Why does Rory Stewart say American presidential pardons are not normal?

Rory Stewart argued that the US pardon power lets Joe Biden pardon his own relatives and Donald Trump pardon people who backed his crypto ventures, and he expects Trump to pardon criminal members of his own administration before leaving office. He said no European democracy lets a head of state do this. In Britain the King's pardons go to cases like Alan Turing, posthumously cleared of his 1950s conviction for homosexuality. Alastair Campbell agreed the power has to go, saying it nearly exempts a sitting president from accountability.

• Rory Stewart said corruption runs through both parties, citing congressional stock trading and decades of state and city scandals.
• Alastair Campbell called for a broader overhaul of the US constitution, Congress and the Supreme Court.

▸In their words

“Just for American listeners, you may think that's normal. That is not normal.” Rory Stewart · at 14:37 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-11-04). Read the whole episode summary →

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