Donald Trump absolutely cannot stand it when anything, even a national holiday, isn’t completely centered around him. He couldn’t let the mothers of the world have their one holiday a year without tweeting a bunch of nonsense, he’s hijacked the fourth of July, and now he’s taken Memorial Day by storm, as well.
You combine his manically egotistical behavior with his thirst for imperial power, and things get sticky, quick. One of Trump’s favorite powerful abilities as president, just after national emergency declarations and government shutdowns, is his pardoning capabilities.
The pardon power of a president is completely absolute and unrestricted when it comes to federal crimes, which is exactly how Trump likes it. While there are traditional guidelines and rules, no one can technically enforce them on Donald — which has led to him handing out pardons to friends, right-wing criminals, and even using the power as a bargaining chip to prevent testimonies against him (obstruction, much?)
It seems that Donald has combined his two loves to make a complete mockery of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday — as he plans to pardon several war criminals in a Memorial Day celebration. The sickening irony of the president pardoning an assortment of military criminals on the specific day of the year that’s meant to mourn the loss and celebrate the lives of war heroes that gave the ultimate sacrifice in active duty cannot be ignored.
The New York Times reported on Trump’s plan:
One request is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is scheduled to stand trial in the coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq. The others are believed to include the case of a former Blackwater security contractor recently found guilty in the deadly 2007 shooting of dozens of unarmed Iraqis; the case of Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, the Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010; and the case of a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters.”
Of course, many of those up for pardons are individuals that committed acts of torture and Donald is all too happy to clear their names, considering he’s been an advocate for torture methods himself — having claimed in the past he loves waterboarding and intends to “Do a lot more than that” in his capacity as president.
It’s a sad day when thousands of mourning military families have to spend a day meant for remembrance and celebration of their lost hero watching our president clear the names of the exact people their loved one fought so hard against.
Featured image via DC Tribune GalleryÂ
