Bear in mind that a pardon carries with it a de facto admission of guilt.
“Bear in mind that a pardon carries with it a de facto admission of guilt.”
Only for those who already believe the pardoned person was guilty and won’t be convinced otherwise. It is a de facto erasure of the crime as if it never happened or an assertion that it never happened. Commutation is more along the lines of what you claim.
And the President’s power of pardon is essentially absolute at the federal level, but does not apply at the state level. There is no constitutional constraint other than in matters of impeachment, and we’ve already been there. And a general pardon not specific to any charged crime is possible - Nixon got one.
That being said, Trump should not do it - it would be pointless as they can simply manufacture any “crimes” they wish and the evidence to “convict”.