Trump still has powers to carry out those who attacked the Capitol.

But history shows that presidential forgiveness has sparked controversy at the outset.

The founding fathers of the nation gave the presidents almost absolute power to forgive as a way to ease criminal laws, says Brian Kalt, law professor at Michigan State University's State Law College.

“They have debated this issue and thought it could also be abused by power, but it was important that there be an opportunity to forgive, even for treason against the nation, because, as Alexander Hamilton argued, there could be a rebellion, and that could be a good way to end it.“.

This was the case with the first presidential pardon released by George Washington on November 2nd, 1795. The first president of America forgave two men sentenced to death in connection with a uprising that became known as the Whisky Rebellion. They were part of a riot by companies producing alcoholic beverages that protested a high tax.

And so it worked in that case just as they had hoped”, says Mr. Calt.

Forgiveness of the Crowd

Today, while Americans are analyzing the political consequences of Wednesday's troubled attack on the stage of constitutional power, some experts question whether Mr. Trump, in his last days in power, could issue a group apology for all involved in the riots. The possibility of more pardons is already giving impetus to the House of Representatives to accelerate efforts to oust Mr. Trump from power before his mandate ends on January 20th.

While the new details about the death of a Capitol police officer, who is said to have been massacred to death by the crowd, make such an apology even more provocative, experts say there is no legal obstacle for Mr. Trump to take such a step.

“It can forgive any offense against the United States, including federal crimes, which have certainly been committed on their part.“, says Mr. Calt. “I think that President Washington's reason for doing so was that he wanted to eliminate tensions and that the effort and execution of the Whisky Rebels would have done things worse and not better. But in this case, I don't think you can say that. I think the forgiveness of those people who attacked the Capitol would make things worse and not better. It would have an opposite effect”, he adds.

The presidents enjoy broad powers of forgiveness when it comes to federal crimes, but they cannot use this power they have to stop Congress from launching the procedure for dismissal of itself to the president or others. They also do not have the power to forgive state crimes.

Mr. Trump can wipe out any charges concerning the January 6th incident that can be filed by authorities in Washington.

“What would be a state crime elsewhere, in the country's capital, since depending on the federal government, they constitute federal offenses and he could also be forgiven them“, says Mr. Calt.

“And the power of forgiveness is broad and leaves nothing out. If it's a crime and if it's federal, he can forgive it.“.

Group Forgiveness

This includes the forgiveness of those against whom no charges have yet been brought.

“He can do it immediately, there is no need to wait until any legal process has officially begun“told the Voice of America Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of politics at American University and author of a book on the power of presidential pardon.

If Mr. Trump offered mercy to the protesters, he would not be the first president to issue such a apology in the group.

On Christmas Day in 1868, Andrew Johnson forgave all former Confederate supporters who fought against the United States in the Civil War. Some of those whom Mr. Johnson forgave became architects of so-called <x0] Jimmy Crown”, who legalized racial division.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter forgave most of the people who avoided military service during the Vietnam War. Mr. Carter hoped that mass forgiveness would heal the deep national divisions caused by war, but this was accompanied by protests by groups of veterans who condemned the move.

A concept beginning before the American Revolution

The concept of forgiveness was not new. English monarchs enjoyed the power of forgiveness. This practice moved to British colonies where governors could be merciful. During the assembly of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Mr. Hamilton proposed to the president the power to forgive people who had committed crimes or to reduce their sentences.

The drafters of the Constitution debated whether to impose restrictions on forgiveness and praised the Senate's possibility of involvement in decisions on them.

“But in the end they decided to make the power of the president's pardon unlimited.“, says Mr. Crouch. “They believed he would use it responsibly or risk voter anger and potentially launch a process for his dismissal“.

Forgiveness of pirates, rebels, and freedom fighters

The list of people pardoned by presidents is long and varied. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson pardoned all convicts under a move that declared illegal fraud against the government. James Madison and James Monroe have forgiven pirates. John Quince Adams has forgiven two people belonging to indigenous American groups convicted of an attack on white civilians. Millard Fillmore forgave two men convicted of transporting slaves to freedom. Franklin Pierce forgave an African who was free, who had helped slaves escape slavery.

President Ford created a riot in 1974 when he gave his predecessor Richard Nixon a complete and unconditional pardon before Mr. Nixon was accused of the Watergate scandal.

“President Ford could have treated Nixon's forgiveness better, but after all she was given the right reason so the place could throw Watergate behind its wings.“, says Mr. Crouch. “The decision had political costs, it contributed to the mass loss of republics in the 1974 Congress race and likely damaged Mr. Ford's race for president in 1976“.

Mr. Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential race.

The presidents of the modern era have taken on more controversial or unconventional forgiveness, especially when they would not have to account for their voters. This has happened mainly at the end of the mandate, between the date of elections held in November and the new president's Inauguration Day on January 20th.

“This has been the problem since drafting”, says Mr. Kalt “that the president has power (for forgiveness) because he gives an account, but he has it even when he no longer gives account to voters“.

A day before leaving office, Mr. Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, eased the sentences of 330 prisoners for nonviolent crimes related to narcotics.

Bill Clinton forgave his half-brother convicted of a drug charge. He also pardoned billionaire Marc Rich convicted of tax evasion. Critics complained that the decision came after Mr. Rich's former wife made a generous gift to the National Democratic Committee, Clinton Library and the New York Hillry Clinton campaign for a seat in the Senate.

On Christmas Eve in 1992, President George H.W. Bush pardoned former Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others for their illegal actions during the Reagan administration on Iran's arms sales scandal while subjecting an arms embargo.

Since the November 2020 elections, Mr. Trump has pardoned a number of his associates, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort (condemned for bank and tax fraud), Roger Stone (condemned for seven crimes, including intervention to influence witnesses, preventing and making false statements) as well as former National Security Council Michael Flynn (who pleaded guilty to lying) FBI.

“Currently, the media and the public are focusing on and for good reason, the forgiveness that Trump gave Paul Manafort, Roger Stones and other people around him.“, says Mr. Crouch. “But there are currently thousands of forgotten applications to the Lawyer's Office, from those who have no financial means or powerful friends to benefit. If his presidency ends up showing no mercy to more of them, it would be an opportunity that really lost.r”, he says. /Vosa/