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One of the most controversial actions that Trump took on day one was to issue a blanket pardon to all 1500+ individuals convicted of a variety of January 6th offenses.\u00a0 This was not a surprise, as he had signaled that he wanted to do this throughout his campaign.\u00a0 However, most believed that it would be on a case-by-case basis and that there would not be pardons for violent offenders who had assaulted police.\u00a0 In true Trump fashion, he proved everyone wrong by issuing an ill-though-out blanket pardon for all, even the most violent offenders.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
When interviewed on Tuesday (day 2), Trump couldn’t seem to focus on particular cases when asked by reporters.\u00a0 To me, this signals that he didn’t think this out very well, to the end that he really wasn’t familiar at all with individual cases.\u00a0 Even for the most violent offenders, he couldn’t say for sure whether he had issued pardons or commutations.\u00a0 Once again, he didn’t appear to do his homework before acting.\u00a0 That smacks of an impulsive act, rather than a carefully measured one.<\/p>\n
The implications of this action are far-reaching and there will be many unintended consequences.\u00a0 The best analysis I have seen today is from Benjamin Wittes, writing in Lawfare:<\/p>\n