The man who as a candidate railed against our “rigged system” is, as president, only too happy to do a little rigging himself.
At this late date, what might a president frightened by his successor actually do, if not to hamper Trump's ability to create global mayhem, then at least to set the record straight before he leaves the White House? Unfortunately, the answer is: far less than we might like, but as it happens, there are still some powers a president has that are irreversible by their very nature. Here are nine recommendations for action by the president in his last 40 days.
President Obama has pardoned two birds each Thanksgiving for the past five years. In both 2009 and 2012, he pardoned more turkeys than people. Overall, Obama has granted clemency to just 39 people.
Cases like that of Weldon Angelos, who was given a fifty-five-year sentence for selling marijuana, cry out for mercy. But calls for clemency have fallen on deaf ears...So why hasn't Obama done the right thing? Could it be that Angelos has just gotten lost in the shuffle? Possibly-but if that's the reason, there would be evidence that Obama has used his pardon and commutation powers wisely in other cases. Unfortunately, that's not true.
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