Corporate Clemency

Pardoning Corporations: Apropos President Trump's Pardon of BitMEX

By Eugene Volokh

As the dust settles on the BitMEX pardon controversy, it's worth considering the broader implications of President Trump's decision to pardon the cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform. In particular, the question arises: Can a president pardon a corporation?

The answer, it turns out, is a resounding "maybe." While the Constitution grants the president the power to grant pardons to individuals, it does not explicitly extend that power to corporations. However, the Justice Department has historically taken the position that the president's pardon power can be extended to corporations, as long as they are not simply a shell or a front for an individual.

But here's the thing: BitMEX is not just a corporation. It's a platform that facilitates trading in cryptocurrency derivatives, which are essentially contracts that allow investors to bet on the future value of cryptocurrencies. And it's here that things get interesting.

You see, the charges against BitMEX were not just about the company's alleged failure to register as a securities exchange. They were also about the company's alleged role in facilitating illegal activities, such as insider trading and market manipulation. And it's here that the question of whether a president can pardon a corporation becomes even more complicated.

After all, if a president can pardon a corporation for its alleged role in facilitating illegal activities, doesn't that create a rather large loophole in the legal system? I mean, what's to stop a corporation from committing all sorts of illegal activities, and then just getting a pardon from the president? It's a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.

And yet, that's exactly what President Trump did. He pardoned BitMEX, not just for its alleged failure to register as a securities exchange, but also for its alleged role in facilitating illegal activities. And now, the question is: What's next?

Will other corporations get pardoned for their alleged role in facilitating illegal activities? Will the president start issuing pardons left and right, just to keep the economy going? It's a slippery slope, if you ask me.

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a lawyer. Maybe I'm just being too cautious. Maybe the president knows what he's doing. Maybe BitMEX really is innocent, and the charges against it were just a big misunderstanding.

But until we get some more information, I'm going to have to say that I'm not convinced. And that's why I'm calling on the president to come clean about what really happened here. What was the real reason for the pardon? Was it just a nice little favor for a friend, or was there something more going on?

We deserve to know. And until we do, I'm going to have to assume that the president's pardon of BitMEX was just another example of his administration's lack of transparency and accountability.

So, what do you think? Should the president be able to pardon corporations for their alleged role in facilitating illegal activities? Let me know in the comments below.