Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told Newsmax on Friday that it’s "clearly inappropriate" for presidential candidates to discuss pardoning former President Donald Trump before a trial.
Hutchinson, a Republican presidential candidate, was asked during an interview on "Wake Up America" if he would pardon Trump if he were convicted and Hutchinson was elected president.
"I certainly wouldn't talk about it during the scope of the campaign," Hutchinson said. "I think it's inappropriate, clearly inappropriate, to be discussing pardons during the time that you're also trying to win votes.
"I used the pardon power when I was governor. Obviously, you consider any case that appropriately came before you. But no promises, no guarantees. We're not talking about potential pardons during the course of this campaign."
Asked why he thought it would be wrong to say whether or not he would pardon Trump, Hutchinson said: "It's unseemly … it comes across as if you're promising pardons for votes and whether it's former president Trump or somebody else that comes to me and says, 'Hey, I can bring you all kinds of support, but we want you to be able to pardon somebody so that crosses the line.'
"Secondly, it undermines our jury system. We've got a serious indictment here, and you can, from the public relations standpoint, say it's unfair."
Hutchinson added: "I have represented clients in court that I believe the prosecutions were unfair, and you go to a jury and they determine guilt or innocence. If you start doing pardons and promising pardons in advance of a jury trial determining guilt or innocence, that undermines our criminal justice system."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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