A reminder that even Billy Barr said a pardon in these circumstances might be obstruction. https://twitter.com/ScottMStedman/status/1281685070235856897

For those asking, yes, I expect a commutation, not a pardon. Trump is incompetent on most things, but not on bribing people to keep silent about his own crimes.

Scooter Libby had his sentence commuted in circumstances very similar to Stone's imminent commutation.

Libby had lied about WHO told him to leak classified info and WHAT they told him to leak. If it was Cheney, it could have been a crime. If it was Bush, it would have been the President abusing his {de}classification authority, basically exposing a CIA spy for revenge.

The most telling detail of that process is that even though Cheney pushed Bush hard for a full pardon on Bush's last days in office, Bush did not oblige. That would have freed up Libby to testify against Bush.

In messaging to Trump from literally the day after his trial, Stone has made it clear HOW he protected Trump: by not admitting which conversations they discussed the leaks, and not admitting WHETHER Trump was on a pardon-for-WikiLeaks release deal that was made.

Anyway, it'll be FUCKING HYSTERICAL if Trump overestimates the degree to which Stone protected him.