Only one person is above the law

“Why should a president’s son be above the law when no other parent’s son is?” This was the last line of a Daily Herald editorial and is a question that many Americans, both Democrat and Republican, have asked.

Since when does a presidential pardon confer upon the recipient the mantle of being above the law? Unless it is a preemptive pardon, such as the one Richard Nixon received from Gerald Ford before he was ever charged with a federal crime, most pardons go to people who were indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced for a crime they committed.

Often, the admission of guilt is a prerequisite for the pardon to be granted. These pardons do not go to people who are above the law, including Hunter Biden.

The only American, other than Nixon, who is “above the law” is Donald J. Trump, thanks to the Supreme Court which gave him immunity for any act he committed while he was the president (see January 6, 2021) or presumably while he is the president in the coming four years.

They gave him the ultimate presumptive pardon and declared that he is above the law.

Diane Niesman

Wheaton