The Guardian · US news · Original story
The supreme court needs to put limits on Trump’s use of the pardoning power | Steven Greenhouse
The president has reportedly promised mass pardons to administration officials. His misuse of the power goes far beyond what the constitution’s authors intended
Since returning to office, Donald Trump has issued more than 1,800 pardons – to financial fraudsters, drug kingpins, January 6 insurrectionists and others. Unfortunately, Trump’s pardons don’t begin to conform with Alexander Hamilton’s high-minded vision of how presidents would use pardons.
When the US constitution was being written in 1787, Hamilton, a delegate to the constitutional convention, pushed to give presidents a broad pardoning power, saying presidents would use it with “scrupulousness and caution”. But Trump’s use of that power has been anything but scrupulous and cautious.
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Steven Greenhouse · Wed, Apr 15, 2026, 5:00 AM
US news | The Guardian
The president has reportedly promised mass pardons to administration officials. His misuse of the power goes far beyond what the constitution’s authors intended
Since returning to office, Donald Trump has issued more than 1,800 pardons – to financial fraudsters, drug kingpins, January 6 insurrectionists and others. Unfortunately, Trump’s pardons don’t begin to conform with Alexander Hamilton’s high-minded vision of how presidents would use pardons.
When the US constitution was being written in 1787, Hamilton, a delegate to the constitutional convention, pushed to give presidents a broad pardoning power, saying presidents would use it with “scrupulousness and caution”. But Trump’s use of that power has been anything but scrupulous and cautious.
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