Igor Levitas: Shameful States, shameful Presidents

January 20th has passed, today is the 23rd, and the ball continues to spin, does not go out of orbit and does not explode. There are no special shocks in sight yet. To be honest, the reasoning of analysts and political scientists does not rise above the famous phrase attributed to Napoleon: "The trembling of my left calf is a great sign."

They analyze in detail what the gestures of the main participants of Trump's inauguration mean, what message the costumes of the first ladies and other nonsense carry. Analysts of higher ranks chew the same thing — Trump's first decrees, and the possibility of their execution. But, in my opinion, it is much more interesting to try to analyze what happened than to prophesy. We have prophets for that. The Prophet Isaiah, the Prophet Ezekiel, Nostradamus, Wang, Crowley...

But since I remembered religious figures, it is not superfluous to recall such religious practices as indulgences. Remember what it is? Roughly speaking, exemption from punishment (punishment) for sins. It was conducted by the Roman Catholic Church in relation to sinners. In the heyday of this phenomenon, the sinner was freed from punishment in advance. Just in case. No matter what happens. Moreover, indulgences were sold for money.

The last days, hours and even minutes before the inauguration of President Trump, the retiring Biden secretly issued indulgences to his associates. Yes, yes, he signed the last decrees while already at the inauguration ceremony. It resembles either a circus tent, or a roadside brothel, or The US Congress, which, however, is equivalent.

To be honest, this whole mess with the preliminary pardon speaks only about one thing — the entire legal system is as rotten as possible. There can be no question of any equality before the law. For one simple reason — there is no law. Although, probably, it should be formulated on the contrary, in the words of Voltaire: "The multiplicity of laws in the state is the same as a large number of doctors: a sign of illness and impotence."

The number of laws in the USA exceeds anything that the imagination can imagine, and this makes it possible to manipulate the laws as you like. The processes drag on for years, but not because "justice" is trying to establish the truth, but because lawyers are looking for a situation in millions of previous cases that can be referred to as a precedent. And release even a hardened criminal.

But all this pales in comparison with what Biden did before retiring. He pardoned all those who made up his entourage. Regardless of whether a lawsuit was filed against a person or he simply served in the Biden administration. He just gave an indulgence. It turns out that now a huge number of people can commit crimes without fear of justice. "What the bearer of this did was done by my order and for the good of the state."...Familiar, isn't it?

Early Monday morning, the pardons of General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who were part of the committee investigating the attack on The Capitol on January 6, 2021. Later, a few minutes before Trump's inauguration as the 47th president of the country, Biden also announced the pardon of his family members: his brothers James and Frank, his sister Valerie and their spouses.

Biden in his statement noted that pardons do not mean an admission of guilt.

"The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken for an admission that any person has committed any wrongdoing, and the acceptance of them should not be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation is indebted to these public servants for their tireless dedication to our country," he wrote.

And this is called manipulation. If a person is innocent, and he can be found guilty only by a court verdict, then he does not need a pardon. That is, there is the most brazen manipulation of laws and law in general. Take Roman law, for example. Nemo iudex in propria causa ("No one is a judge in his case") this postulate is violated — undoubtedly, because Baydan "judges" his relatives. And any schoolchild knows that family members have no right to take part in an investigation against relatives. That is, Biden simply spat on the elementary law.

But here's an interesting twist — the words of one of Trump's private lawyers, Jesse Binolla:

"The pardon is actually great news. No one who has just been pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal trial or in a Congressional court on the basis of the 5th Amendment."

Pardons also will not protect those who received them from Congressional investigations or other types of investigations, such as tax audits, if any arise. Pardons will only protect them from federal criminal charges. One way or another, one thing is clear: Biden is a criminal and a scoundrel (you can add what you need and you will be right).

I am interested in this story from the other side. How low should the level of democracy be in a country that allows such a thing? And not only that. One president comes and cancels all the decrees of the previous one. The next one comes — cancels all the laws of the previous one. It turns out that it is not the presidents who obey the laws, but the laws are written under the presidents. By the presidents themselves. In Trump's first cadence, the United States withdrew from the WHO, entered under Biden, and now they are out again. What was it Eeyore the donkey said: "He comes in and out, and he comes in, he comes out great!". The whole American democracy is remarkably reminiscent of this simple "in and out" action, familiar to everyone. Maybe that's why it's called democracy — "belonging to the people"

Let's bet that at the end of his term, Trump will pardon several times more people than Biden pardoned, and he will also take his family out of harm's way. What are we betting on?