The presidential pardon is good — even if Trump uses it for evil

The pardon power is about mercy, in a criminal justice system that needs more of it. [View in browser]( [Image]( December 2, 2020 [A photo illustration shows Rudy Giuliani with his eyes cast upward and his hands raised in a supplicating gesture. The presidential seal of the United States is behind his head like a halo.]( Pardons are under the sole discretion of the president under the Constitution, and the final weeks of a presidency often come with a rush of clemency orders. But — as ever — Donald Trump had to go and make it weird. He's been talking about issuing pre-emptive pardons to his lawyer, his kids — and maybe even himself. Not to mention the fact that there's apparently a federal investigation into a "bribery-for-pardon scheme" going on right now. But for all the harm that Trump can do with pardon power, it's important that it remain available to future presidents, Hayes Brown argues in his latest essay. Because while Trump may have sinister plans in mind, the pardon offers something rare in the U.S. criminal justice system: mercy. Find the full analysis at the top of Wednesday's MSNBC Daily section at [MSNBC.com](. UNDERSTANDING THE NEWS [Alternate text] Top perspectives and analysis from our MSNBC columnists [Alternate text] [A photo illustration shows a picture of Scott Atlas shaped like a coronavirus microbe.]( Marc Ambinder [The toxic legacy of Trump's Covid adviser Dr. Scott Atlas is worse than the sum of his mistakes]( We’ll be feeling the after-effects of Trump’s war on science for a long time. [Alternate text] [A photo illustration shows Donald Trump walking in and out of black holes in a picture of Congress at work]( Hayes Brown [Congress needs to go full post-Watergate as soon as Trump leaves]( Trump has been adept at exploiting every loophole available to him in the law. Congress needs to go full post-Watergate and close off as many as possible. WATCH NOW [Alternate text] 11th Hour [Fmr. FBI lawyer: Why would Trump's kids need 'pre-emptive pardons'?]( [A photo of President Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and his three oldest children, Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr.]( The ReidOut [DOJ investigating potential pay-for-presidential-pardon scheme]( [A graphic shows pages from the Department of Justice filing with a magnified line of text that reads: '...offer a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence']( Rachel Maddow [Trump and crew cash in with election fraud 'scare stories']( [A photo shows Rudy Giuliani and other lawyers arguing Trump's election fraud cases at a press conference]( All In [Trump rushes to execute more federal prisoners before he leaves office]( [A photo shows a gurney used in the lethal injection executions of federal prisoners.]( LISTEN NOW [Alternate text] [Do No Harm]( The Fighter A pair of brash Texas lawyers step in to help Melissa and Dillon Bright bring their children home. But the damage has already been done. [Into America]( Food for the Soul Trymaine Lee explores the Black American culinary tradition. He talks to culinary historian and author Michael Twitty about the forces that influenced Black American cooking and why food is a source of Black joy. [purple rectangle with a quote from campaign manager Brian Brokaw, which says: ''She was taking a risk... in turning down the earlier offers by the federal government... and she knew that she would be taking heat from her friends in Washington, including her friends in the Obama administration.'']( [Kamala: Next In Line]( Not the LastKamala Harris and Joe Biden are heading to the White House. So what comes next? Joy speaks with Jonathan Capehart, Errin Haines and Into America host Trymaine Lee. MORE ON MSNBC [Alternate text] This week, with multiple companies closing in on approval for coronavirus vaccines, questions remain: How will it be distributed? Who will get it and when? And what does it mean for you? Watch Race for a Vaccine, this week on MSNBC. Tell us what you think. [Drop us an e-mail.](mailto:msnbc.digital.editors@nbcuni.com?subject=MSNBC Daily) Were you forwarded this email from a friend? [Subscribe to the MSNBC Daily here](. Follow MSNBC [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( [LinkedIn]( Check out the MSNBC channel on Apple News Download the NBC News Mobile App and watch MSNBC [Listen live to MSNBC on TuneIn]( [Image] [Image] [Privacy]( [Unsubscribe](listvar=sub_daily)