Trump allowed the board to make the decision. That was the first mistake. He should have relieved them of that obligation and circumvented the process, as is his prerogative as Commander-in-Chief.
Many people don’t realize that pardon ≠ expungement. That’s well-settled US law and has been for a very long time. If pardoned for a crime, that crime remains on your record, you must still disclose the conviction on any application that asks and it (the pardon) doesn’t undo every ramification of the conviction. Instead, it only stops the punishment and reverses criminal penalties associated with the conviction, like the cessation of rights (like the R2KBA).
But, if you lose a medical license or law license...or military decoration, the pardon does nothing to re-issue those licenses. Things like that are left for the respective governing bodies to sort out as this review board did.
The uncomfortable reality is this review board was simply following the law, which is exactly why Trump should not have left it up to them. But, as a real estate developer with no military or political experience he had no idea how any of it works probably not unlike many reading this comment. Plus, he had very few people surrounding him who shared his goals. This all makes it tough to get things done you want to get done in government.
You're very knowledgeable on a number of issues, welcome to Free Republic.
Interesting. Thanks.