It was always assumed that Donald Trump’s pardons would be unlike any others seen in American history. And he has not disappointed. The president has pardoned war criminals, insider traders, political dirty tricksters and multiple people who have pleaded guilty to charges against them.
But on Wednesday, Trump gave a different kind of pardon. The president absolved Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner. It has long been rumored that Trump would like to give preemptive pardons to his children. According to CNN’s Abby Phillip, the Kushner pardon could be a sign of things to come.
The reporter made the comments during an appearance on CNN Wednesday night. Host Kate Bolduan asked, “Abby, with Charles Kushner here, I guess Trump checks maybe the final box of pardoning someone with family ties?”
Phillip responded, “Dipping his toe in the waters of family pardons, I think, is what we can certainly say this is. I think it I think it definitely warms people up for the idea that the president is more than willing to pardon people just simply because of their personal connection to him.”
The reporter later continued:
“If you look at all the pardons the president has issued since he’s been president, the vast majority of them have gone to political allies, people who he is personally close to. And not to people who would have gone through a normal process or people who you could make a case where the criminal justice system has worked against them. Kate, I think one of the important things about what we’re seeing here is this is clearly also a president who knows his pardon power is running out. He only has a few more days to use it, so he’s using it in the most provocative way possible, which tells you everything you need to know about whether he truly believes that he will be president come January 21st, 2021, which we know he will not be.”
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
