Today, readers are responding to news that Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to former Canadian media baron Conrad Black, a long-time friend and one-time business partner who has written a biography and numerous columns lauding the U.S. President.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, the White House cited Mr. Black’s former ownership of the British newspaper The Telegraph, as well as his biographies of presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, as accomplishments that made him worthy of a pardon.Mark Blinch/Reuters
Boy, do the rich ever look after themselves. It is a whole different playing field, one most of us will never know.
I read (and occasionally even liked) Conrad Black columns despite his ultra conservative viewpoint, at least he said it well and as a bonus I learned new words. His columns after being released from jail showed a new found humility and concern for those caught up in the churn if the US Legal system. But the pro Trump columns were unreadable and obviously a deliberate smooching of Trump’s posterior, basically a-means to an end. So congrats on your pardon Lord Cross Harbour, too bad you had to sell your soul to get it.
Although a little annoyed as it is hard to forget how this guy acted with shareholders' money as if it was his own but it is not surprising. It is immaterial whether he is allowed to stay in Canada as this country is a free country by western standards and anybody who has the ability to be sponsored or pay taxes should not be questioned on their right to stay. The more important emphasis should be that he did harm to many people. He defrauded them in a publicly traded company and this should not be pardoned, nor should it be forgiven without some sense of humbleness or acceptance by this guy of some wrongdoing and responsibility for hurting others. In fact, the opposite occurred with arrogance and smugness and money misappropriation charges dropped as he and his lawyers were able to convince a judge by some finagling that all the publicly traded money was his money. This bad example was awarded by a pardon and sets a bad example of Western values and makes a mockery of our so-called "rules based system". The anti-globalists once again have another win meaning another disaster for decent citizens.
Good for him. Black's a wonderful writer, an accomplished historian and one of few pundits who does not pull punches. Love him or loathe him, he's a renaissance man.
Looks like two years of grovelling, nauseating, pandering columns in the National Post finally paid off. You should not be proud, Conrad!
Disagree. I love Conrad's articles in the Post.
This move by Trump is so obvious. 1. Black was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in the US. He wrote glowing endorsements of Trump, likely aiming for a pardon. 2. Trump is being investigated by Congress for obstruction of justice. 3. Trump pardons Black. Just have a look at some of Trump's pardons and you will a pattern to his pardons. Most of them were selected based on the crimes he is under investigation.
I understand Bernie Madoff is currently working on: ‘Trump: Great President or the Greatest President?’
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