Trump has pardoned over 70 people who tried to help him overturn his 2020 election loss. Some fear it encourages GOP officials to become even bolder with efforts to help Trump subvert future elections, “knowing that if they succeed, they’ll be pardoned.”
This is brazen corruption, plain and simple. Pardoning the people who helped try to steal an election is not mercy, it is a reward. It sends an explicit message to future GOP officials, do whatever it takes to steal the result, and you will be protected. That is terrifying for democracy.
Yes, state prosecutors can still pursue some of these people, but a federal blanket like this guts deterrence and normalizes a two tier justice system. If we care about free and fair elections, voters and state leaders need to be furious and act now, not shrug and treat this like another political stunt.
It smells like payback and protection for the whole grift. I’m mad and scared, and anyone who pretends this won’t make future subversion bolder is kidding themselves.