Trump May Have Accidentally Pardoned the Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber
The Justice Department has touted the arrest, but he might still walk free.
"... The White House has
brushed off questions on the subject, but Justice Department prosecutors should be worried about this, and there were suggestions based off their briefs and statements in court last week that they already are. (The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.)
Trump’s proclamation commuted the sentences of 14 individuals and also granted “
a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” This immediately covered roughly 1,500 people, including hundreds of defendants who were charged with assaulting or resisting law enforcement officers.... [
my emphasis added]
... Trump’s pardon also appears to have no restrictions on when the charges against the relevant defendants have been brought.
The Justice Department has already applied Trump’s pardon to people whose cases were merely pending (i.e., people who had not yet been “convicted”) at the time of its issuance.
Trump could have specified that the pardon applied only to people who had been convicted or charged “as of the date” of his pardon (or similar words to that effect), but there is no such language in Trump’s proclamation. Lest there be any doubt,
the Supreme Court made clear more than 150 years ago that presidents have the constitutional authority to do this — that is, to issue
“preemptive pardons” for past conduct even if that conduct has not been charged at the time of the pardon. ..."
