Tuesday, February 18, 2020

A Possibility


This, and this:

Could indicate political ploys (DeBartolo's pardon may be a play for votes in Ohio; Blagojevich for votes in Illinois, though more likely yet another childish slap at Obama); but it could also be "cover" for pardoning Stone.

Why not go for three, and figure the last one won't seem as significant in company?

Then again, why hasn't Trump pardoned Manafort, or Flynn?  Anything is possible, and nothing really makes sense.  Especially because you have to keep this in mind:

The former Illinois governor’s wife, Patricia Blagojevich, has repeatedly gone on Fox News to lobby the president for a pardon of her convicted husband.

But all she's getting is a commutation.  Tucker Carlson has been demanding a pardon for Stone; but all he's gotten so far is complaints about the sentencing procedure (which is actually more complicated than has been reported.  The Parole Board calculates a recommended sentence and sends that to the lawyers trying the case; all of that is submitted to the judge, along with recommendations from defense counsel; and then a mathematical formula is used to be sure the sentence is in line with other such cases in other federal courts (the "sentencing guidelines").  It's not reflective of the malice of prosecutors or the caprice of the judge.  But all of that is far too complicated for Trump to begin to understand, or even to listen to the explanation.)
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1 comment:

  1. The Thought Criminal12:35 PM

    There needs to be some serious limits placed on the pardon power. No one in the president's administration, no close relatives, and that's the start of it. Trump proves as George H.W. Bush did that the way it is now is as likely to cover up for presidential crimes as anything else. Depending on a sense of honor among such people is a hugely dangerous mistake.

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