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You make a persuasive point that we should err on the side of protecting innocents. I myself am a strong believer in Blackstone's formulation. On the other hand, I don't think that it's accurate to say that what Trump has done here is motivated by that same desire. If it were, then he would've been more selective about who he pardoned. After all, this isn't an "all or nothing" where we can't do anything about the fact that the guilty (and there are guilty people here) will be set free.
No, in my view this is pure "stick it to them" trying to get back at his outgroup coupled with a healthy dose of not caring whether the presidential pardon power is being abused. And that is not acceptable. We all lose by such an action, and we lose quite a bit at that. So, at best, this is some benefit to those who are innocent coupled with serious damage to the social fabric of the United States. I'm not prepared to accept that trade so readily as you are.
But how can Trump really know who's innocent or not? The premise here is that the court that convicted all of them was politically compromised, and it's probably not a good idea for Trump to sit as judge and jury.
I like the analogy of someone convicted due to the fruit of an illegal search -- yes, he is probably guilty; no, that does not mean that it's an injustice for him to be turned loose. It means that the justice system needs to do better next time.
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