Couldn't Daddy trump just issue a blanket pardon and clean off any associates crimes/misdeeds/etc?
This is what has always confused me about Ford's pardon of Nixon. I was always under the impression that a *conviction* could be pardoned, but that a pardon could not clear someone of suspicion or cut off prosecution.
But apparently that's not so, and Ford's pardon actually prevented prosecution (and not just Congressional impeachment). What's weird is that Ford's pardon was a blanket action that did not specify particular crimes or suspicions being eliminated.
If it had come out in 1976 that Nixon had had someone murdered in 1972 to hide his wrongdoings, would Ford's 1974 pardon have retroactively forgiven that too?
El Guapo wrote:Reading this story significantly raised my estimated probability that many / most of the senior Trump people wind up in jail.
If you'll remember, there were comments made by members of the intelligence community back in December or January that indicated it was going to happen. Also, let's not forget what Eric said last night on Lumpy's show:
Appearing on Fox News with host Sean Hannity, Eric Trump smeared his liberal detractors, saying, “They’re not even people.”
Asked by host Hannity, “Don’t you wish you went to Washington so you could deal with this everyday?” the president’s son sneered at Democrats.
“I’ve never seen hatred like this, ” he responded. “To me, they’re not even people. It is so so sad.”
He's quite endearing.
I think the word Eric was looking for is Untermenschen. That would have played well with the Breitbart crowd.
"Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?"
-Michelle Obama 2024 Democratic Convention
Wise words of warning from Smoove B: Oh, how you all laughed when I warned you about the semen. Well, who's laughing now?
Holman wrote:Meanwhile, on the Good Timeline, headlines since January have been dominated by President Clinton not dissolving her charitable foundation quickly enough.
At roughly this point in Obama's presidency, pundits were slamming him for putting Dijon mustard on his hot dog. Many more such scandals would ensue.
The new appellate nominees are Justice Allison H. Eid of the Colorado Supreme Court for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Professor Stephanos Bibas of the University of Pennsylvania Law School for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, and U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson of North Dakota for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
These are impressive nominees. Eid was previously listed on President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees and, as Orin notes, Bibas is among the nation’s most prominent and important criminal procedure scholars, and has argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although one might not have expected this, the Trump administration appears to have a soft spot for academics. Five of the nine circuit court nominees announced thus far are current or former law professors (Eid, Bibas, Joan Larsen, David Stras and Amy Coney Barrett). Much like the Reagan administration, this administration appears to believe that appointing academics is one way to maximize its influence on the federal judiciary. President Ronald Reagan placed quite a few prominent legal academics on the bench, including Antonin Scalia, Frank Easterbrook, Douglas Ginsburg and Stephen Williams, and these nominations certainly had an outsize influence on the courts.
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
Academics have easier to identify politics. It's all about the litmus tests.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth "The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
The lists are straight from the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society. Trump has few legal connections of his own, so it's purely special interest driven.
Heritage Foundation was formed because Nixon was "too liberal" and brought on Sen. Tim DeMint of the Tea Party. Ironically, it also came up with Romneycare which became Obamacare.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth "The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
I think it would be difficult for Comey to find a home at the top of any ticket. His politics are said to be moderate Republican, but he is now Public Enemy #1 on the right.
I think the next Democratic president should offer him his old job back. Or maybe Attorney General, assuming his heart is in the right place on civil rights and certain other issues.
Comey has no future in politics or public service, he just has too much baggage from this last year. He doesn't strike me as the type to become a cable news pundit, so I'd guess he'll either go into private practice or academia.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
I like Biden a lot. I'd vote for him. But I can't think of a worse response to the 2016 red hat backlash than to nominate Obama's VP, the Washington institution.
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
So Comey is "the leaker," the boogeyman who has been saying all those mean things about Trump all along? Apparently Lewandowski has been floating the possibility that Comey was the arch-leaker of just about everything embarrassing and that he should go to jail for it.
This is the stuff of Stalinist fantasy, but that's what plays in TrumpLand.
Chaz wrote:I like Biden a lot. I'd vote for him. But I can't think of a worse response to the 2016 red hat backlash than to nominate Obama's VP, the Washington institution.
I think you underestimate how nostalgic people are going to be after even only a few more months of President Buffoon and the Bumbling Rangers.
Having someone in charge who reads above a 6th grade level may be the low bar at this point, but I think those who truly felt Obama was a good leader are starting to grow in number by leaps and bounds at this point.
Chaz wrote:I like Biden a lot. I'd vote for him. But I can't think of a worse response to the 2016 red hat backlash than to nominate Obama's VP, the Washington institution.
I think you underestimate how nostalgic people are going to be after even only a few more months of President Buffoon and the Bumbling Rangers.
Having someone in charge who reads above a 6th grade level may be the low bar at this point, but I think those who truly felt Obama was a good leader are starting to grow in number by leaps and bounds at this point.
It is too early to say whether Trump's rise and fall will make the electorate nostalgic for moderation or push us farther to the extremes. I expect the latter.
This means a staff shakeup is coming. Sean Spicer will probably be out, Kellyanne Conway (if she isn't already), any number of minor funtionaries who might be holdovers from past administrations, and probably Priebus himself. Anyone has ever been suspected of leaking will probably get the axe.
The rumor is that Corey Lewandowski is coming back (either as a senior advisor or in Priebus' role) and also David Bossie. Both of these guys are right-wing activists and ideologues.
Smoove_B wrote:It was only a matter of time before the deck chairs were re-arranged.
It's going to be interesting, though, to see who the Mangerine can get working for him when everyone has seen how well things are going now. I mean, doesn't he already have the best people he could find for round one?
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2025-01-20: The nightmares continue.
We already know that the only thing Trump wants is personal loyalty: co-conspirators who'll keep his secrets and tell him what he wants to hear.
Competence is no requirement. Josh Marshall has reported on the legal team Trump is building to defend himself. The lead is the guy Trump has always relied on for his divorces, real-estate lawsuits, and pushback against bad press; the other's specialty is religious-conservative lawsuits. Neither has any experience with the obstruction, money-laundering, and other issues Trump will be facing.
Meanwhile, the best-regarded and most experienced lawyers in just these areas are said to be beating down Robert Mueller's door...
Holman wrote:
Meanwhile, the best-regarded and most experienced lawyers in just these areas are said to be beating down Robert Mueller's door...
They're going to fire Mueller, aren't they? It seems inconceivable, but I fear it's coming. Sure the backlash would be severe, but it beats what he'd find and you know that the GOP in congress won't do anything.
One of President Donald Trump’s attorneys on Sunday wouldn't rule out the possibility the president would fire the special counsel appointed to look into his campaign’s potential ties to Russia.
Holman wrote:
Meanwhile, the best-regarded and most experienced lawyers in just these areas are said to be beating down Robert Mueller's door...
They're going to fire Mueller, aren't they? It seems inconceivable, but I fear it's coming. Sure the backlash would be severe, but it beats what he'd find and you know that the GOP in congress won't do anything.
Firing Mueller may be the exact thing they need to galvanize some of the borderline Trump supporters. It just screams "guilty". I have to pray enough of the GOP has that little shred of moral and ethical strength to act should Trump follow through on the idea.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
However much I may dislike the Republican party right now, I can't imagine more than a few would stand by and support the firing of Mueller. Especially after they virtually all praised the decision to have him be the investigator.
Fitzy wrote:However much I may dislike the Republican party right now, I can't imagine more than a few would stand by and support the firing of Mueller. Especially after they virtually all praised the decision to have him be the investigator.
Prepare to be surprised then. They used to praise Comey too, and now he's been so smeared in the right-wing media that it's a given in the base that he's a partisan hack. Even GOP leadership have been publicly criticizing him: https://twitter.com/JohnCornyn/status/8 ... 1925096449
Fitzy wrote:However much I may dislike the Republican party right now, I can't imagine more than a few would stand by and support the firing of Mueller. Especially after they virtually all praised the decision to have him be the investigator.
You've got WAY more faith in the current Republican party than I do. I expect that when it happens, many will express concern, then proceed to do exactly nothing.
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
Exactly. Paul Ryan hit the news cycle last week suggesting it's all good because Trump doesn't know any better - he's still learning. This is the same guy that in the Fall of 2016 made a snarky Youtube video explaining to President Obama how the Constitution works. But (R)ussian President Twitter has absolutely no idea what he's doing? Just let him be - he'll figure it out. The absurdity of it all is both hilarious and frustrating.
Newcastle wrote:I dont think anyone can fire a Special Counsel. Can they?
Nixon says "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
Chaz wrote:I like Biden a lot. I'd vote for him. But I can't think of a worse response to the 2016 red hat backlash than to nominate Obama's VP, the Washington institution.
I dunno. It seems like there are a lot of people who loved Obama and Sanders but hated Hillary for quasi-logical reasons. I think Biden could do fine, especially since he comes from a non-wealthy background and does the emoting / connecting thing much better than Hillary.
Newcastle wrote:I dont think anyone can fire a Special Counsel. Can they?
They absolutely can. I don't know whether it can come directly from the president, or if it has to come from the Justice Department, but a special counsel can absolutely be fired.
Brian Kilmeade was making the case for firinga Mueller on his radio show a few minutes ago.
If/when it happens, look for the Justice department to make the move, and claim that the president had nothing to do with the decision.
Trump isn't terribly good at the whole "thinking it through" thing though.
Holman wrote:
You're totally embracing that "corrupt as fuck," aren't you?
Rip would vote for John Wayne Gacy if it meant keeping a democrat out of the office. He's driven by spite, not a genuine belief in effective leadership.
Fitzy wrote:However much I may dislike the Republican party right now, I can't imagine more than a few would stand by and support the firing of Mueller. Especially after they virtually all praised the decision to have him be the investigator.
You've got WAY more faith in the current Republican party than I do. I expect that when it happens, many will express concern, then proceed to do exactly nothing.
Self-preservation is everything -- that's just human nature. They will not abandon this sinking ship until they see their own careers threatened, and that's got to come from the bottom up. They will stampede for the lifeboats only if and when the wingnuts turn against Trump in sufficient numbers to endanger his sycophants. There's no sign of that happening yet and it's hard to imagine what will turn the tide. If it does happen, though, things will turn very quickly; Trump reigns through fear and bullying, not affection or inspiration, and I'm sure that the overwhelming majority of Republicans would be happy to be rid of him -- but only when they are sure that he won't take them down, too.
As one pundit wrote last week, Comey's testimony scored a couple of hits below the waterline. The ship is still afloat, but it's listing badly, and there are more torpedoes incoming.
