They Can’t Take the Fifth If They Were Pardoned

As I argued in my VIP column yesterday, prosecuting any but the worst malefactors in the abuse of government power and the judicial system shouldn’t be our main focus when Trump gets back into power. 

I would love to see the worst of the worst–the Anthony Faucis, Alejandro Mayorkases, and similar bad guys get their comeuppance, but our main focus has to be on the Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean Stables and completely gutting the Deep State. Getting some scalps would be nice, but exposing the corruption and destroying the Deep State, both on the ground and in the perceptions of the American people, would be the most important victory for freedom since the destruction of the Soviet Union. 

That means exposing all the corruption and absolutely humiliating everyone involved. They are frauds, crooks, and, in many cases, genuinely evil people. In a just world, all of them would rot in prison, but in the real world, the particular fate of Anthony Fauci is hardly as important as destroying the credibility of our corrupt public health system. 

👀🚨 JUST IN: KJP confirmed that Joe Biden will be pardoning more criminals.

She told the press to “expect more announcements soon.”

I think he’s going to give them to his entire family, & all of his associates.

pic.twitter.com/vqgHSLfMWZ

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) December 2, 2024

It seems entirely plausible that Biden will pardon a whole tranche of officials who have yet to be investigated for or accused of crimes, giving blanket pardons in the manner he did Hunter. He will justify this move, should he make it, based on the claim that Trump will weaponize his Justice Department against innocent and truly patriotic public servants. 

There are unconfirmed rumors that Mayorkas is looking for immunity for any actions he has taken as Secretary of Homeland Security; I have no independent confirmation of that, but by this point, it seems perfectly plausible. He has been at the center of so many major failures and scandals that he would be nuts not to seek legal protection. 

BREAKING: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is reportedly negotiating his exit and wants to leave immune from any potential investigations from the Trump Administration. pic.twitter.com/zaiN9ngQlj

— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) November 21, 2024

Should Joe Biden decide to protect his closest aides from criminal prosecution–I am not predicting this because I have no special insight, only speculation–there is actually an upside: if a person can’t be prosecuted, then they can’t invoke the Fifth Amendment protection against testifying against oneself. 

That, in turn, means that they would still be subject to perjury and obstruction of justice charges should they lie under oath or refuse to testify truthfully. Either they tell all truthfully, or you can toss them in jail. In other words, Biden can pardon their prior crimes but not give them a get-out-of-jail-free card for future crimes. 

Refusing to testify under subpoena would be a crime, and if you are not subject to prosecution, then you have no right to claim that testifying would incriminate you in criminal activity. 

This applies to Hunter Biden as well. Forcing him to testify in front of a committee about crimes committed by others is fair game. Hunter can’t be prosecuted for the crimes of which he has been pardoned–which is everything up to now, but he could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice if he refuses to testify about crimes for which others might be liable. 

Ironically, this means that every pardon Joe Biden gives to a political crony for potential crimes they committed would open them up to being forced to testify on anything in which they might be implicated. The Fifth Amendment protections become irrelevant since they cannot be prosecuted. 

No more “on the advice of my counsel…” excuses. Spill the beans or go to jail for obstruction. 

Does anybody have the guts to go there? In any other administration, I would say “NO!” Under Trump? I sure hope so.