Why Autocrats Love Pardons

Don't Miss Tomorrow's Substack Live 12:30-1ET with Anand Giridharadas

Welcome back to Lucid, and hello to all new subscribers. Our next Q&A will be on Friday, Jan. 24, 1-2pmET. Paying subscribers will receive a link to register for the Zoom gathering at 10amET that day. Our guest will be Brooke Harrington, Professor of Sociology at Dartmouth and an expert on the “broligarchy” and how the ultra-wealthy use offshore finance and other systems to obtain “legalized impunity.” Here is the clip of her fabulous interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.

Those who can’t attend will find the video on the Lucid home page. If you’d like to join these informative and supportive weekly gatherings, you can upgrade to paid or sign up as paying here:

In the meantime, join me tomorrow, Jan. 22, at 12:30-1pmET for a Substack Live conversation with writer and commentator Anand Giridharadas, publisher of the essential newsletter The Ink. This conversation is open to everyone. To watch, just download the Substack app and turn on notifications.

And here is my interview with Jennifer Rubin for The Contrarian. We had a great discussion about how the new Trump administration is putting into practice elements of the autocratic playbook.

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In the wake of President Donald Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 participants, I am reprinting my 2022 essay about how autocrats use pardons. It is sadly relevant, including the way it ends: “Authoritarianism is about making government a safe harbor for criminals, and pardons are part of that. Don't be surprised if an amnesty in the autocratic tradition kicks off Trump's second term.”

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