Thread by @jtlarsen

For the law and order party, a thread on the Dept. of Justice guidelines for who should be considered for clemency.

Enough time is supposed to elapse between serving sentence and clemency for the recipient to have demonstrated good character.

Five years.

FBI is supposed to do a background check to assess a clemency petitioner's reputation, involvement in the community and charitable activities.

Presidents are supposed to consider how granting clemency to those in power or who breached the public trust may undermine and erode the rule of law and deterrent effect.

They're supposed to consider the impact on law enforcement and the general public.

Petitioners for presidential clemency are supposed to have accepted full responsibility for their criminality, without hedging or making excuses.

There's more. But basically the gist is that the administration of justice is a complicated thing, and there are multiple stakeholders in every case.

Victims.
Judges.
Prosecutors.
Law enforcement.

The president's clemency grants negate and nullify them all.