Trump Urges Pardon for Netanyahu: A Masterclass in Mutual Accountability Avoidance
Donald Trump, currently facing 91 felony charges himself (BBC, Sept 10, 2023 ), has reportedly written to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, urging a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is embroiled in three separate corruption cases, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. This isn't just a friendly gesture; it's a spectacle of unbridled impunity where the powerful shield
each other. While the BBC delicately notes presidential courtesies, it skips over the pattern. Trump has a history of leveraging foreign policy as personal favors, famously attempting to withhold aid to Ukraine for dirt on Biden ( New York Times, Sept 25, 2019 ). Now, his alleged pardon request for a leader responsible for an ongoing, catastrophic assault on Gaza (UN OCHA, May 2024 ) raises
questions not just about ethics, but about the very concept of justice for the powerful. How many political figures get to bypass accountability for the trivial sum of... well, whatever quid pro quo was implied here?