Host argues presidential pardons have been used to shield allies and donors
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
On Megatrends, host Patrick Bate cited reporting that President Trump has issued an unusually large number of pardons, including for people and corporations previously sentenced or ordered to pay restitution, and said the pardons illustrate limits in accountability that organizing and legal remedies must confront.
Patrick Bate, host of the Megatrends program, devoted a segment of the episode to presidential pardons and their implications for accountability.
Bate opened by citing recent reporting and commentary, saying that an "unprecedented" number of pardons and commutations have been issued and that some appear to have benefited wealthy or well-connected figures. He referenced coverage in the Charlotte Observer and the Marshall Project describing cases in which prison sentences or restitution were erased and said that process contributes to what he called a "grift machine." "He's pardoned more than 1,600," Bate said, summarizing the reporting he cited.
A Midas Touch podcast clip played on the program recounted that former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted in the United States of conspiring to traffic cocaine and sentenced to 45 years, and reported an announcement that a full pardon had been promised. The clip framed that pardon as an example of using executive clemency to shield powerful actors.
Bate explained legal limits on reversing pardons: "Pardons are very hard to undo," he said, adding that pardon power does not erase state prosecutions or civil liability. He noted that misuse of pardons could form part of impeachment or criminal obstruction charges against a president, even if the pardons themselves remain in force for recipients.
The host urged civic responses: supporting organizations that defend democratic norms, attending hearings on voting and redistricting, submitting public comment, and pursuing ballot measures and local reforms to increase accountability. He identified the American Bar Association Task Force for American Democracy and other legal and civic groups as channels for that work.
The episode did not report a specific, new legal reversal of any pardon; Bate's segment combined published reporting, an external podcast clip, and his own analysis about why pardons raise accountability concerns and what civic actors might do next. The program noted that while a future president or amendment could limit pardon power prospectively, those changes would not retroactively void existing pardons.