#TalkRadio – December 10: Power and Justice: The Jackie Johnson Hearing and Ahmaud Arbery; The False Equivalency of Pardon Power; and, Upcoming TJC National TeleTown Hall

SPEAKERS:

None at this moment, stay tuned to the show for special guests.

INTRODUCTION:

Hi Igniters For Change! The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, December 10th, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled “Power and Justice: The Jackie Johnson Hearing and Ahmaud Arbery; The False Equivalency of Pardon Power; and, Upcoming TJC National TeleTown Hall”, will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq.

As we were writing this show description, word broke of the passing of the amazing poet Nikki Giovanni. This show will begin with a tribute to her far ranging impact on the Black consciousness movement and the modern poetry movement. Daryl and Barbara will also share their favorite books and encourage people to donate towards TJC’s giveaways of banned books

This broad ranging show will also examine the ongoing public debates about the use of presidential and prosecutorial power. We will start this discussion with a segment previewing the upcoming motions hearing on December 11th in Glynn County, Georgia in the Jackie Johnson case regarding her alleged abuse of prosecutorial power by protecting the killers of Ahmaud Arbery. Co-Hosts Arnwine and Jones will be in attendance in support of Marcus Arbery and family during these hearings. The major trial of the case is set to start on January 21st, 2025. As promised four years ago, TJC will continue to be in this fight until there is 100% Justice for Ahmaud Arbery. 

This radio show will also focus on the intriguing and often controversial topic of presidential pardons. We will explore this history of presidential pardons, especially some of the most notable and contentious uses of this executive power, starting with President Joe Biden and ending with the Confederacy and George Washington. To guide our discussion, we will talk about the origin of the pardoning power which is a holdover from the English unilateral power of the monarchy to grant mercy. The President was never meant to be a king; still, this regal power was bestowed upon the President. Some of the questions to be discussed include:

• Why has the Biden pardon generated such heated controversy?

• What has been the history of U.S. presidential pardons?

• What have been some of the most controversial presidential pardons?

• There have been many calls for President Biden to further exercise his presidential pardon power. What in the views of our Hosts are some of the most important pardons that should be granted by the President?

This topic will begin with the recent controversy surrounding President Joe Biden’s use of the pardon power to protect his son, Hunter Biden. Biden’s decision has reignited discussions about the role of presidential pardons in the justice system and their potential for abuse (Politico, December 4, 2024)1. In looking at the background of presidential pardons, we will look at past pardons of President-Elect Donald Trump. During his presidency, Donald Trump granted clemency to several individuals. Here are some notable pardons:

1. Michael Flynn – Former National Security Adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over contacts with a Russian official.

2. Roger Stone – Trump ally convicted of lying to Congress regarding his attempts to contact WikiLeaks after the website released damaging emails about Trump’s 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton

3. Paul Manafort – Former Trump campaign chairman convicted of financial fraud, alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and conspiring to obstruct the investigation

4. Charles Kushner – Father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering

5. Steve Bannon – Former Trump adviser charged with fraud related to a border wall fundraising campaign

6. George Papadopoulos – Former Trump campaign adviser convicted of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries prior to the 2016 election

7. Albert Pirro – The ex-husband of Trump ally Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News Channel host, convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion charges

8. Rod Blagojevich – Former Illinois governor convicted of corruption for trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. Trump commuted his sentence

9. Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) – Rapper convicted on firearms charges

10. Joe Arpaio – Former Arizona sheriff convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a court order to stop racial profiling in detaining individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally

These pardons were part of the 237 acts of clemency Trump granted during his four years in office, which included 143 pardons and 94 commutations12.

(Sources on Trump’s Pardons: 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Joe_Arpaio   2: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/controversial-arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio-pardoned-president-trump/story?id=49426093 )

We then look at President Barack Obama’s commutation of Chelsea Manning’s sentence. Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, was convicted of leaking classified documents. Obama’s decision to commute Manning’s 35-year sentence after seven years in prison was seen as a significant and controversial use of his pardon power (NBC News, January 17, 2017)3.

The show will delve further into the historical context of presidential pardons by looking at the scandalous Iran-Contra affair which happened during the Ronald Reagan presidency. The scandal involved senior officials secretly facilitating the sale of arms to Iran, which was under an arms embargo, and using the proceeds to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The subsequent pardons issued by President George H.W. Bush for key figures in the scandal added another layer of complexity to the use of presidential pardons (PBS, date not specified)4.

We will revisit the pardon of Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford. This pardon, granted shortly after Nixon’s resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal, remains one of the most controversial in American history. Ford’s decision was intended to help the nation heal, but it also sparked a significant backlash and debate over the limits of presidential power (Constitution Center, September 8, 2024)5.

Additionally, we will discuss the pardon of Roger Clinton, the brother of President Bill Clinton. This pardon, granted on the last day of Clinton’s presidency, raised questions about nepotism and the ethical implications of pardoning close relatives (Washington Post, December 4, 2024)6. This was the first time a relative had been pardoned by a sitting president.

We will also explore the pardons issued to former Confederates after the Civil War. Both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson extended pardons to ex-Confederates, with Johnson issuing a blanket pardon to all Confederate soldiers on December 25, 1868. These actions were aimed at promoting national reconciliation but were met with varying degrees of acceptance and criticism (Politico, December 25, 2018)7. Andrew Johnson’s pardon led to impeachment proceedings.

Finally, on the historical context of pardons, we will examine the first presidential pardon issued by George Washington. In 1795, Washington pardoned two men sentenced to hang for their involvement in the Whiskey Rebellion, an early test of the new government’s authority. This pardon set a precedent for the use of executive clemency in the United States (Smithsonian, August 29, 2017)8.

Join us as we navigate the complex and often contentious history of presidential pardons, exploring the motivations behind these decisions and their impact on American society. This is a show you won’t want to miss!

1: Politico, December 4, 2024 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine /2024/12/04/biden-presidential-pardon -controversy-00192404  2: NorthJersey, December 3, 2024 https://www.northjersey.com/story/news /2024/12/03/who-did-donald-trump -pardon-jan-6-rioters/76730573007/ 3: NBC News, January 17, 2017 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news /president-obama-commutes-chelsea -manning-s-sentence-n708046  4: PBS, date not specified https://www.pbs.org/wgbh /americanexperience/features/reagan-iran/  5: Constitution Center, September 8, 2024 https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the -nixon-pardon-in-retrospect  6: Washington Post, December 4, 2024 https://www.washingtonpost.com/history /2024/12/04/roger-clinton-pardon/  7: Politico, December 25, 2018 https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/us-presidents-pardoned-family-members/  8: Smithsonian, August 29, 2017 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/full-list-of-us-presidents-who-have-pardoned-relatives/ar-AA1v7qsx 

We will conclude this segment with pardons Ci-Hosts Arnwine and Jones feel President Biden should make prior to his leaving office.

Lastly, we will discuss the programming that the Transformative Justice Coalition is constituting to address and de-escalate this rising hateful violence. On Monday, December 16th, 2024, TJC will sponsor its next National TeleTown Hall at 7:00 PM Eastern