Whilst we discuss #trumps proposed 100 pardons it’s worth remembering Clinton pardoned 450 on his last day in office. GH Bush pardoned 75 ..Reagan pardoned 393. And Carter 534...

And to those asking if they’ve ever been sold before - well yes, there’s precedent there too. Some of Clinton’s pardonees paid six figure sums to his family and friends ( source NYT) . But most went through tough DOJ review process first ..

There is nothing illegal about Trump associates being paid to lobby for clemency - but explicit offers of payment to president could be a violation of bribery laws..
One for the founding fathers perhaps .?

Pardons by presidents have been challenged in the courts before - and the power to grant them challenged by congress. But there are still no limits placed upon the presidents discretion. The pardon can also be made conditional on payment of “fines or restritution”

What about self pardon ( I hear you ask). The constitution doesn’t address this directly. So short answer - we don’t know if it’s constitutional. But - as Ford reminded us re Nixon- a pardon implicitly contains admission of guilt - so would #Trump want to go there ?

And no - im not trying to “normalise/ excuse/erase” - just pointing out the pres pardon system has long been contentious and -arguably- quite ugly. James comey - remember him?- was brought in to investigate the Clinton #pardongate . But could find no wrong doing ..