The President encouraged supporters while maintaining formal deniability. Congress has the right and power to prevent him from seeking the office again. It should. Then President Pence should issue the pardons necessary to prevent political witch-hunting.

The nation is more important than any person. Our focus on Trump is unnatural—we have been drawn into his self-obsession, and if the Senate does not act, the next four years will become a cataclysmic battle between his tormentors and his disciples. The republic can’t afford it.

This is neither a ‘pro’ nor ‘anti’ Trump proposal. This is a non-partisan proposal to get our democratic republic out of a tailspin. Pardons would have historic precedent in the response to Shays’ rebellion. Alexander Hamilton describes the reasoning for it in Federalist #74.

Pardons should go beyond the President and his family. I truly believe this is our best chance to staunch the national bloodletting

Some will disagree because they project all hope onto Trump, others because they relish the prospect of hounding him. Neither instinct is patriotic

Those who love this fine, flawed country should agree on whatever course allows us to prevent further national disintegration and to confront the systemic disfunction that set the stage for this perilous chapter in our history.

It’s fair to say the world is depending on us.