Trump Can Recast Jan 6 Pardons by Pardoning Roman Polanski

Trump could gain a perverse kind of redemption for pardoning Jan 6 insurrectionists — if he makes a big show of pardoning Roman Polanski too. After all, Polanski’s victim has long since forgiven him.

Polanski has spent decades in artistic exile. At 91, he’s running out of time for a return to bask in the honors and praise Hollywood has been aching to give him. And there’s precedent. The Red Scare forced Charlie Chaplin into a decades-long exile, too. But the US government cleared the way, granting him a visa after a formal immigration review. This allowed Hollywood to welcome him back with an honorary Oscar, and a 12-minute standing ovation to boot.

Of course, for Trump, it’s not about justice. It’s about showmanship. And no curtain call would be more perverse — or more on brand.