There are new allegations and concerns over President Donald Trump and his administration's willingness to flirt with lawlessness.

A Nov. 28 Washington Post report alleged that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave orders to “kill them all” during a missile strike on an alleged drug vessel. A follow-up strike was sent that killed survivors clinging to the boat, according to The Post.

The White House confirmed on Dec. 1 that Hegseth authorized the Sept. 2 operation, but officials say that he did not explicitly authorize the second strike. Trump has quickly defended Hegseth, even as the Senate moves forward with an investigation.

Those actions, if true, would be a clear violation of federal law. But Hegseth has no reason to be worried about any of this because Trump has already shown his willingness to pardon his allies. So why would this administration feel the need to follow the law?

Trump's administration flaunts lawlessness under promise of pardons

Let me pose a not-so-far-fetched hypothetical: What if Trump pardons everyone in his administration? What motivation is there among his loyal goons to not rampantly violate the rule of law on his behalf?

This is exactly the sort of scheme that seems increasingly likely to happen as the president takes more and more reckless action with the pardon power. Trump has set the pretextual argument for it, the fact that he needs to protect his administration and himself from vengeful prosecution by congressional Democrats. Likewise, former President Joe Biden has given Republicans the ammunition to justify it through his ridiculous preemptive pardons right before he left office.

Given the allegations surrounding Hegseth’s potentially illegal actions related to the suspected drug boats, my concern over pardons is top of mind. Even if the allegations as stated are untrue, there is still the question of whether these missile strikes are even legal in the first place.

To this point, nobody in the administration has been able to make a coherent case in favor of the legality of U.S. attacks against these alleged drug boats. Congress hasn’t authorized them, and these vessels do not pose an imminent threat to the United States.

Since early September, there have been more than 20 known U.S. strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats that the Trump administration accuses of trafficking narcotics, killing more than 80 people. Under the assumption that these missile strikes are illegal, that would mean every one of these killings is improper.

Under the current paradigm, what incentive is there for the Pentagon chief not to commit atrocities? In all likelihood, Hegseth can expect to be pardoned on the president’s way out the door as a reward for his loyalty.

The closest that Hegseth has come to any sort of accountability was when his carelessness with leaking war plans to a journalist over a Signal group chat in March painted the Trump administration as incompetent. Even then, the White House protected him.

The pardon power must be amended or ended

Presidents can clearly no longer be trusted to use the pardon power in a trustworthy manner or to hold their own administration accountable. Plenty of the actions of both Trump and Biden in this arena have proved that much to any neutral observer.

However, all of this is only enabled because Congress cannot be trusted to police the use of the pardon power. The Founding Fathers created the pardon power under the assumption that the threat of impeachment would be a check on the pardon power. But in our hyperpartisan, morally deprived political landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult to count enough votes in the Senate to impeach a president of either party, even for the most heinous actions.

Plenty of Trump’s pardons have been brazenly impeachable. His Day 1 pardon of rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was enough out of the gate, but those were hardly his only improper actions.

Trump’s pardons have gone beyond merely relief for his political allies; they have delved into potentially corrupt territory. His pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao demands, at the very least, an investigation, given the immense amount of money the Trump family has made in partnership with Binance on cryptocurrency endeavors.

All of these have been done while Republicans in Congress cover their ears and hold their nose, pretending they don’t hear the boos or smell the stench of corruption. Will they do the same with Hegseth's latest scandal?

If Congress can’t be bothered to police fundamental abuses of power, then we cannot leave such unchecked judgment calls to the president. The pardon power should be amended or eliminated through a constitutional amendment. America cannot afford to continue down this path.

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth doesn't have to worry, Trump will just pardon him | Opinion

Reporting by Dace Potas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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