Bennie Thompson and Jamie Raskin are Heroes | Preemptive Blanket Immunity | Blog#42

There is absolutely no shame in accepting preemptive blanket immunity

I don’t like to state the obvious, but in this case… Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Adam Kinzinger was on with Wolf Blitzer today and the topic of Biden pardons for him as well as a slew of other people came up. Kinzinger doesn’t want one because he feels he hasn’t done anything wrong.

Fair enough, were it not for the fact that we’ve long known that the retribution that is about to be unleashed has nothing to do with actual justice, but the recriminations of a vengeful 80 year old 34-time convict who is about to be seated at the world’s most powerful office.

I fully understand Kinzinger’s prideful rejection of protection from the coming persecution. But, really, other than the real dangers inherent is whatever Trump has in store for Kinzinger, Jamie Raskin, Liz Cheney, Zoe Lofgren, defending oneself can cost millions, as Trump well knows. As just and right as all of these people were in doing their jobs as congressional investigators, insurance will only go so far and they neither have access to the kind of fundraising machine Trump has, nor the inclination to grift, as Trump did.

While Representative Bennie Thompson appeared on the January 6 edition of Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Blitzer lobbed Kinzinger’s personal calculations from the previous day on a different show at Thompson right off the bat. Again, Kinzinger is entitled. But why pose the question to Thompson in such a judgmental way?

This is the kind of bias, whether subconscious or not, that drives me up a wall. CNN has driven us batty for the past year with their bothsiderist religion mandated by Disney executive David Zaslaw and instituted by now departed former Chairman and CEO, Christ Licht. Instead of asking such an insulting question, Blitzer and his producers could have chosen to have a panel made of ethicists and legal analysts to discuss the finer points of a preemptive pardon.

They didn’t. That was a choice.

For our collective edification, here is a definition of preemptive pardon:

“A preemptive pardon is an act of clemency issued by a head of state or government before charges are formally brought against an individual. Though relatively rare, this type of pardon can generate intense public and legal debate. To understand the complexities of preemptive pardons, it is necessary to examine their legal basis, potential benefits and drawbacks, as well as historical examples that illustrate their impact on justice, accountability, and executive authority.” (Source: Criminal Library Blog)

Oxford dictionary defines preemptive as:

preemptive
adjective
/priˈɛmptɪv/
done to stop someone from taking action, especially action that will be harmful to yourself

There is no prerequisite bad act required for preemption. Preemption is preventive.

Why should thousands of well-meaning, courageous citizens, civil servants, and elected officials who did the right thing suffer?

I see none and hope Joe Biden has been quietly signing thousands of preemptive pardons at the Resolute Desk.

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