The Presidential Turkey Pardon’s Weird Roots Go Back To The Iran-Contra Scandal

This turkey seemed to be in a fowl mood in 1987 when Ronald Reagan used the word “pardon” for the first time in reference to sparing a Thanksgiving turkey.

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The president is going to pardon a turkey.

Full stop. Insert joke. These things write themselves.

But seriously, it’s happening again Tuesday — the peculiar Washington tradition of a president pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey.