Oops, Pardon Me – And Everyone Else

President Joe Biden gave son Hunter an early Christmas present Dec 1. He pardoned his boy for the two felonies he was convicted of earlier in the year. There was outrage among Republicans and some Democratic dissent as well.

A somewhat hilarious denunciation came from Dinesh D’Souza, a conservative writer and filmmaker who has spread Trump conspiracy theories in his movies and elsewhere.

When the pardon was announced, D’Souza mocked the president on X: “No one is above the law – except my son Hunter!”

As Travis McGee once explained, the problem with liars and living with lies is that it requires a solid memory.

D’Souza himself was pardoned by Trump in 2018 for campaign finance law violations that he pled guilty to in 2014. “Oops! Pardon me.”

Normally, I would oppose the Biden pardon. But considering that a vengeance-obsessed Donald Trump promises to use the Justice Department to punish enemies, I think the president wise to remove his son from federal jurisdiction.

In fact, NBC reported Dec. 2 that, “President Biden is being encouraged to consider pardoning the likely targets of Trump's wrath to disrupt corrupt prosecutions in advance.”

Trump, too, pardoned those close to him before leaving office, including Paul Manafort [bank and tax fraud, etc.], his former campaign manager, and Trump’s friend and political adviser Roger Stone [lying to Congress about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign].

Still, President Biden might not be alone in sharing a holiday table with a pardoned felon since another December 2020 beneficiary of a Trump pardon was Charles Kushner, whom Trump has nominated to serve as French ambassador. He is father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – he of the $2 billion “loan” from the Saudis.

The elder Kushner had pleaded guilty to tax evasion, illegal campaign contribution and witness tampering along will 15 other charges. Those felonies represent high qualifications for a Trump appointee.

According to CBS News, when “Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation.

“Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man's wife, prosecutors said.”

That sounds about as sleazy as stalking teen beauty contestants’ dressing rooms. Next stop Paris.

During the past campaign, Trump promised blanket pardons for the hooligan army he sicced on the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, in his failed coup attempt. His transition team has said the pardons will be on a “case by case,” basis – which in Trump-speak might depend upon the size of a “contribution” an insurrectionist can provide. Such pay-for-pardon allegations arose in 2021.

And, is there the possibility that Trump might pardon the woman who introduced him to his wife? That woman is Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking minors for her part in Jeffery Epstein’s sex ring.

At the turn of the century, Epstein – who “committed suicide” in jail in 2019 – and Trump were seen often in each other’s company. In fact, the relationship was more than casual.

In November of 1997, Britain’s Sunday Mirror reported:

“Just weeks after ditching his second wife, America’s best-known billionaire Donald Trump has fallen under the spell of a 20-year-old English girl.”

The girl the 50-year-old Trump met was London model Anouska De Georgious.

The newspaper’s gee-whiz account of their romance continues:

“After their meeting, Trump flew Madam [apt word choice?] Maxwell and the model south to the sunshine state, where all three enjoyed a happy weekend together. When they returned to New York, Anouska was installed in one of Donald’s many apartments there.”

De Georgious has been one of the most outspoken victims of the Epstein/Maxwell procurement ring, telling a court in 2019:

“Jeffrey Epstein manipulated me, coerced me and abused me. He cannot begin to fathom what he did to us.”

In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Well, some might say a 50-year-old romancing a 20-year-old might indicate a preference for younger women, too.

Trump is 24 years older than Melania, who was introduced to him by Maxwell at a party he was attending with another Maxwell-arranged date.

So, is their matchmaker on Trump’s future pardon list?