He does, but anyone following illegal orders doesn’t. Sure, he could pardon them, but only after a long, expensive, and potentially life-changing legal battle after which they’re convicted.
That doesn’t sound like a fight most regular troops should want to gamble on.
That’s true, but trump is transactional. He and Giuliani were selling them for 2 million a pop. How many military regulars can afford one? Why should trump care to pardon them if they can’t give him something?
He does, but anyone following illegal orders doesn’t. Sure, he could pardon them, but only after a long, expensive, and potentially life-changing legal battle after which they’re convicted.
That doesn’t sound like a fight most regular troops should want to gamble on.
Pardons can be pre-emptive, as long as the illegal act has already occured. (Pardons cannot apply to a future crime that haven’t happened yet.)
Just look at Ford Pardon Nixon.
That’s true, but trump is transactional. He and Giuliani were selling them for 2 million a pop. How many military regulars can afford one? Why should trump care to pardon them if they can’t give him something?
If I was rank-and-file, I wouldn’t take that bet.