Why Derek Chauvin Will Languish in Prison—Regardless of the Facts › American Greatness
Roger Kimball
I missed Rachel K. Paulose’s column about George Floyd—sorry, Saint George Floyd—when it appeared in The Spectator World at the end of May. Knowing of my interest in the case, a public-spirited individual brought the column to my attention. I thought it was an appalling regurgitation of the established, but erroneous, narrative about the larcenous, drug-and-woman-abusing miscreant George Floyd and the former police officer primarily involved in his arrest.
Paulose is worried that President Trump might pardon Derek Chauvin, the former policeman who is now rotting away in prison for a long list of federal and state crimes, including multiple counts of murder, manslaughter, and “civil rights deprivation.”
Paulose pretends to be concerned about Donald Trump’s legacy among blacks. He has made such impressive inroads with black voters, she notes. Pity to throw it all away by pardoning someone like Derek Chauvin, a brute who all the world knows callously murdered the noble George Floyd in cold blood by kneeling on his neck and depriving him of oxygen. “President Trump,” she writes, “should respect the verdict of the people and protect his own legacy by rejecting the ignoble calls to absolve the fired officer of his guilt.”
Paulose notes with satisfaction that Trump’s pardon power extends only to federal crimes. To be released from prison, Chauvin would also need to secure a pardon or commutation from the governor of Minnesota. Yes, the governor’s office is overdue for a serious upgrade. Currently, however, the position is held by the great hunter and dispenser of feminine hygiene products in boys’ bathrooms, Tim “Nimrod” Walz. The contingency of Walz granting Chauvin a pardon is, as Jeeves might put it, remote.
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https://amgreatness.com/2025/08/10/why-derek-chauvin-will-languish-in-prison-regardless-of-the-facts/
