Jeffrey Toobin On The Pardon Power

About this episode

Jeffrey Toobin discusses the complexities and implications of presidential pardons in the context of his latest book.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.com Jeff is a lawyer and a contributing opinion writer for the NYT, after a long run at The New Yorker and CNN. He has written many bestselling books, including True Crimes and Misdemeanors , The Oath , The Nine , and Too Close to Call . He appeared on the Dishcast in 2024 to talk lawfare , and in this episode we discuss his latest book, The Pardon : The Politics of Presidential Mercy . We recorded this episode a while back, and we’re posting it this week after Trump promised mass pardons for White House staffers before he leaves office. For two clips of our convo — on Biden’s corrupt pardons, and Trump’s obscene pardons — head to our YouTube page . Other topics: how pardons can be a beautiful act of mercy; the varying powers among the states; Lincoln’s amnesty for Confederate soldiers but not leaders; Andrew Johnson’s pardon for Jefferson Davis; Johnson’s impeachment; the thousand pardons of Rutherford B Hayes; Ford pardoning Nixon; Jimmy Carter pardoning resisters to the Vietnam War; the Willie Horton furlough and ad; HW’s pardons for Iran-Contra; Clinton pardoning his own brother and Marc…

People in this episode

Host: Andrew Sullivan

Guest: Jeffrey Toobin

Topics covered

• pardon power
• presidential mercy
• lawfare
• political pardons
• historical pardons
• Trump administration
• Biden's pardons

Keywords

• pardon
• presidential power
• Jeffrey Toobin
• Trump pardons
• Biden pardons
• historical context
• lawfare

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NYT, The New Yorker, CNN

Books & works: True Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Oath, The Nine, Too Close to Call, The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy

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