“It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he wrote. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me.”
Trump called Ulbricht’s prison sentence “ridiculous.”
That’s the Silk Road laddie.
And now the next and interesting question. How many of those prosecutors etc, back that far, should now be looking over their shoulders?
It really is the Dems’ own fault if he goes after them.
He showed magnanimity to Killary and she repaid him by moving heaven and earth to get him out after 2016.
As the ancient Chinese proverbs says
“Do not poke the stoat, for some day it may become a badger.”
Or something.
I learned on a US blog this morning that Trump fired the official who put Tulsi Gabbard on a no-fly list. With immediate effect.
Also pleasing to read that the 53 scumbag heads of various agencies who declared Hunter’s laptop to be a Russian hoax have had their security clearances cancelled.
He’s doing a lot of good stuff early on. The problems may start when democrats federal judges start lodging objections. My advice would be to copy Obama and ignore them.
It’s funny, but I’m not sure it’s good. The standard rule is “remember that your opponents are going to be in power one day, and they will use every power you have used, but in the other direction.”
I’m sure Trump doesn’t care, but it’s an unhelpful precedent for everyone else.
“The problems may start when democrats federal judges start lodging objections”
It’s already underway:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/soros-backed-district-attorney-larry-krasner-exploring-state/
“remember that your opponents are going to be in power one day, and they will use every power you have used, but in the other direction.”
The trouble with that one BiA, is that they’ve ALREADY used their power against Trump. So he’s now moving things in the other direction!!
He was pulling in 10,000s of bitcoin back when they were worth $1-$10. No doubt the feds didn’t confiscate all of them, easy for a few 100 to have been missed. I wonder if he’ll be tempted to live a wealthy “retirement”
He was sentenced to life with no parole and a $184 million fine.
Dave Ward
In this insurance bring it on then.
As I understand it Biden’s Presidential pardons to his family and cronies are only effective against federal charges. I’m sure there are any number of red-state District Attorney’s who’d just love to get stuck if this particular Soros-funded muppet tries anything along these particular lines.
Why do they hate Tulsi?
Trump’s pick for top intel job has been accused of ‘traitorous’ parroting of Russian propaganda
Outraged lawmakers accused Gabbard two years ago of echoing Russian propaganda after Gabbard posted a video on social media asserting “the undeniable fact” of purported bio labs funded by the U.S. across Ukraine. She did not specify, as Russian disinformation had, that they were biological weapons labs.
The US deep state really doesn’t want people to know about its secret biolabs in Ukraine. Or ask questions about what kind of “research” US funded biolabs were doing in Europe’s most corrupt country.
Perhaps the recently pardoned government scientist Dr Fauci knows something about that?
Ukraine’s government, the U.S. government, news organizations and independent researchers have all said there is no evidence for the claim, which originated from Moscow.
What more proof do you need?
He was sentenced to life with no parole and a $184 million fine.
Of which he’s already served eight. Which, given that the murder for hire stuff was a crock of made up shit seems about right.
Until yesterday, the US government had more January 6th protestors in its prisons than the total number of political prisoners (including actual terrorists) in the entire Russian federation.
And they didn’t treat them better than Russia either, a lot of these people have been beaten and tortured by American prison guards. In most cases the feds helped secure convictions by threatening their families.
Thankfully we live in human rights loving Britain, where they can put you in a cage and take your children away for racist emojis.
. . . than the total number of political prisoners (including actual terrorists) in the entire Russian federation.
I don’t think you quite get the gravity of things over there.
PJF – defenestration only applies to big boys in Russia, they’re not locking up or offing random Boomers who thought they lived in the land of the free. They go after people like Prigozhin and Navalny, political players who played stupid games and had plenty of warning.
Anybody chucked out of a window by Putin is a bad lad who deserves it. They’re all Teddy KGB gangster types, ver-iy aggrei-ssive.
PS – Yeltsin wanted to join the EU.
Foolishly, nobody bit his hand off at that offer. Instead of bringing in dirt poor Eastern European meme statelets who only offer us more gypsies, the Single Market could have included all the lovely cheap energy resources Europe could possibly need for the next 500 years.
The current conflict over Ukraine would have been impossible, Russia would be too enmeshed in the Western European economy to try it, too busy getting rich to want to blow up their relationship with the West over the Donbass. And they’d be our strategic ally, instead of China’s. The largest country in the world is a valuable ally.
What might have been eh? What’s missing in our current foreign policy is any theory of how it helps Britain. (Burgers?) We have lots of shit Churchill impersonators, when what we need is an Enoch Powell. I recently saw Boris Johnson – a man whose self-awareness was surgically removed – ranting about how “Putin” no longer has power over the Baltics.
Imagine giving a toss about Estonia.
Instead of bringing in dirt poor Eastern European meme statelets who only offer us more gypsies, the Single Market could have included all the lovely cheap energy resources Europe could possibly need for the next 500 years.
Only to have them covered in windmills and solar panels.
Ha – I first read that as “Random Sample” (not wearing my computer glasses 😉 ), and thought, Wow – this guy’s lawyer even uses a pseudonym. Reality pales to the imagination!
@ John ~ January 22, 2025 at 12:07 pm – More discussion here:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/legal-experts-criticize-bidens-preemptive-pardons-arguing-they/#comment-6635278609
@Steve ~ January 22, 2025 at 12:36 pm – Also from TGP, reports that a number of the prisoners are still being held, despite Trump’s pardons:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/january-6-hostages-still-trapped-inside-dc-gulag/
“He showed magnanimity to Killary” You can reasonably show magnanimity the first time. If the fuckers do it again, crush them.
From our own history I offer the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. Mild punishment.
Then the ’45: kill or transport the swine.
The excellent Coyote Blog is up and running after an absence of too long and he has some good points about about Biden’s pardons:
“ The legal case most folks are looking at right now is Burdick vs United States which says that 1) a pardon can be rejected and 2) acceptance of a pardon carries “an imputation of guilt and acceptance of a confession of it,” though it is disputed whether this latter is a binding precedent. Getting such an un-asked for blanket pardon certainly seems a mixed blessing. Think about John Owens, his brother-in-law. Did anyone have him on their radar before, because NOW they do.
…
But there is a silver lining to all this that I posted on X the morning the pardons were announced — without the looming threat of prosecution, there is no room to plead the 5th. The most interesting person to get under oath to answer questions is going to be Fauci, of course. I worry that we have not found the boundaries of gain-of-function research and that dangerous research is still going on and being funded by government organizations (most recently I have seen rumors that the Department of Agriculture has been funding gain of function on diseases that affect livestock). There is so much this guy needs to be asked under oath — Covid origins, suppression of opposing speech, the vaccine trials, coordination with the teachers unions on school recommendations, etc etc — that the hearings could last weeks.
Biden’s legacy, such that it is, could also be in some danger. No one is going to prosecute the guy, for the same reason that Hur did not, but there are sure a lot of suspicious financial transactions running back and forth through his family and a myriad of shell companies.“
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2025/01/bidens-dirty-trick-to-his-own-people.html
. . . without the looming threat of prosecution, there is no room to plead the 5th.
I keep seeing this stated but I’d like to see it from an appropriate judicial source rather than enthusiasts on the interwebs. Presidential pardons are for federal crimes (against the United States). It’s quite possible that answering questions at the federal level (congressional committees, etc) will expose crimes at the state level. The Fifth Ammendment applies to the states too so on that basis someone can decline to be a witness against himself.
There doesn’t seem to be anything about a broad preemptive presidential pardon that should prevent a trial and conviction for any crimes discovered by pardoned persons. It might be regarded by some as a pointless exercise as no sentence could be carried out, but since a pardon doesn’t remove a conviction or guilt (it merely removes all or part of any sentence/s and other consequences) it might be worth it for some to see preemptively pardoned persons made felons anyway. There is a basis there for someone not being a witness against himself.
Norman – Only to have them covered in windmills and solar panels.
Yarp, I was fantasising (Orange flavoured) about a rational EU order. The Coal and Steel community, and EURATOM were a good idea. Not that we should have joined, but stability, predictability and prosperity in Europe are good for us. The opposite thing brought down the British Empire.
I don’t know what else to say about the EU’s (and UK’s) strategic decision to transfer hundreds of billions of Euros to Chinese solar and turbine manufacturers and opt itself out of competing in any economic activity that uses energy. (Which is – ha ha! – all of them. AI is very energy hungry.) Help?
Dave Ward – it’s shocking that isn’t shocking. The feds want time to hide the bruises and broken teeth on their faces. Trump will need to be as ruthless as Darth Vader in his purge.
Dearieme – From our own history I offer the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. Mild punishment.
Then the ’45: kill or transport the swine.
Transportation is a great idea. Can we still send convicts to Australia? They can work in the didgeridoo mines.
PJF – I just think undermining the authority of presidential pardons would be a foolish thing for President T to do, so I doubt he’ll do that. Not sure about the states but is it really true they can still prosecute?
There doesn’t seem to be anything about a broad preemptive presidential pardon that should prevent a trial and conviction for any crimes discovered by pardoned persons.
A royal pardon – that’s what this is – should be the gold diplomatic immunity card, no? I don’t think a prosecutor would be allowed to start a case against a pardonee, would be thrown out immediately by an angry judge is my guess.
It seems plausible that being exempt from prosecution would disbar (estoppel?) their ability to Olivia Newton their constitutional right to not self-incriminate. However, the 5th amendment is in practice irrelevant. People can just “don’t recall” without sanction.
– Not sure about the states but is it really true they can still prosecute?
They can still prosecute for state crimes. Presidential pardons are for crimes against the United States, not for crimes within a particular state. This is why they went after Trump at the state level – it’s Presidential pardon proof. If, say Fauci, has committed a crime within, say Texas, then Texas can still go after him for that. Fauci could argue that he can plead the 5th before a federal tribunal on the basis that he could incriminate himself in a state crime.
Obviously I don’t know for sure one way or the other, but I doubt these voices saying “can’t plead the 5th now, loser” know anything either.
– undermining the authority of presidential pardons would be a foolish thing for President T to do . . .
Indeed, Chesteron’s Fence ‘n all that. On principle I think pardons should only apply to specific crimes, either tried or in process of trial. But a broad political defence against political cuntery is a useful governing tool, even if it is sometimes abused by political cunts. Not sure where Ford re Nixon falls on that line . . .
– A royal pardon – that’s what this is – should be the gold diplomatic immunity card, no?
Perhaps. But this “can’t plead the 5th” is an attempt to, er, trump that card. The idea is that the pardoned person is forced to give evidence under oath in the hope that they lie and other evidence shows them to have broken their oath – a new unpardoned crime.
I’d love to know what these “Bio labs” do. Where they are. Photos, maps, and such. Lots of mystique, rather little detail is on offer from the contrasphere. Find one and maybe I’ll drive down there to take a look at the weekend, as long as it’s not too far east.
And why would you go to Ukraine to do it? Even (perhaps especially) the nefarious stuff is easier done in less fucked up places, and does happen, as evidenced by omicron. Wherever the “original and best” covid came from, someone definitely built omicron in a lab (and not in Ukraine), and they wanted us to know they did.
@BiG
I’d love to know what these “Bio labs” do. Where they are. Photos, maps, and such. Lots of mystique, rather little detail is on offer from the contrasphere.
China says there are hundreds of labs in 30 countries, but I suppose they would say that, wouldn’t they.
As for Ukraine, it is quite hard to pin down, which obviously suggests it’s all as innocent as the Pentagon, the BBC and the New York Times says it is.
According to the Daily Mail (links below), the Pentagon:
‘provides funds for research across 46 Ukraine labs as part of a program meant to dismantle weapons of mass destruction… It has invested $200 million in Ukraine since 2005 through its Biological Threat Reduction Program… and now works on research projects based on birds carrying viruses and the spread of swine flu.
The relationship began as part of a U.S. effort to lock down unsecured biological materials after the fall of the Soviet Union, working directly with Russia and former republics. There is little known about the location of the labs, but reports in the past have suggested they have been equipped to work with deadly pathogens such as anthrax…. [T]he U.S. has been open about the labs and on March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that they too had advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country’s public health laboratories to prevent ‘any potential spills’ that would spread disease among the population.
Well, I for one certainly don’t find any of that concerning. The US has been open about everything (apart from earlier denials) and the WHO is all over it. What could go wrong?
The New York Times says:
WASHINGTON — Prominent social media users and conservative voices have amplified a baseless theory promoted by Russian state media accusing the United States of funding biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine.
There is no evidence to support the claims, which President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department have all unequivocally denied.
It’s just people on social media, and it’s all baseless, and the White House has unequivocally denied it. I think it’s safe to say we can trust all of these people.
The BBC says:
Some of these labs receive financial and other support from the US, the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) – as is the case in many other countries.
Despite Russian claims that these are “secret” labs, details of US involvement can be found on the US embassy’s website.
OK, so the WHO is also funding them, and so is the EU, but that’s just blah. Anyway, details of US involvement can be found on the US embassy’s website and there is no known instance of the US ever lying on any website.
Gen Igor Kirillov said documents uncovered by the Russian military in Ukraine on 24 February – the day the Russian invasion started – “show that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has set the task of completely destroying bio-agents in laboratories”.
“The Pentagon knows that if these documents fall into the hands of Russian experts, then it’s highly likely that Ukraine and the United States will be found to have violated the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons,” he said.
[Document photograph shown captioned: ‘One of the documents Russian officials say they recovered from Ukraine’]
BBC News has been unable to independently verify the documents cited by General Kirillov.
BBC News has been unable to independently verify the documents cited by General Kirillov, but it has been able to independently verify stuff on the US embassy’s website.
Unfortunately we can’t ask Gen Kirillov for further comment because he was blown up in Moscow just before Christmas.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10615639/I-said-no-thing-Tulsi-Gabbard-denies-claiming-making-bioweapons-Ukraine-says-Mitt-Romney-RESIGN-doesnt-evidence-claims-treasonous.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/us/politics/us-bioweapons-ukraine-misinformation.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60711705
This is the founder of silk road, right?
The sweet innocent boy whose mother pleaded for his release?
The same sweet innocent boy that tried to order five contract hits? (hits are what New Jersey-ites call purchased assassination)
… His mother never talks about that. Funny old world, isn’t it ?
https://www.wired.com/2015/02/read-transcript-silk-roads-boss-ordering-5-assassinations/