Summary:
In what may be a first in American history, President Trump just expanded the presidential pardon power to include corporations.
Corporations are artificial legal fictions designed to maximize shareholder wealth. Nonetheless, they can theoretically commit crimes and be indicted for them. According to a 1999 memorandum from the Justice Department, the “important public benefits” of prosecuting corporations include “deterrence on a massive scale,” particularly for “crimes that carry with them a substantial risk of public harm,” such as “financial frauds.”
Such public benefits now fall prey to the whims of the president with his pardon of a cryptocurrency company that smacks of political corruption.
On Friday, Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to four individuals and a related cryptocurrency exchange, BitMEX.
BitMEX solicits and takes orders for trades in derivatives tied to the value of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Last summer, BitMEX entered a guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court for violating the Bank Secrecy Act for having operated without a legitimate anti-money laundering program. Prior to August 2020, customers could register to trade with BitMEX anonymously, providing only verified email addresses. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Opinion newsletter
On Jan. 15, 2025, BitMEX was criminally fined $100 million in connection with its guilty plea, which was on top of $130 million in civil penalties previously imposed by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. At sentencing, the judge noted that BitMEX, which is incorporated in the Seychelles, had claimed not to operate in the U.S. for several years even though U.S. customers comprised a large share of its business.
If corporations can receive pardons, then corporations should be able to receive the death penalty.
They can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_death_penalty
Personally I prefer the avenue where all their IP is copylefted. Really, its a great way to spur innovation.
I hope one day we do this to all for profit companies. Imagine all for profit companies IP becoming open source, and only allowing nonprofits to form to replace them. It would be a huge Renaissance and economic success
Nope sorry, corporations can only be ‘people’ legally if it endows all of the benefits but none of the risks.
I’m told this is a cornerstone of capitalism.
Reminds me of this quote from Ambrose Bierce from the Devil’s Dictionary:
There’s a lot of good ones in this book.