Sorry, CNN, but you got it wrong — again!
I wrote in depth last year about CNN going into a tizzy over President Trump’s use of his constitutional pardon power, but the network has learned nothing since then — certainly not to read, which would have allowed Jim Acosta and Jake Tapper to see that the pardon power doesn’t come with restrictions, asterisks or any other limitations.
That essay, called “Pardon me, CNN, but Trump is the president, not you,” is reprinted in both Volume 3 of “Why We Needed Trump” and in “The Media Matrix: What If Everything You Know Is Fake.”
That first essay was prompted by the liberal distemper caused by Trump’s pardon of Dinesh D’Souza and his consideration of a pardon for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (still sadly overdue). I quoted the Constitution there, but CNN still hasn’t read it:
Bottom line: Trump did what we elected him to do — act as president. Here’s what the Constitution says about the president: “… he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States.” Hmm, sorry Jim Acosta. Looks like Trump wins again.
I might have added “Again and Again.”
This week CNN was outraged that according to their usually unreliable reporting, President Trump had promised a pardon to Acting Homeland Security Secretary McAleenan if he were arrested for breaking the law while carrying out President Trump’s policy on the Southern Border.
I can understand the twisted-knickers groaning of CNN and the rest of the liberal media over this possibility, but there is actually no news here. First of all, the president says it didn’t happen. Based on the track record of CNN inaccuracies, I have to presume he is right, but even if he were to offer a pardon in advance, it is well within his powers to do so. Again, there are NO restrictions on the pardon power.
If the president needs to assure an employee that he has the full support of the president in carrying out his orders, that is a quality all commanding officers should have. It’s called “having the back” of your brigade. The alternative, perfected by Richard Nixon, is called “letting them twist slowly in the wind.”
I for one am glad that President Trump returns loyalty to those who serve him well.
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HeartlandDiaryUSA.com hosts the commentary of Frank Miele, former editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana. Your support for this blog is appreciated. Please consider purchasing one of my books at Amazon. My new book is “The Media Matrix: What If Everything You Know Is Fake?” — a look at Fake News from the perspective of a small-town newspaper editor. In addition, my “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy documents the downward spiral of the USA that made Trump’s presidency so important. The books are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. Go here for a free sample of “The Media Matrix”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/sitb/B07PDQBJM4
