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Letter: Why Biden should pardon Trump

By Bruce L. Melkonian, Vancouver
Published: December 27, 2020, 6:00am

“Our long national nightmare is over.” So said Gerald Ford, referring to the Watergate debacle, in his inaugural address of Aug. 9, 1974. A month later, he gave Richard Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon” for any federal crimes he might have committed.

Very soon, our new president will face a similar issue: Should he pardon Donald Trump? The answer is yes. We all know, of course, that no man is above the law, but such a pardon would not insulate Trump from civil actions or from charges of state-law crimes. But it would go a long way toward bringing civility and harmony back to the country. Remember, 70 million Americans (I’m not one of them) voted to return Trump to office, and they would see nothing but vindictiveness if the Biden administration refuses to pardon the former president.

Ford paid a political price when he pardoned Nixon: he was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election. The same could happen to Biden. But if that’s the price to be paid for returning a sense of decency, fair play, and respect for differing viewpoints to the national scene, then we should pay it.

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