He pardoned Hernandez

"President Trump has embraced clemency as an expression of raw political power, seizing on a unique authority designed to go unchecked by Congress, the Constitution or the courts, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

Why it matters: No presidential power is more absolute than the pardon. And no president has wielded it more openly as a tool of personal and ideological loyalty than Donald Trump.

Zoom in: Trump's extraordinary move to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez convicted last year of flooding the U.S. with tons of cocaine is among the clearest examples yet.

Prosecutors said Hernandez, who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022, conspired with cartels to pave a "cocaine superhighway" into the U.S. posing as an anti-drug conservative while running his country like a narco state.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a "clear Biden over-prosecution."

Between the lines: The Hernandez pardon fits squarely within Trump's view of justice serious criminal conduct matters far less than whether the defendant pledges loyalty, flatters the president or aligns with his ideological project.

While the right-wing Hernandez walks free from his 45-year prison sentence, left-wing Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro indicted on charges of narcoterrorism faces the threat of a U.S. military invasion.

Zoom out: The dynamic extends to Trump's domestic orbit, where MAGA-friendly financiers, operatives and celebrity allies have had their convictions wiped away with the stroke of Trump's pen.

Changpeng Zhao ("CZ"): The billionaire founder of crypto giant Binance was pardoned despite pleading guilty in 2023 to money laundering violations. Trump whose family's crypto venture has ties to Binance later claimed he did not know CZ, saying on "60 Minutes": "I heard it was a Biden witch hunt."

George Santos: The disgraced former GOP congressman convicted of defrauding donors and lying to the House had his seven-year sentence commuted by Trump after spending less than three months in prison.

Paul Walczak: Trump pardoned the former nursing home executive, who pleaded guilty to tax crimes, less than three weeks after his mother attended a $1 million-per-person fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. A White House official claimed Walczak was "targeted by the Biden administration over his family's conservative politics."

Fake electors: Trump granted sweeping pardons to Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and more than 70 other allies tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including the "alternate electors" scheme."
Axios

*In light of the absolute power Trump wields, I'm confused why he wouldn't own and truly relish the fact that he is pardoning real criminals instead of labeling them "Biden set-ups."

* With regard to possible motive for Hernandez pardon:

https://bearinsider.com/forums/6/topics/124031/replies/2602946

Wait wait it was an overzealous prosecution. Biden was to too hard on foreign drug criminals. Drug cartels aren't bad. Venezuelan drug and fishing boats are not a problem. Oh wait

UNITY OVER DIVISION

VOTE BLUE

Go Bears Forever

A pardon won't do Trump any good when he's DEAD.

bearister said:

---

Trump's Purest Form of Power: The Pardon

---

I should think Commander In Chief is more significant.
When he orders people killed, that's the ultimate power.

"I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue…"



They could have covertly accomplished this sinking/murders. But they announced it and released the videos multiple times because they want the world to know they have this power AND THEY USE IT.

And there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it to stop them from using it again.

That's power.

In the words of Trump, next time it could be you.

In his recent presser he took a a pardon suggestion from the press corps of some crypto bro thief who is in prison. He looked over and said "Pam, we should look into this".

And now the DOJ has this distraction. At least we have the priorities set.