While there are a number of Republicans in Congress who have never quite gotten behind Donald Trump’s presidency, it seems the gloves are totally off now that Joe Biden has eked out a win in the Electoral College.
According to Breitbart, GOP senators like Nebraska’s Ben Sasse are freaking out — and speaking out — about Trump’s latest lawful and legitimate acts of executive clemency.
Trump makes his moves
The president announced nearly 50 pardons and commutations on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, according to the White House.
Among those granted clemency were several individuals who had been caught up in the Robert Mueller-led special counsel probe, including Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, his long-time friend and adviser Roger Stone, and his former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.
Trump also reportedly issued pardons or commutations to at least three former Republican members of Congress who had been convicted on corruption-related charges, including Chris Collins of New York, Duncan Hunter of California, and Steve Stockman of Texas.
Also receiving clemency from President Trump were dozens of other individuals who were either wrongfully convicted, given extraordinarily harsh sentences, or doing their best to turn their lives around, the White House said.
“Rotten to the core”
Apparently, however, it was all too much for Sen. Sasse, who issued a terse statement Wednesday roundly condemning the whole lot of pardons and commutations. “This is rotten to the core,” he said simply.
The senator’s office said the statement came “after President Trump exercised his constitutional power to issue pardons to another tranche of felons like Manafort and Stone who flagrantly and repeatedly violated the law and harmed Americans. ”
Of course, Sasse didn’t differentiate between Stone and others who were the recipients of Trump’s generosity — among them, Topeka Sam, who Breitbart said “served three years of a 130-month sentence she received in 2012 after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to process and distribute cocaine, but has since dedicated her life to helping other women towards a path of redemption.”
“Gone rogue, again”
The sass from Sasse really shouldn’t be all that surprising, though, given that the senator has had harsh words for the president a number of times over the last four years.
In August, following criticism from Sasse about his executive actions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump sent the sass right back, according to Breitbart, tweeting:
RINO Ben Sasse, who needed my support and endorsement in order to get the Republican nomination for Senate from the GREAT State of Nebraska, has, now that he’s got it (Thank you President T), gone rogue, again. This foolishness plays right into the hands of the Radical Left Dems!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
The post Nebraska Republican slams Trump over recent acts of clemency: 'Rotten to the core' first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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