For four years under Joe Biden, Americans watched political prosecutions unfold across the country. January 6 defendants were charged in sweeping indictments, crypto executives were pursued like national terrorists, and a young husband and father was targeted and convicted for sharing a satirical anti-Hillary meme. Weaponized lawfare became a headline fixture in the United States. And throughout that period, there was no urgency from Congress to rein in executive power.Now, as President Trump uses his constitutional pardon authority to extend clemency in cases that are politically charged, one Republican has decided the pardon power suddenly needs oversight and guardrails.Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has joined Dems in backing a proposed constitutional amendment that would give Congress the authority to block presidential pardons. This is all aimed at President Trump’s efforts to right the wrongs of the left’s weaponized lawfare agenda. AXIOS:A proposed constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to block presidential pardons gained its first House Republican cosponsor on Monday.Why it matters: It’s a stark display of GOP defiance against President Trump, whose pardons have been the subject of bipartisan backlash in several cases.Driving the news: Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), who is leading the amendment, announced Monday that Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) has signed on as the first Republican co-sponsor of the Pardon Integrity Act.The amendment would create a process whereby 20 House members and five senators could force a vote on nullifying a presidential pardon, which would then require a two-thirds majority in both chambers.The amendment would allow 20 House members and five senators to trigger a vote to nullify a presidential pardon, with a two-thirds majority required in both chambers. They’re calling it a narrow, commonsense guardrail. We’re calling it total and complete hogwash.President Trump began his second term by issuing pardons to thousands of January 6 defendants. Since he returned to the White House, President Trump has used clemency in many cases to undo Biden’s political lawfare.That brings us to what we recently covered regarding Trump’s merciful clemency agenda. Weaponization Watch:In a powerful memo to the president, Martin flashed back to Trump’s 2024 Republican National Convention promise to stand with the “forgotten men and women of America.” He believes that promise has translated into real action for those caught in what many see as a god-forsaken web of lawfare. President Trump is now using his constitutional pardon authority to right what supporters argue were profound wrongs.And this fight and mercy have not just been about January 6th political prisoners.Yes, J6 defendants were included, as they should be. But so were elderly Americans, law enforcement, business owners, people convicted under the FACE Act, and Americans seeking restoration of their Second Amendment rights through the Firearms Rights Restoration Program.Martin’s nine-page memo lists dozens of cases, from Ross Ulbricht to Rod Blagojevich and from Devon Archer to local officials across several states, painting a picture of what he describes as a mercy-driven clemency agenda from President Trump.Breitbart:Martin’s message to the president notes how in his address to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in 2024 and the party platform the president adopted that he was focused explicitly on providing a voice to those left behind by political elites in the past and that since he has been back in office he has more than delivered on that promise, especially when it comes to pardons and grants of clemency. Again, the picture of Trump’s pardon vision is far broader than just the January 6 protesters—it includes a lot more than that, as Martin explains. “In Milwaukee, in 2024, you dedicated the Republican Party platform to the ‘forgotten men and women of America,’” Martin wrote to the president. “In so many ways, you have lived up to this dedication and in one special way you have delivered via your power to grant clemency through pardon and commutation.You delivered mercy to the forgotten men and women of America in record numbers. You gave mercy to grandmothers, law enforcement officers and American Patriots expressing their dissatisfaction with the election of 2020. You gave businessmen their lives and work back. You helped the elderly live their lives to the fullest. You even returned Second Amendment rights to deserving Americans with your Firearms Rights Restoration Program, which allows felons to request clemency, so that they can once again protect themselves, their families and businesses, and know again the joys of gun collecting, target range practice and hunting.Time and again, you challenged us to find those who were targeted by the Biden and Obama administrations and give them relief. You also wanted to give people a second chance like you did in your record-setting First Step Act.” The nine-page memo to the president from Martin then goes through a full list of all the pardons Trump issued since his return to the White House, from the January 6 protesters, to Ross Ulbricht, to two Washington DC police officers convicted in a vehicle crash, to 24 people with convictions related to FACE Act violations, to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to Hunter Biden’s former business partners Devon Archer and Jason Galanis, to local and state officials in Nevada, Virginia, and Tennessee; to six different individuals who were convicted of violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act, and dozens of other instances.Ed Martin’s memo showed how Trump’s use of his pardon power was a fulfillment of his promise to stand with the “forgotten men and women of America.” And as we mentioned earlier, Trump’s clemency hasn’t been limited to J6 political prisoners. It has also included elderly Americans, law enforcement officers, business owners, pro-life individuals convicted under the FACE Act, and Americans seeking restoration of their Second Amendment rights.The actual truth here is that clemency is now being used as a constitutional counterweight to DOJ and deep state overreach during, but not limited to, the Biden and Obama regimes.And that makes Rep. Bacon’s move all the more disturbing. Because while Bacon thinks Trump’s pardon power has been abused, he was pretty quiet over Biden’s use of an autopen for executive actions and a series of sketchy pardons… which Trump has called “null and void.”That declaration from President Trump deserves to be tested in court. If those autopen pardons are valid, they will withstand scrutiny. If they are not, the country deserves clarity. Many believe the best case to test out the validity is with Dr. Anthony Fauci.Testing the legality of just one of those autopen pardons, particularly in a high-profile case like Fauci’s, would answer all of our questions. That is how constitutional disputes are supposed to be handled.What shouldn’t happen is selectively limiting a president’s pardon authority simply because it’s being used in ways certain lawmakers dislike. That’s exactly what lawfare looks like: politically driven punishment and rules imposed on opponents. That’s how North Korea operates, not how the United States should.Besides, limiting the pardon power of the President of the United States would require more than an act of Congress — it would require amending the very Constitution of the United States. The presidential pardon power, as outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, grants the President authority to issue reprieves and pardons for federal offenses, except in cases of impeachment. This power is considered broad and plenary, meaning it is not subject to substantive legislative constraints by Congress. For instance, the Supreme Court has historically ruled that Congress cannot limit the effect of a pardon or exclude certain classes of offenders from its scope.Rep. Bacon is therefore just engaging in a political grandstanding for the media, and the aim is not to actually change the law, but to create political blowback against President Trump for using the pardon power. And that is exactly why the work of Cynthia Hughes and the Weaponization Watch matters.Cynthia founded Patriot Freedom Project to fight for January 6 political prisoners and their families during years of unfair lawfare prosecutions. She worked closely with leaders like Ed Martin to shine a light on the human cost of those cases. Now, through Weaponization Watch, she’s expanded that mission to call out lawfare, support targeted Americans, and push for clemency where it’s needed most.Weaponization Watch exists because executive power cuts both ways. It can prosecute aggressively. It can also restore fairness through mercy, which is what President Trump is doing.If we don’t stand up for President Trump and the pardon power now, then American victims of lawfare and political weaponization will continue languishing in prison and the justice system.If you believe America’s justice system must be fair, consistent, and free from political weaponization, then this fight matters.Join the Weaponization Watch team. Donate here and support the mission. Help us make sure support and pressure don’t disappear when the headlines fade away.
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