How come I never heard of secret Presidential pardons before today?

[FSogol]

Is there a precedent for them?

[Srkdqltr]

1. They have been talked about for the last month.

[procon]

2. Never had such an evil and corrupt president before.nt

[magicarpet]

7. Cutting edge corruption,... debauchery,.... fraudulent behavior is Fuhrer Fatsolini,....

... mark, footprint, signature, and brand identification.

[Celerity]

3. because

[rickford66]

4. Unless it's documented while he's president ...

how could one prove it was done before Jan 20, 2021 when he had the ability to pardon ??? So a secret pardon is worthless as far as I see.

[TomSlick]

9. It's not that hard.

What he would need to do is mail the pardon to himself with post mark of January 19. He would then leave the envelope sealed until called upon to prove the date it was signed.

[rickford66]

10. Cheap magician's trick.

Unless he kept it himself, it wouldn't be secret. It would take more proof than that.

[TomSlick]

12. Perhaps. An unsealed envelope with the appropriate postmark would be good evidence.

I don't know how it would be refuted.

[StarfishSaver]

16. That's actually a myth

That's often referred to as "poor man's copyright" - people think if they mail a work to themselves this way, it proves their copyright - but it has no legal value since an envelope can be unsealed and resealed. It's meaningless for legal purposes.

There are other ways to document "secret" pardons, including having them notarized or, more likely, simply delivering them to the Justice Department with the other pardons but just not announcing them publicly.

[Stallion]

5. I Think Littl' Donnie Got it from His Favorite Early 1970s TV Show

Alias Smith and Jones

The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, aiming to keep the pact a secret. The condition is that they will still be wanted until it becomes politically advantageous for the governor to pardon them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alias_Smith_and_Jones

&ab_channel=CatBallou

[PufPuf23]

6. Why are there POTUS pardons in the first place?

Seem ripe for mischief.

Why not limit the POTUS to order more investigation and trial by an appointed POTUS Intercession Prosecutor for specific cases with merit (not value) ?

[Generic Brad]

8. Yes. Double secret probation in Animal House

That’s the only other time I’ve heard of something like that.

[tblue37]

11. Cuz they're ( shhhhhh) *secret*!

[Captain Stern]

14. That's pretty much the answer, there.

If we'd all heard about them, they wouldn't be secret.

[maxsolomon]

13. Because you weren't watching TV last week?

That's when I heard about them.

[StarfishSaver]

15. Because Trump

[bluestarone]

18. Any law stopping them from being opened upon recieving them?

If so when can they be opened?

[StarfishSaver]

19. I don't think so

The DOJ could reveal the names if they wish.

The most that could happen is a pardoned person objects on the ground that they had some kind of a binding agreement that they would only accept the pardon if it remained secret.

So what would the remedy be for the government breaching that agreement? The person refuses to accept the pardon? These people aren't too bright, but I don't think even they are that stupid.

[bluestarone]

20. Good deal TY

So MAYBE won't be that secret!

[StarfishSaver]

21. I'm just guessing, but can't think of any reason DOJ would be bound to keep it secret

[Hassin Bin Sober]

17. I heard about them right here during the Bush regime.

At the time, there were discussions about the possibility of Bush’s “pocket pardons”

Who knows, maybe Bush handed out pocket pardons. We’ll never know because no one was ever prosecuted. “Looking forward” has the advantage of never having a pocket pardon sprung on you.

[UTUSN]

22. Besides which, secrecy is not DRUMPF's style, he craves publicity for his stunts.

Zeus help our national security.