United States. Donald Trump’s questionable graces

Before leaving the places of their power, some turn the paper mill. Donald Trump has chosen the great laundress. A few hours before leaving the White House for his residence in Mar-a-Lago, the 45^e President of the United States has made full use of one of the most precious privileges: the right of pardon. It obviously did not apply to those on death row, executed last week in the federal prison of Terre Haute, contrary to the tradition that a president on the departure does not give the green light to such executions. The list (143 people in total, 70 pardons and 73 commutations of sentence) constitutes a kind of political testament for the billionaire, who has positioned himself as the outsider, the anti-system candidate, the one who “Dry upr the swamp “ in Washington. No “average American” is included, unlike a plethora of people convicted of corruption, scams, and even murder.

Hand in the dollar pot

The most prominent name is obviously that of Steve Bannon, his former adviser, a figure of the nationalist far right. Accused of having embezzled funds allegedly intended for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, he nevertheless pleaded… not guilty. Beside him is Elliott Broidy, a businessman, one of the fundraisers of his 2016 campaign, sued for an illegal lobbying campaign he pleaded guilty to. For once “bipartisan”, Donald Trump has also absolved Republicans (three former deputies) as Democrats (the former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick or the patronage “boss” of New York, Sheldon Silver), taken hand in the pot to dollars. He had already recently cleaned up as part of the investigation into collusion between Russia and his campaign team in 2016, simply refusing his pardon to those who had collaborated with the justice system, like his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Impunity was offered to his former advisers, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, to Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, as well as to four former employees of Blackwater, a federal government contractor, convicted of the murder of civilians in Iraq.

“Incitement to insurgency”

On the other hand, the elected Republicans who could be prosecuted for having incited the assault on the Capitol did not benefit from a last minute boost. And Donald Trump has finally given up on preemptively pardoning his family members, as well as himself, which he was seriously considering. As he finalized the list with his lawyers, his former ally, Mitch McConnell, dealt him what could be a … “The crowd has been fed lies, he said about the assault on the Capitol on January 6. They were provoked by the presides nt and other powerful people. “ The leader of the Republicans in the Senate has not made known the nature of his vote during the impeachment procedure which will soon be presented to the upper house of Congress for “incitement to insurrection”. A two-thirds majority is required for impeachment, which requires the input of seventeen Republican senators. The establishment of the Grand Old Party seems tempted by an incapacitation of Donald Trump, via his ineligibility, but weighs the reaction of the Trumpist base.