He made sure not to watch the memorial ceremony that the successor he didn’t recognize held at the Lincoln Memorial with 400 candles commemorating 400,000 covid-19 deaths. The lighting cast a reflecting glow over the National Mall.
He carefully wrote down names, handed them to aides to get word out over social media. That’s no longer an act he can do on his own, with a click on Twitter.
He has aides who still have access. He selected one in particular whom he could trust. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom Trump appointed in June, five months before the election, was to be responsible for transferring the pardons to the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Justice Dept., which processes presidential pardons.
There were more than 100 names on the list. According to the rules, an applicant must satisfy a minimum waiting period of five years before becoming eligible to apply for a presidential pardon of a federal conviction. A pardon is ordinarily a sign of forgiveness and is granted in recognition of the applicant's acceptance of responsibility for the crime. Those are the rules, but an executive pardon need not abide by them. Trump considered that as he determined who shall live (with immunity from federal prosecution, conviction or imprisonment) and whose petition shall die.
Though there are rules, “the power to grant pardons is vested in the President alone.” No hearing is held, and none was. Documents relating to any cases are confidential.
Feeling accomplished after he completed the sacred act of pardoning, Trump went to bed, anticipating the party he planned for 8 am at Base Andrews, the base outside DC where Air Force One is headquartered. His invitees, each of whom was free to invite up to five guests, arrived between 6:00 and 7:15 am. After the gathering, Trump flew to the Mar-a Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump landed in Florida at about the time Biden was inaugurated at noon, to find out that his signature needed to accompany each pardon. It’s not something that can be consummated with a message on social media. Trump had taken care of it. He’d made sure he signed each pardon petition.
As it turned out though, Postmaster General Dejoy had neglected to file the documents before noon. They were invalid.
Such is the revenge of the postman’s oath: "Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Dark Of Night Shall Stay These Couriers From The Swift Completion Of Their Appointed Rounds.”
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