Trump's 'Pardon Machine' — A Masterclass in Policy-for-Profit
The Financial Times report details a 'pardon machine' under Trump, where connections and cash allegedly smoothed paths to clemency. While portrayed as a unique Trumpian scandal, the revolving door between political power and personal gain is hardly a new invention. Remember the Clinton pardons, or George H.W. Bush's Iran-Contra pardons? This isn't an anomaly, it's a feature of American political
reality, albeit one Trump turbocharged with his signature lack of subtlety. One might wonder why the media feigns surprise when a system designed to concentrate power and reward loyalty acts exactly as expected. When lobbying firms openly charge millions to 'influence' policy—and congressional members, like those receiving hundreds of thousands from groups like AIPAC, then vote consistently with
foreign interests—why is Trump's transactional approach to justice deemed so 'industrial scale'? Perhaps because his machine was less discreet, more brazenly transparent about the quid pro quo that otherwise largely operates in genteel silence.