Using a recent report on Donald Trump doling out a pardon to a supporter which, in turn, led to a massive collapse of a separate Department of Justice investigation, one former U.S. attorney suggested a second Trump term could lead to more abuse of presidential pardon powers.
In a column for MSNBC, former prosecutor Barbara McQuaid suggested an unrestrained Trump would use his reconstituted pardon powers to not only help out family and friends but also to reward supporters who did his bidding, and to seek out revenge for any slights he feels he was subjected to.
According to the former prosecutor, that could turn into a nightmare for the country.
"This solemn responsibility was absolutely not designed to reward allies or advance personal agendas. Abusing this power is an affront to the rule of law," she wrote before adding, "Worse, it is an invitation to violence. In the hands of a Trump uninhibited by any possibility of running for re-election, the pardon power could create nightmare scenarios."
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Noting that the former president has stated that, if returned to the Oval Office, he would pardon Jan. 6 insurrectionists, McQuade claimed that would give rabid supporters of Trump incentive to act out in ways that he would likely approve of based on a belief he would take care of them down the line.
"Even hinting at pardons for the Capitol rioters undermines the rule of law that landed them in prison. Pardoning seditionists who were convicted of using violence to oppose the authority of the U.S. government would be a dangerous blow to our national security," she wrote before grimly warning, "Excusing their conduct would embolden other extremist supporters who might be inclined to engage in violence to achieve political ends."
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