President Donald Trump told reporters that he was going to pardon someone “very, very important” on Aug. 18. He didn’t reveal the name. On Tuesday, though, he revealed he was posthumously pardoning Susan B. Anthony.
“America will honor its heroes, and we will always celebrate the patriots who secured women’s right to vote,” Trump said on Aug. 18. “This is an incredible document I’m signing… This was brought up a week ago, and I was so surprised it was never done before because later today I will signing a full and complete pardon for Susan B. Anthony. She was never pardoned, did you know that? She was never pardoned. She got a pardon for a lot of other women, and she didn’t put her name on the list…She was (found) guilty for voting.”
Watch:
Pres. Trump announces he is posthumously pardoning Susan B. Anthony, a leader of the women's suffrage movement who was arrested for illegally voting in 1872.
"She was never pardoned. Did you know that?"https://t.co/XHWqCXXKXm pic.twitter.com/aL2jmQ0KmQ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 18, 2020
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, wrote on Twitter, “To mark the 100th anniversary of 19th amendment, President Trump pardons Susan B. Anthony, one of the founding mothers of the U. S. Women’s Suffrage Movement, who was found guilty by an all-male jury of illegal voting in 1872 presidential election.
Flag of United States.”
To mark the 100th anniversary of 19th amendment, President Trump pardons Susan B. Anthony, one of the founding mothers of the U. S. Women’s Suffrage Movement, who was found guilty by an all-male jury of illegal voting in 1872 presidential election. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/bdefevstGH
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 18, 2020
Trump didn’t provide many clues in his media tease the day before. However, he did say that the pardon was not for former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden or former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
President Trump says he will be issuing a pardon tomorrow for someone “very, very important,” but it would not be Michael Flynn or Edward Snowden, per the pool traveling with him.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 18, 2020
“President Trump says he will be issuing a pardon tomorrow for someone ‘very, very important,’ but it would not be Michael Flynn or Edward Snowden, per the pool traveling with him,” tweeted CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
On flight back from Wisconsin, Pres Trump told press pool he would be issuing a pardon on Tuesday to someone "very very important," but said it was not Michael Flynn or Edward Snowden. Might see it as a way to detract attention from Democratic Convention speeches slamming him pic.twitter.com/yxR3LbUZ3x
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 18, 2020
Who could it be? That’s not clear. Some people on Twitter theorized that Trump was timing the announcement to coincide with the Democratic National Convention, which kicked off on Aug. 17, and featured a group of Republicans speaking out against Trump, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Trump Recently Said He Was Considering a Pardon for Snowden
Trump said on Aug. 15 that he is considering pardoning Snowden. Because of the timing, Snowden would have been an obvious possibility – except Trump explicitly ruled him out as the Tuesday pardon subject, sending the speculation mill into overdrive.
Theories on Twitter range from WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange to former Trump adviser Roger Stone. Pardons can be posthumous, so some people thought Trump would pardon someone for a civil rights related offense.
Table of Contents
