Trump is using the power of presidential pardons not as they were intended to be used, to correct perceived miscarriages of justice or to reduce excessive sentences out of clemency, but as a reward for friends and those who serve his interests. To be sure, other presidents have also done this but Trump’s pardons blatantly violate norms, as he does in so many areas. The most egregious was the blanket pardoning of all his supporters involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol following his loss in the 2020 election.

Another such pardon is that of Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, who had been convicted in the US less than two years ago for involvement in a massive drug trafficking operation that moved tons of cocaine to the US. He had been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

In that case, prosecutors maintained that Hernández accepted $1m from former Mexican cartel kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2013 while successfully running for his first Honduran presidential term. They also said that Hernández’s government set up Honduras to serve as a pivotal waypoint – or “superhighway” – of cocaine coming from South American nations including Colombia and Venezuela.

Hernández was extradited to the US to face the drug and related weapons charges in April 2022, roughly three months after finishing his second presidential term. A jury convicted him on 8 March 2024 after a three-week trial.

This act by Trump of course is in clear contradiction to Trump’s claim to want to defend the US from drugs ,that has been used to justify murdering Venezuelans by attacking and sinking the small boats they are in, accusing them of carrying drugs to the US, even though no proof has ever been offered and despite the fact that wantonly killing people in international waters is a war crime. More than 80 such people have been murdered so far. But that is what a lawless country does. It looks like Trump is trying to provoke the Venezuelan government to take some action is retaliation which would then justify his ambition to invade or otherwise launch a direct military action against that country.

Interestingly, Honduras has now issued an arrest warrant for Hernandez. That country had sent him to the US to stand trial, no doubt thinking that justice would be served. Of course, Trump made a mockery of that. However, the new government that will be sworn in when the current disputed election is settled may well revoke the warrant if the party supported by Trump is declared the winner.

Less egregious but also telling is how Trump pardoned former congressperson Henry Cuellar who, along wth his wife, are “alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank in exchange for advancing their interests.” Cuellar was one of the worst Democratic members of Congress, very much a conservative who opposes abortion access and transgender rights, and most likely to torpedo any progressive moves by the party. After being pardoned, Cuellar announced that he was not switching parties and becoming a Republican but was running for re-election as a Democrat. Trump then slammed him for disloyalty. This is a surprisingly rookie move by a shakedown artist like Trump, who should have got Cuellar’s assurance of a party switch before pardoning him.

Trump does not seem to be able to make the simple calculation that having Cuellar in Congress as a Democrat is better for his agenda in that body where Republicans have a razor-thin majority. If Cuellar switched parties, the Democrats would likely nominate someone more progressive than him, and thus less likely to vote with Republicans on key issues. Given that his seat is one that has been redrawn by gerrymandering to make it more friendly to Republicans, it is not clear what will happen now. One might argue that Trump knows this and this his condemnation of disloyalty is fake, a head feint meant to help Cuellar. But I don’t think so. Trump is too fixated on direct quid-pro-quo deals to think that way.

Then we have the person who has been accused of planting pipe bombs at the offices of both Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of the January 6th riot. But the fact that he has reportedly confessed to targeting the Republican office and that he has been arrested by Trump’s own justice department may not be enough to send him to prison because he has played the key card that could get him a pardon.

The man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack confessed to the act in interviews with investigators, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Brian Cole Jr. also indicated that he believed the 2020 election was stolen and expressed views supportive of President Donald Trump, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Being a cult follower of Trump who is willing to commit violence in support of him seems like exactly the qualities that Trump looks for in finding people to pardon.