In the recent comic “Dennis the Menace” by Hank Ketcham, Dennis is shown pointing his finger at a man wearing a suit, white shirt and tie, sternly saying: “My Dad (who is looking on) says you re the best politician money can buy!”
Given Donald Trump’s unprecedented abuse of the pardon power in his last hours as president, there has been a good deal of loose talk on the subject, including that pardons somehow have the effect of wiping out the convictions that underlie them.
In fact, the Justice Department’s own website warns those seeking clemency: ”While a presidential pardon will restore various rights lost as a result of the pardoned offense and should lessen to some extent the stigma arising from a conviction, it will not erase or expunge the record of your conviction.”