The Justice Department moved to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members Tuesday, undoing one of the Biden administration’s most celebrated victories against those who it said inspired the January 6, 2021, attack on American democracy.
These aren’t charges they’re dismissing. They’re dismissing convictions. Dismissing a conviction sounds a lot like a pardon. I didn’t know it was legally possible for a prosecutor to do that.
These people were found guilty through due process. Now the DOJ is re-writing history.
It’s possible to vacate convictions “in the interests of justice” - think someone on death row with exculpatory evidence found years later and a prosecutor mature enough to admit they made a mistake. Or in this case a corrupt DOJ and a corrupt court system working in concert.
These aren’t charges they’re dismissing. They’re dismissing convictions. Dismissing a conviction sounds a lot like a pardon. I didn’t know it was legally possible for a prosecutor to do that.
These people were found guilty through due process. Now the DOJ is re-writing history.
It’s possible to vacate convictions “in the interests of justice” - think someone on death row with exculpatory evidence found years later and a prosecutor mature enough to admit they made a mistake. Or in this case a corrupt DOJ and a corrupt court system working in concert.
None of this should be working like this.