The Presidential Pardon

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The Presidential Pardon: Event Write-up

As we held this event, it was an historic day.  President Trump was getting impeached for a second time, The Common Good had the honor of hosting former US Attorney, Joyce Vance, and Harvard Law professor, Jeannie Suk Gersen, for a conversation about the presidential pardon (we promise we didn’t orchestrate the timing). 

Of course, with so little time remaining in the Trump presidency, it was safe to assume that we have a few more pardons in store - the question of whom will be pardoned remains to be seen. (But now we know.)

As with our state governors, the pardon is a feature that can seem wildly capricious or merciful absolution. The president has the right to pardon basically anyone - maybe even himself, although our guests assured us that would probably not pass the smell test. So what’s the idea behind granting a president with such tremendous power? I urge you to watch the video or yourself as Joyce Vance and Jeannie Suk Gersen really get into the weeds here. Not to mention, we have an extraordinary exchange with former Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, who successfully prosecuted someone who was recently pardoned by President Trump. 

The original concept, highlighted in the Federalist papers by Alexander Hamilton, is that criminal law is harsh and can very well be applied too severely. Therefore, there may be moments that require clemency. The fear, moreover, of impeachment was meant to guard against misuse of the pardon.

What kind of pardon is Inappropriate? 

The presidential pardon power is so broad that outside of impeachment and probably a self-pardon, really anything goes.

What does a good pardon look like? 

During President Obama’s administration, Joyce Vance worked on reversing the racially disparate sentences on crack cocaine versus powdered cocaine by granting clemency - a reduction in the sentencing. Clemency and pardons are exercised under the same authority. 

“Justice and mercy - what the pardon is supposed to do” - Joyce Vance 

Professor Suk Gersen calls Trump’s pardon of Michael Fynn, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone corrupt. Or Vance calls it semi-public dangling of pardons during the Meuller investigation. 

But both our guests agreed that Trump uses the law to “harm (his) enemies and reward (his) friends.” 

Nixon was the only president to receive as presidential pardon - Ford said he wouldn’t do it but then he did. 

Path Forward

Trump could resign and Pence could pardon him and that would be a fully effective pardon. Might ruin Pence’s political career, but would legally doable. 

A self-pardon, issued by the President himself, defies logic and is unlikely to hold up. DOJ agrees with Vance here.  

States are of course a different story when it comes to pardons and you can expect more action from certain state attorneys general. 

Ultimately, a self-pardon would be ineffective, but family members would be fair game. President Clinton actually provided precedent for that action. There are many different species of pardon, but the power is broad. 

With hindsight being what it is, we encourage you to watch the video in light of President Trump’s full list of final pardons.

ABOUT THE EVENT

 As the Trump Administration comes to an end, there is a burning question we are all wondering: can the President pardon himself, and will he? An idea that has never been tested, we bring you one of the strongest legal minds and experts in this area, Joyce Vance, former U.S. Attorney and MSNBC contributor and Harvard Law professor and contributor to The New Yorker, Jeannie Suk Gersen to discuss this topic and help us full understand the practicality to this never-before-tested idea. 

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Joyce Vance served as the U.S. Attorney for North Alabama and was one of the first women nominated to the role of U.S. Attorney under President Obama. Her career has made her name be credited with pursuing public corruption prosecutions with integrity. Vance adopted a "smart on crime" approach to violent and recidivist crime, intending to prosecute the most significant cases facing the district so that communities would be safer. As U.S. Attorney, she was responsible for overseeing all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions in north Alabama, including matters involving civil rights, national security, cybercrime, public corruption, health care and corporate fraud, violent crime and drug trafficking. 

She has gone on to join MSNBC as a contributor and frequently provides on-air commentary regarding developments in legal issues that involve the Trump.s, including the ability to self-pardon.  administration.

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Jeannie Suk Gersen is a professor at Harvard Law School and is known for her specialty in a large range of topics (including constitutional law, criminal law and procedure). She has written countless articles three books, one of which, At Home in the Law, was awarded the Law and Society Association's Herbert Jacob Prize for the best law and society book of the year. 

In 2010, she became the first Asian American woman to receive tenure at Harvard Law School.

She is a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, focusing on legal and policy issues. She served as a law clerk to Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court, and to Judge Harry Edwards on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. 

"The Law, the Vote, and the 2020 Election" with Solicitor General Neal Katyal, Moderated by Kay Koplovitz

Legal scholar and former Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal joined The Common Good to discuss all the new legal challenges facing the 2020 election. Moderated by business legend and co-founder of Springboard Enterprises Kay Koplovitz, the two led a fascinating conversation, headlined by pressing issues such as mail-in ballot and combating the spreading of misinformation.

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General Neal Katyal served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States, where he argued several major Supreme Court cases involving a variety of issues, such as his successful defense of the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, his victorious defense of former Attorney General John Ashcroft for alleged abuses in the war on terror, his unanimous victory against eight states who sued the nation's leading power plants for contributing to global warming, and a variety of other matters. As Acting Solicitor General, Neal was responsible for representing the federal government of the United States in all appellate matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals throughout the nation. He served as Counsel of Record hundreds of times in the U.S. Supreme Court. He was also the only head of the Solicitor General's office to argue a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on the important question of whether certain aspects of the human genome were patentable.

Neal has also served as a law professor for over two decades at Georgetown University Law Center, where he was one of the youngest professors to have received tenure and a chaired professorship in the university's history. He has also served as a visiting professor at both Harvard and Yale law schools.

Ms. Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel (formerly Sci-Fi Channel), and USA Networks International, today a multi-billion-dollar cable television network. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998. As founder of USA Networks, Kay is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.

Since 2000, Kay has served as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where under her leadership, the venture-catalyst accelerator has been bringing women founders leading transformational businesses to full parity in raising capital. The value of Springboard Enterprises has been validated by a strong 19-year track record of success with over $10 billion capital raised, 190+ exits, and 20 IPOs. Companies in the portfolio include technology and life sciences, and in 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry.

Springboard Enterprises was born after Ms. Koplovitz’ was appointed as Chairman of the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council (1998 NWBC) by President Clinton.  During that time, Kay discovered that there were few venture capital and funding options for women entrepreneurs.