The Washington Post (WP) said U.S. President Donald Trump, who declared a "war on drugs" after taking office in January this year, is showing a contradictory pattern by abusing his pardon power for drug offenders.
WP reported on the 8th that since the start of his second term, President Trump has pardoned or commuted at least 10 people convicted of drug-related crimes, and that during his first term he pardoned or reduced the sentences of about 90 drug offenders over four years.
Shortly after taking office in January, President Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of the online dark market "Silk Road," who had been sentenced to life for drug trafficking and money laundering. Then in May, he also issued pardons to Larry Hoover, the boss of the largest gang in the Chicago area, and Garnett Gilbert Smith, a drug kingpin in Baltimore.
On the 2nd, he sparked controversy by pardoning former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving time on drug smuggling charges. The same day, President Trump effectively declared a "war on drugs," saying he would "soon launch a ground assault" to block drug inflows via Venezuela, making it paradoxical that he simultaneously carried out pardons for drug offenders.
The opposition immediately criticized the contradictory behavior. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, mentioning Ulbricht and Hernández on the Senate floor, said, "President Trump claims he is taking steps to block drugs from entering the United States, but how can these decisions protect the public from the dangers of drugs?"
Criticism also emerged within the Republican Party. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said on social media on the 3rd that the Hernández pardon sent a "terrible message," adding, "On one hand, they say we must even consider invading Venezuela because of drug traffickers; on the other, they say we should release such a person. It makes no sense."
Liz Oyer, an attorney who served as the Justice Department's pardon attorney before being fired by President Trump, criticized the recent pardons for drug offenders, saying, "This is an example showing that the traditional pardon review system has been weakened and replaced by a process swayed by money, connections and political influence."
As criticism mounted, the White House countered that President Trump was merely exercising the authority granted by the Constitution. White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "The pardons that deserve criticism are only those by the 'autopen president' who extended pardons and commutations to violent offenders, child killers and mass murderers," turning the criticism toward former President Joe Biden.
WP noted that President Trump is wielding the presidential pardon power—one of the strongest authorities granted to a president—far more aggressively this year than in his first term. He pardoned nearly all of the roughly 1,500 defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot and recently pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was indicted on bribery, money laundering and conspiracy charges. Compared with the roughly 230 pardons granted during his first term, the scale in his second term is nearly seven times larger.
Jeffrey Singer, a drug policy expert at the Cato Institute, said this was not the first time President Trump has acted inconsistently on drug policy. He noted that while Trump as a presidential candidate supported Florida's recreational marijuana legalization measure, last month he signed a bill tightening regulations on hemp, a form of cannabis.