Trump Attempts to Nullify Biden Pardons for Jan. 6 Committee
www.rollingstone.com
Donald Trump claimed former President Joe Biden’s alleged use of autopen to sign pardons for members of the Jan. 6 committee nullified their validity.

Summary

Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that he was voiding Joe Biden’s pardons for Jan. 6 committee members, calling them “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.”

He claimed Biden’s use of an autopen made the pardons invalid, citing unproven claims from The Heritage Foundation. Legal experts note that a president cannot revoke a predecessor’s pardons.

Biden issued them to shield officials from politically motivated investigations.

Trump, who has repeatedly threatened prosecutions, accused the committee members of wrongdoing and suggested they be investigated.

    • curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      82·
      2 days ago

      I’m going to quote a previous comment of mine from ~ a month or so ago.

      The US has a larger population, but its also massively larger. There were thousands in LA - tens of? No idea. But into the thousands across multiple protests.

      That said, it usually takes a bit for momentum. The Great American Boycott (aka a day without an immigrant) had about a million people 20 years ago, but had large scale planning and coordination in other countries as well. The Floyd protests were in the tens of millions of participants, but that was also over a few years of protesting during the pandemic.

      Then add in the short timeframe provided on this one (less than 2 weeks if you knew about it early, mostly the day or two before for many more) and its a solid turnout.

      This is more like everyone getting to Berlin and protesting, but without good public transportation infrastructure and super short notice. So let’s take that Oklahoma example from earlier - hundreds were there. The population of OK is about 4 million people for the whole state. In terms of population, its about the middle most populous of all states. So this is like the population of Berlin, spread across a state about half the size of Germany.

      • homoludens@feddit.org
        4·
        1 day ago

        I know the US is different than Europe, that’s why I mentioned my POV.

        And I still don’t really understand it, because the numbers are really very different. Oklahoma City (without the metropolitan area) is about as big as my as my hometown Bremen. We just had protests because our chancellor-to-be collaborated with the fascist party - we were about 1500 people, with about 24 hours notice. Big protests are up to 25000-50000 people. And as you said, other protests in the US were way bigger.

        So I don’t think “time for preparation” is an important factor, especially as it is not really a surprise that Trump became president and is doing shitty things. Unless protests in the US are more complicated for some reason I don’t see yet?

        From an outside perspective, I would guess it’s more about work culture - people being burnt out, no protections from getting fired. This might lead to less of a protest culture culture overall maybe. Which is also weird, because the US also has seen some very well known and successful protest movements.

        Bonus: current Hollwood movies always seem to make it a point that the protagonist is very much trying to not get involved. I wonder what that says about the (current) culture in the US.

        • medgremlin@midwest.social
          4·
          22 hours ago

          Time to prepare is very important because we have crap labor laws. It can be very hard for people to get time off work and missing a day can be very painful. For folks living paycheck to paycheck, missing a day of pay means missing a rent payment or not being able to afford food. In a lot of jobs, time off is very limited, even for illness, and is highly likely to be unpaid.

          The robber barons have done an extremely good job at nailing our bootstraps in the pits of Tartarus through debt and indenture.

        • curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          3·
          1 day ago

          I get that, thats why I was referencing a prior comment as an example.

          Worker protections are one thing - living paycheck to paycheck is another. Taking a day off work for some is the same as quitting, and they literally can’t survive without a paycheck. Because a sick day isn’t necessarily covered, they could be hourly. They could be considered part time. Lots of possibilities.

          Let’s stick with Oklahoma for a minute though - Oklahoma City is pretty republican to start. Its even more republican than its neighboring cities. So let’s say youre in Bremen, and about 60% - right off the top - were in support of the AfD collaboration. I don’t think the CDU+AfD have that kind of support in Bremen, but maybe I’m wrong, I think its closer to 25% or so?

          Most people there are not college educated - 2/3rds. The bulk of the support for the protest would have been (based on voting data) people who are middle income, educated, living in the suburbs. People who could also lose their jobs for showing up at a protest if one of their coworkers found out, because yes, worker protections have been systemically eroded.

          And yet, that area still got a few hundred people out on short notice.

          I’d call that a win.

    • bassomitron@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 days ago

      I haven’t looked into hard numbers, I just know there have been various protests around the country on an almost weekly basis. They definitely should be bigger, but due to the enormous size of the US, our shitty city/suburban design, our shitty public transport systems, and most people barely living check to check, organizing and executing massive protests is quite difficult.