Actually, a pardon doesn't say anything about guilt or innocence. It just says that the committed act cannot be prosecuted (or if it already has been, that any punishment is void). It's not an admission one way or the other about criminal guilt (in fact, it is often used when a President thinks there is reason to believe that the prosecution was somehow erroneous).CameronBornAndBred wrote: ↑November 18th, 2020, 7:12 pmThe problem there is guilt by association. So he's saying they are guilty, but he's letting them off. If I were a lawyer, I'd be jumping all over that.CrazyNotCrazie wrote: ↑November 18th, 2020, 5:09 pmI agree that he will pardon his family, but if there are others that he thinks can help him, either in court cases or in future business endeavors, he might also pardon them. Everything is transactional for him, so he will help anyone who might be able to help him.
"Well, you know, we've been looking at you for the same crimes, and...Ta-Da!"
However, one thing that a pardon does do is remove the ability for a pardoned person to plead the Fifth. If you have been pardoned for something, you can no longer incriminate yourself while testifying about that thing. Of course, there may be related crimes that you might be able to be convicted of that could cause you to still take the Fifth, but those would have to be carefully explained to the court, as the pardoned act could not be a necessary part of those offenses. If the pardoned act is an element of a chargeable offense, than that offense no longer applies to you and your testimony can be compelled.
