.S. Constitution “allows” him to do “whatever” he wants as president — a claim he has made many times.
Even though Article II clearly grants no such power — it defines the office of President, not the office of dictator or king — Trump has enjoyed using this non-existent power for his personal and political benefit. And thanks to the Trumpist enablers now running the Republican Party, we’re beginning to see where this is heading.
Trump’s many end-runs around the Constitution allows him to dole out political favors to loyalists based on their fealty to Trump and grant pardons using his “No MAGA left behind” dictatorial abuse of the power.
The founders understood that too much power in the hands of one person was dangerous because it would lead to tyranny and a loss of liberty — this is why we have a president subject to the people and not a dictator or king. Unfortunately, Donald Trump isn’t concerned with what the founders had to say about his job.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties. He the author of The New Axis of Evil: Exposing the Bipartisan War on Liberty.
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