Don’t US presidents wait til the end of term to issue pardons?
most normal US presidents do wait, because they are aware of the toxic nature of pardons. it's essentially a "screw you" to the justice system (AKA equality), so they wait until the end of their terms once political capital isn't needed anymore. on Jan 19, 3 days ago, do you think Biden cared about pissing people off? why would he?
trump, however, isn't a normal president. he's never cared about pissing people off, not even his supporters (why would he? he's got more of them so who cares if one small faction disapproves of his actions...). in fact, he appears to relish the opportunity to thumb his nose at convention & established mores. trump has truly turned the world upside-down: whatever was previously abhorrent, he'll embrace as normal and desirable.
Also pardoned Silk Road founder today
I guess people no longer care so no political damage?
trump is post-political. his followers only care about what they are told to care about (immigration bad? ok! H1B good? also ok!!!111). again: he could go out on 5th avenue and shoot someone and he knows his followers wouldn't care. if there is an ounce of advantage to be gained by pardoning someone, trump won't think once about doing it.
(aside: a lot of fentanyl entered the country through Silk Road - please keep that in mind next time you hear trump claim to do something in the name of stopping this scourge)
