Obama Gives Clemency to Another 231 Convicts

by Andrew December 19, 2016, 10:16 pm 85 Comments

In a decision made from his Hawaiian vacation getaway, President Obama granted pardons to 78 federal convicts and commutations to another 153, setting a new record for the number of clemency proclamations given by a president in a single day.

The announcement actually came by way of a blog post from White House Counsel Neil Eggleston. In the post, he said that all of the people receiving their get-out-of-jail-free cards were “deserving” of the reward.

“The 231 individuals granted clemency today have all demonstrated that they are ready to make use – or have already made use – of a second chance,” he wrote. “I expect that the President will issue more grants of both commutations and pardons before he leaves office.”

Obama has already granted more pardons than any other president in history, and there’s every reason to think that he’ll “improve” on that record before January 20. His approach to federal prison overcrowding has been “release first, ask questions later.” Over the last eight years, he has allowed all manner of criminals out of prison – few of them simple drug offenders, like he wants us to believe.

His attitude towards justice could not be further from the incoming administration. Donald Trump campaigned on a hardline “law and order” message that promised a crack down on rising crime levels in many of America’s metropolitan areas. His nominee for Attorney General, Sen. Jeff Sessions, is of a similar mindset when it comes to enforcing the law.

There’s certainly room – both constitutionally and morally – for a president to grant pardons and commutations to those who have proven themselves rehabilitated. But when you have someone like Obama in office, you can’t trust the motivation behind the clemency. Is Obama really looking at these offenders with a magnifying glass to make sure they deserve to go free? Or is he simply pushing the leftist narrative that says black prisoners are modern-day slaves?

Obama the President couldn’t come right out and tell us about his Marxist ideology, but Obama the former President may be more forthcoming. Maybe he’ll eventually take off his veil of patriotism and show the world who he really is.

Well, for those who don’t already know.