Presidents hold the power of the pardon in order to correct gross injustices, but Trump is using his to bail out his friends, keep his co-conspirators quiet, and lash out against an investigation that plagued most of his term in office.
For the record, Roger Stone was caught on tape threatening to kill a witness in his case as well as the witness’s service dog. Michael Flynn was working inside the White House as an unregistered foreign agent of Turkey. Flynn pleaded guilty, twice. Both were convicted unanimously by juries of their peers.
Stone openly said following his commutation that Trump gave him what he wanted, a commutation and not a pardon, because he kept Trump’s secrets. For Flynn’s part, Trump tweeted after his arrest that he fired him because he lied to the FBI. Neither of these men are innocent, neither were caught up in a “witch hunt,” and both should spend time in prison for their crimes. They should, at the very least, serve the same 10-year sentence Trump thinks we should give people who deface a statue of a slaveowner.
With just four months left before the November elections, Trump seems determined to go on a scorched earth plan for saving himself and his friends, ignoring any past precedent or inconveniences like the rule of law.
Twitter had a lot of thoughts about Trump’s Saturday morning rant. Read some of their comments below:
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