Former President Joe Biden experienced such “cognitive decline” while in office that it remains a serious question as to whether he was aware of the substance of the various pardons and commutations signed in his name via autopen, the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee asserted in a letter it sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to consider whether that clemency might be invalid and to take action for potential prosecution against some of Biden’s aides.
The committee “deems void President Biden’s executive actions that were signed using the Autopen, and the committee determines that action by the Department of Justice is warranted to address the legal consequences of that determination,” it wrote to Bondi released Tuesday morning.
So they are opening the door for voiding presidential pardons based on competency? That’s going to be interesting in 3 years. I think conflict of interest could be considered just as compromising as cognitive decline. Could also have implications for Oliver North.
But also, the way Trump always claims he doesn’t know anything about <that>, I would suggest he also is unaware of what is being done in his name, regardless of who holds the pen.
interesting in the way that the democrats will do nothing about it and then when the GOP gets back in they’ll make it worse.
It’s interesting you think everything is just gonna continue on like normal. Republicans are never relinquishing power again. There will be no more Democratic party in three years.
People like you on Lemmy really annoy me, always negative about anything said about politics. Are you trying to kill hope? I honestly don’t see what your comment adds to the discussion.
Pretending everything goes back to “normal” in 3 years doesn’t add much either. Hope is fine, but without action is just delusion. Just voting isn’t gonna cut it. People need to be aware and to prepare. Republicans will not relinquish power peacefully. They’ve done too much that will require accountability. They will not allow that, and they literally have a violent private army filled with violent offenders with a larger budget than the Marines, and they have seized the public coffers to ensure loyalty. This is all out in the open. Everything they are doing, they would not do if there was the possibility of the transfer of power and eventually accountability.
There’s a powerful normalcy bias at work here. People can acknowledge a long list of ways the “American way of life” is circling the drain, but day to day it feels like things will basically be the same. People keep going to work, paying into retirement, and planning holiday vacations.
We’re stuck with the choice of voting for someone who will accelerate the decent into authoritarianism or voting for someone who won’t stop it.
Where should we find the hope?
That’s not the option, but the authoritarians would have it that way if allowed.
What is the option then?
Ideally the best option is running for office. But you need money, and you need to actually want to do it
Hope is for people who want to sit around doing nothing while they wait for things to spontaneously get better all on their own.
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Federal government representatives are calling the Democratic party terrorists on national television. There will be something, but it won’t be an organized political party. The Republicans will not cede power peacefully ever again. I honestly can’t tell you what that will look like because I didn’t know how much Americans will put up with, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that Republicans will not give up federal power without violence. They are already actively violent.
They certainly are, I agree! But they’re cowards.
Republicans only want to fight the weakest opponents, in rigged matches, and they still gotta cheat. Even a little resistance, when we stand together, dissolves their cotton candy confidence.
I was lucky enough to see a small piece of what that kind of resistance looks like on Sunday after canvassing. The organizers did us a solid and got us into a rally in queens that was packed. The energy was really encouraging, especially seeing all the other volunteers and various groups that are actually showing up, to help and to fight. It mirrors a lot of the grassroots movements and community building popping up in many cities and towns across the country.
It’s encouraging because it illustrates victory directly. Standing up for each other in spite of those threats of violence is courage, and historically that’s the strongest “antifa weapon” we know, because fascism can only lose wherever courage remains.
“Never again” is a long time horizon to make predictions about something as volatile as politics.
It’s a fascist coup, not just “politics.”
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God I hope you’re right.
Ya know, most countries don’t give one person infinite get out of jail free cards.
We just value freedom here. ~revs big truck, slurps from 32oz diet soda~
32oz? Why did you get a small? It’s diet!
Bold of you to assume that there will be a change of government in 3 yrs time…
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I mean where is it Cynical at this point… right now there’s the massive redistricting that’s going to give the republicans more house seats even if they get less votes. Trumps been “joking” about a 3rd term from the start. Millitary is literally marching on the streets.
The point isn’t that we need to give up… but we need to realize they are re-writing the rules… Big thing is… just let them have their fun and when it kills them in the next election stance that the democrats took last time, is going to destroy us. We need to look at every possible way to fight back NOW, and have contingencies for when all of our existing failsafes… fail.
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This won’t go anywhere. There’s plenty of public examples of Biden discussing the pardons. He’s still lucid enough to testify if needed.
If they’re opening this box what makes you think they’d do it if they wouldn’t still have power in 3 years? Everything they’re doing they’re doing like they’re never gonna not be in power. We should all be paying attention to that.
Cool so do the guy who pardoned 1500 insurrectionists and struggles on cognitive ability tests next.
Exactly, let’s see those 1500 signatures, I bet they are all exactly the same. No fucking way he signed 1500 pardons himself that fast.
I think he signed a single blanket pardon, and not 1500 individual documents.
That should be just as invalid as bidens then. It’s too impersonal.
It should be invalid because it’s super fucked up, but unfortunately the people decided that he should have the power to pardon whomever he wants of any crime.
It should be invalid because Trump is a traitor illegally holding office in violation of the 14th amendment because he got to build the courts his first term and too many MFers in the states lack the competency to think.
From the last time this was brought up, it had been pointed out that the courts have previously said that that presidential pardons do not even need to be written
A 2024 federal appeals court decision said a pardon doesn’t even have to be in writing. “The answer is undoubtedly no,” the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. “The plain language of the Constitution imposes no such limit.”
Actual legality doesn’t matter. It’s a pretext.
Not to mention that using ANY mark is considered a signature, no matter the method of affixing it to the document. It’s an ADA compliance thing - you can’t discriminate based on the method of signing.
SCOTUS “Turns out pardons not signed by pen are void. However tthis only applies to President’s not named Donald J. Trump. It’s in the Consitution. No, you can’t see the real consitution. The real consitution is in Canada for safe keeping.”
Look at this obvious bullshit and gasp.
Biden knew the Nazis would eventually come for his family. This is exactly why he pardoned them (for the bullshit charges) from the GQP before leaving office.
Former President Joe Biden experienced such “cognitive decline” while in office that it remains a serious question as to whether he was aware of the substance of the various pardons and commutations signed in his name via autopen . . .
If you’re going to make that claim, then there’s no particular reason to bring up the autopen. He was either aware of what he was signing or he wasn’t.
Naturally, they won’t use the same argument on Trump despite far more evidence of cognitive decline.
Trump is pardoning so many people it could be argued that the volume makes it unlikely he’s “aware of the substance of the various pardons and commutations”.
As with anything else here, “auto pen” is one of the objects of aggrievement Trump’s leaky puddle of a brain has clinged in to, and the handlers throw it in these memos to appease him. It’s the exact same reason he is still ranting about the navy’s catapults. I guarantee you that in private he does nothing but talk random times people have disagreed with him over the years.
I had to look at the publication date on that article three times because I thought that there was no way he’s that stupid that he’s still saying this after he said it the first time years ago. Surely someone explained to him how magnets work by now, but nope, the article is from a few days ago, and he has again proven that his stupidity knows no bounds.
Fucking magnets, how do they work? and I don’t want to talk to a scientist, y’all motherfuckers lyin’, and gettin’ me pissed
The only response when people ask you how magnets work.
Whelp. Trump said it, it must be true. He is truth after and has never lied once in his biblically perfect life.
In theory, electromagnets can be damaged by water. But Trump seems to be conflating all kinds of things in his rambling speech.
So now there’s precedent to toss Trump’s Nazi pardons back in prison. Cool
Such unrelenting assholes and bullshit.
A reminder: Do not let the bastards wear you down. Fight them at every step, be a thorn, be the sand in their gears, always.
Do they really want to set this precedent?
Lol you expect the GOP to live up to a standard they place on other people? I thought the whole reason for being a Republican was to tell others what to do while trying to ignore the people as much as possible.
Lol they don’t care, they don’t follow precedent, that is one of the major reasons they are winning so decisively.
So let’s say they actually try to enforce this. How do they know which signatures are autopen and which aren’t? They (the GOP) will probably just say they all were, but I can’t imagine it holding up in court against any reasonable judge.
You’re presuming there would be a reasonable judge and not one already bought and paid for.
No, I’m not presuming that. That’s why I specifically started “reasonable judge”. It’s obvious an unreasonable judge wouldn’t care.
I’m perfectly fine with this one. It gives America a second chance to undo all of Trump’s pardons.
more like another step in unravelling any and all of American government’s legitimacy
It wasn’t too long ago when the US gave telecommunication companies retroactive immunity for spying on Americans. There are already way too many options for presidential immunity, pardons and commutations that are used to protect criminals from prosecution.
The GOP is already a full kleptocratic organization with zero intent to govern for the good of Americans.
Should pardons really exist though?
Honestly? That’s a separate discussion. This is the Republicans and the president effectively openly telling us all they’re never leaving power again. Because you know they would not stand for a Democratic administration having that power.
They should yes. They’re for rescuing people caught in the system that shouldn’t be.
They are not supposed to be what they’re used for in the modern era .
I’d feel a whole lot better if there were a system tha would prevent autocrats from just bailing out their rich friends & acquaintances…
It cuts both ways. It gives authoritarians the ability to do corruption, and it gives actual stewards of the law the ability to undo huge amounts of damage done by authoritarians. The idea is that the voters are meant to pick which one they prefer. If the voters can’t make that decision, or the system collapses then the pardon power doesn’t really matter anyway.
Good.
The US really needs a fresh start, from scratch.
Let’s see who ends up running that. Government by the Walmarts, for the Amazons.
Oh, but at what costco!
The problem is this will be selectively applied. Democrats won’t “stoop so low” as to void pardons, and Republicunts will keep voiding them as suits their purpose. Neither side of course will address any larger structural issue than that
So you genuinely believe they would give the office of the president this power if they ever thought anyone else would wield that power? This is a clear signal that Republicans will not cede power peacefully.
Man, these guys are such fucking losers
This is hanging chads all over again isn’t it?
So if you ever get pardoned, flee the country.
