President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has many Trump supporters clamoring for pardons for the Jan. 6, 2021 protesters.
This line of reasoning is deeply flawed.
Mr. Biden’s pardon of his son is corrupt.
Our nation's 46th president repeatedly promised to respect the legal process, solemnly intoning, "no one is above the law."
Hunter Biden received a fair trial and was found guilty.
In another legal matter, Hunter voluntarily pled guilty.
Papa Joe thumbed his nose at Lady Justice, pardoning Hunter because he could and because he felt like it.
President-elect Donald Trump should not counter corruption with equal or greater corruption. Mr. Trump currently has Americans' goodwill.
Many Americans not part of his MAGA base returned him to the Oval Office.
He vowed to "drain the swamp," not use the presidency for his own benefit.
He would squander significant political capital by indiscriminately issuing blanket pardons to all "J6" protesters.
Conversely, Trump should be amenable to pardoning a healthy plurality, if not a majority of people known as "J6ers."
Trump should split the difference. He should pardon many but not all J6ers. Merely being a J6er should not be a mitigating or aggravating factor. Trump should be guided by facts and the law.
With this in mind, J6ers were never monolithic.
They fall into three separate distinct categories.
The first group of J6ers were arrested despite never having entered the capitol.
Mistakes happen.
Law enforcement personnel are fallible. Some individuals went to different rallies at or near the capitol but disbursed before any illegality occurred.
My friend Brandon Straka belongs to this group. Mr. Straka is no violent right-wing revolutionary. He is a gay New York City hairdresser who consistently voted Democratic.
His frustration with liberal excesses caused him to leave the Democratic Party.
In 2018, he formed an organization called "Walk Away" to encourage other disaffected Democrats to abandon their party.
Straka was at the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but never entered the building.
He was arrested and charged with multiple felonies.
The government demanded proof of his not entering the building.
Proving a negative is not his obligation. Our legal system puts the burden of proof on the accuser, in this case the federal government.
Straka was an innocent victim.
He drained his resources trying to defend himself from charges that should never have been brought. Straka and others who were falsely accused should be able to sue the government.
Suing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be an option. Either way, J6ers in Straka’s category deserve immediate pardons.
The second group of J6ers breached the capitol but behaved peacefully.
Allegations are swirling that there was no breach, that J6ers were given permission to enter the Capitol. The burden of proof falls on those J6ers.
If any government officials are caught suppressing exculpatory evidence, those officials must be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Until and unless that evidence is produced, assume for now the Capitol was illegally breached.
Those who entered the Capitol, walked around for a few minutes, took some pictures, and then voluntarily left are at worst guilty of misdemeanor trespassing.
They should have been treated no worse than any other first-time, non-violent offenders.
A reasonable sanction would have been a desk appearance ticket, a $200 fine, and maybe a few months of probation.
Trump should absolutely pardon these people.
The Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Imprisoning people for jaywalking defies any concept of objective justice.
The final group of J6ers committed violence.
Even if allowed into the Capitol, violence was not justified.
The type of violence matters.
Throwing a brick through a window merits a prison sentence.
If this was a first offense, a case could be made that the years spent in detention awaiting trial are sufficient enough.
Trump could commute the sentences but not issue pardons.
Any J6er who assaulted a law enforcement officer deserves to do serious prison time.
Any of the J6ers who were recidivists, need to be returned to prison.
Donald J. Trump won reelection by promising to restore law and order while ending politically partisan government weaponization of our justice system.
If Trump rewards political allies solely for being allies, he is no better than Biden.
He should review each case individually, not collectively.
Americans are fair-minded.
If Trump clearly delineates between the three categories of J6ers and cogently explains his differing actions, Americans will give him the benefit of the doubt.
Eric Golub is a comedian, author and retired stockbrokerage and oil professional living in Los Angeles. His interests include football, politics, Judaism, the stock market, and Angela Lansbury's "Murder, She Wrote." He has written for the Jewish Journal, The Daily Caller, and Breitbart's Big Hollywood. Read more of Eric Golub's reports — here.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.