“Rotten to the Core”
Trump is now in Mar a Lago for Christmas. I can only hope they changed the locks on the White House and have started the deep clean and fumigation. On his way out the door, Trump granted another 26 pardons, mostly for more of his allies, corrupt congressmen, and murderers who he really enjoys pardoning. Included on yesterday’s list was Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Charles Kushner (Jared’s father) who plead guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, 1 of retaliating against a witness, and 1 for lying to the FEC. Nice guy. The congressmen were felons Steve Stockman (fraud and money laundering), Chris Collins (securities fraud) , along with Duncan Hunter along with his wife (misuse of campaign funds). He also pardon George Papadapoulos and Alex Van De Swaan, snared by Robert Mueller. He also pardoned the Blackwater mercenaries who killed 14 innocent Iraqis and wounded another 17.
During his time in office, Trump has turned the President’s pardon power on its head. Envisioned by the Founders as a tool for mercy, to right wrongful sentences or false charges, the pardon power depends on the President actually using these powers for those purposes. There have been some isolated abuses of this power, like when Clinton pardoned Mark Rich, but those instances are rare. Trump has used the power almost exclusively to pardon his friends and fellow criminals, those endorsed by Hollywood stars, and criminals who committed their crimes against those who Trump doesn’t like. They are overwhelmingly white and male.
These pardons are so corrupt that even a few Republicans have been able to stand vertically, sans backbones, to condemn them. Even conservative Been Sasse of Nebraska called these pardons to be “Rotten to the Core.” That’s an understatement, way too little, way too late.
Those Republicans who step across this threshold to criticize Trump might be simply making sure they get to criticize any pardon that Biden (or any Dem) issues in the future.
Not that those who stand silent now will refrain from screaming BS at any Dem pardons in the future but some of these BS artists want a fig leaf.
1About those pardons. Whenever they are discussed it should be also mentioned that included in the fetid parcel were the Blackwater thugs who sprayed a busy intersection in Iraq with live fire, killing a bunch of unarmed civilians including a 9 year old boy whose father supported the invasion.
These guys were so vile they could be convicted while Cheney was in office. Now they’re free.
And of course if you ask any Trumper, they’ll shrug and say Obama did “the exact same thing.”
2I certainly haven’t heard any GOP office holders from Texas emitting even the slightest peep. They are all still in the thrall of that mafioso and I have to assume, so are 74 mil people.
3I don’t have any respect for repugnanticans in congress in their calling out Trumpf on these pardons. Agreed they should but they have been complicit in letting Trumpf get so brazen in his corruption, shitting on democracy, the rule of law and the office. The current chaos around the maladministration is more than a little bit their fault, and many are still stoking the dumpster fire by kissing his orange ass.
4We all knew he was a dimwitted criminal a55h0le and that like most politicians the rePUKEians have no balls or spine to stand up to their own criminal fellows!
5Get over it! Any president’s authority to pardon is absolute; written in the Constitution, and available to all presidents. FDR leads all Presidents – that is – until this one is finished. The commander-in-thief will only pardon more if the outcry continues … and nothing can be done about it. He might even pardon Cohen and the Rosenbergs, posthumously.
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