Congressional Democrats are weighing whether to postpone inquiries into businesses tied to Donald Trump until his term concludes in January 2029. Precedent from the 1866 Supreme Court ruling in Ex parte Garland permits a president to issue pardons before an individual is even investigated. Holding early hearings risks revealing targets who could receive clemency, an issue underscored by Trump's previous pardons of corporate figures and business entities. Meanwhile, scrutinized executives from defense and technology sectors are attempting to build ties with Democratic officials to manage prospective probes.
Key points
Launching immediate public oversight hearings could inadvertently signal to the president…: Launching immediate public oversight hearings could inadvertently signal to the president which corporate allies require preemptive pardons.
Constitutional authority allows presidential clemency to shield individuals and entities…: Constitutional authority allows presidential clemency to shield individuals and entities from federal prosecution even before formal charges are filed.
Scrutiny is intensifying around major technology and defense contractors such as Palantir…: Scrutiny is intensifying around major technology and defense contractors such as Palantir, Anduril, OpenAI, and Meta over potential conflicts of interest.
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The United States’ presidential pardon power has created a constitutional absurdity in which exposing corruption may protect those responsible.
In a functioning constitutional democracy, allegations of corporate corruption would ordinarily invite immediate investigation. Congress would demand documents, summon executives and expose wrongdoing to public scrutiny.
With Democrats having won control of both houses of Congress, the expectation will be that they exercise these oversight powers vigorously. In Donald Trump’s America, however, there is a compelling argument for doing precisely the opposite.
If the objective is criminal accountability rather than political theatre, the incoming Democratic majorities might be better advised to preserve the evidence but postpone public congressional investigations and disclosures concerning potential criminal wrongdoing by Trump’s corporate allies until he leaves office in January 2029, thereby avoiding the possibility of presidential pardons that could place those responsible beyond the reach of federal criminal prosecution.
This may sound absurd, but it follows from the extraordinary breadth of the presidential pardon power. Under the US Constitution, a president may pardon individuals for federal crimes before they have been charged, investigated or convicted.…
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