By Aaron Miller-
Vice president, Mike Pence, has been given 24 hours to use the 25th Amendment to begin impeachment proceedings to remove president Trump from office
The time limit set by Nancy Pelosi, comes amid fear the president might pardon the mobs guilty of attacking capitol. There has been growing pressure from Democratic party, and even people from the president’s Republican party.
The broad powers of a U.S president allows him/her to pardon federal crimes, but not stop themselves or others from being impeached by Congress. They also do not have the power to pardon state crimes.
There is a palpable fear that Trump can wipe away any charges in connection with the January 6 incident brought by authorities in Washington, D.C. The recent fall out between the U.S president and Vice president Mike Pence, began after Pence rejected requests to block the certification of Biden as the new president of the United States Of America.
Trump has the power to wipe away any charges in connection with the January 6 incident brought by authorities in Washington, D.C.
Clemency
Determined Democrats want to avoid any possibility for Trump to offer clemency to the rioters, claiming that it will look terrible for his legacy and make mockery of the U.S legal system. However, he won’t be the first president to issue a blanket pardon.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned most people who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. Carter hoped the mass pardon would heal deep national divisions caused by the war.
On December 25 ( Christmas Day )in 1868, Andrew Johnson pardoned all former Confederates who fought against the United States in the Civil War. Some of the men Johnson pardoned went on to become architects of the Jim Crow laws that legalized racial segregation.
Anxious politicians across both the Republican and Democratic Party have expressed serious concerns about leaving a leader like Trump in power in his final few days left in office. Many have questioned the mental health of the president, who in a state of shock could act rashly.