Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has vowed to pardon former US President Donald Trump should she defeat him in the Republican Primary and win against Joe Biden in November. Speaking at a town hall in South Carolina on Sunday (18 February), Haley confirmed that if the former president is found guilty, she would pardon him to unify America. She said: “We’ve got to leave the negativity and the baggage behind. I don’t want this country divided any further. I don’t think it’s in the best interest for America to have an 80-year-old president sitting in jail and having everybody upset about it.” Trump faces several court cases related to election interference, the January 6 riots, and falsifying business records.
A pardon is essentially that. But only literally in the case of a conviction. You can issue blanket pardons which basically say “if you did something, you are pardoned”. These do not have the direct acknowledgement of guilt but it’s obviously heavily implied.