Pardons for Sale, Immunity for Family: Why Trump’s Admin Fails the 1776 Test

When the Founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they explicitly condemned King George III “for protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.” They were disgusted by a monarch who protected his friends from the consequences of their actions. Your administration’s current approach to executive power copies that old royal playbook: - King Rule #1: Pardoning Violent Allies & Compromising Justice. Issuing clemency to roughly 1,500 individuals convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack—including those convicted of assaulting police officers—goes far beyond what even your own congressional allies advocated. Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell received a transfer to a minimum-security facility after a meeting with Deputy AG Todd Blanche. The full U.S. Senate voted 100 to 0 against any pardon or commutation for her, yet executive clemency has still not been ruled out. - King Rule #2: Erasing Restitution Owed by Wealthy Donors. A House Judiciary Committee staff report found that executive pardons have wiped out an estimated $1.7 billion in restitution and fines owed by white-collar criminals to victims and taxpayers. Nikola founder Trevor Milton was pardoned days before a court order to pay $676 million in victim restitution, following $1.8 million in donations to aligned committees. BitMEX executives had $130 million in fines erased, and Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson had $96 million in court-ordered restitution and forfeited gains wiped away. - King Rule #3: Shielding Personal Business Interests. Settling a $10 billion lawsuit against your own Treasury Department through a consent order negotiated by your former personal lawyer raises severe ethical concerns. Granting yourself, your adult sons, and the Trump Organization blanket immunity from federal audits on all tax returns filed before May 2026—alongside creating a $1.8 billion slush fund—is an arrangement tax law experts have called entirely unprecedented. America is a constitutional republic, not a kingdom. The pardon power exists to correct genuine miscarriages of justice—not to construct a shield for political supporters, protect donors at the expense of fraud victims, or exempt your own family from standard regulatory oversight. I demand that your administration: 1. Rule out executive clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell and respect the unanimous 100-0 vote of the U.S. Senate. 2. Cease using the pardon power to erase court-ordered restitution owed directly to victims of white-collar crime and corporate fraud. 3. Rescind the blanket audit immunity agreement granted to your family and business entities, ensuring equal application of federal tax law. In the United States, equal justice under law applies to everyone. No public official—including the President—is above the law.