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Dirk puts on the Rose Colored Glasses and takes a hard look at presidential pardons. Did Trump just checkmate himself in 5D chess? Let's look.
So we have just learned that there is a DOJ investigation into the grant of a presidential pardon in exchange for a bribe. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/politics/presidential-pardon-justice-department/index.html.
Trump, of course, has a long history of having criminals all around him, but he has always seemingly slithered out trouble. How? At least part of it is that he let's others do his dirty work and never QUITE gives orders that can be tied to him. https://apnews.com/article/7fa7f6d50c0aa6eae648a56b14065615
And so we all suspect that he is being bribed for arms deals, and tax cuts, and oil drilling contracts, and on and on ... but those are complex things that flow through underlings and it might be tough to prove.
But there is ONE THING that ONLY A POTUS CAN DO. Grant a pardon. It is up to the sole discretion of Trump. No running. No hiding. No dissembling. It's just Trump. If there's a bribe, then Trump's in on the crime.
As we go through the last days in office, now we worry that he slithers away by pardoning himself, and his "kids", and his co-felons. It's a real worry and there are not clearly stated limits on POTUS pardon power.
The two most likely reasons for a pardon not to hold up: self-pardon and pardon of a co-conspirator. Any last minute pardons would have to be both. He would have to pardon the person that bribed him, and he would have to pardon himself for taking the bribe.
The last-minute pardons would be on the worst possible legal footing. So Trump somehow managed to f up the one real ace in the hole that he had -- the presidential power of pardon -- by selling it. Amazing. Rosie even.
Also very rosie - kleptocracy 101 is to route bribes through favored family members. Mark this tweet - the bribes went through "the kids."
Dirk out.
Dirk out.
