"When Donald Trump pardoned U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar earlier this month, he added to a spate of clemencies that has directly attacked a founding principle of America's democratic republic: the expectation that elected representatives will serve as fiduciaries of the public trust. Cuellar became the 11th elected American official to receive clemency from President Trump this year. Other presidents have shied away from using the pardon power to protect public officials."
"Trump, by contrast, has pardoned both well-known figures such as Cuellar, accused of taking $600,000 in bribes from foreign companies; Representative George Santos of New York, who defrauded his constituents in virtually every conceivable way; and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat; and lesser characters, such as a state official in Nevada who stole money from a police memorial fund."
Donald Trump has issued clemency to an unusually large number of elected officials, including Representative Henry Cuellar, who became the 11th such recipient this year. Pardons have included figures accused of taking substantial bribes, representatives who defrauded constituents, and a governor who attempted to sell a Senate seat, as well as local officials who stole or misused funds. Cuellar's pardon followed Trump's unprecedented pardon of a convicted foreign head of state. Other recent presidents largely avoided pardoning officials for corruption: Biden granted two state-level pardons not tied to in-office crimes, and Obama and Bush pardoned no elected officials.
Read at The Atlantic
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