Pardon power

President Donald Trump's announcement that he was pardoning far-right commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to campaign finance fraud, caught many in Trump world by surprise Thursday morning, but they insisted it was not indicative of possible pardons for Trump allies ensnared in the Russia probe.

  Buzzfeed

Sure it's not. Who imagined it was?

D'Souza isn't that well-known of a figure among Trump's base of supporters, leaving many confused about the reasoning behind the pardon, especially since it came at the same time the White House announced major new tariffs.

Not everything is about his base. Everything IS about him, though. The pardon is not needed to assure his base - they're with him no matter what. The pardon is to assure his criminal colluding cohort who are going to need pardons. Of course, they're having to bet on him still being in office when they get sentenced. And what's even more risky: bet on him actually giving a shit when they get sentenced. For his purposes, the pardon is to encourage them to keep lying and to not give him up. (Although I think he's probably missed that boat on several people.) There's no risk to him tossing out winks and nods. The risk is assumed by those who rely on the clues.

The president told reporters Thursday on his way to Dallas he made the decision to pardon D’Souza on his own. “I don’t know him, I never met him, I called him last night, first time I’ve ever spoken to him,” Trump said, according to White House pool reports. “I said, ‘I’m pardoning you.’ Nobody asked me to do it.”

“I’ve always felt he was very unfairly treated,” the president explained.

[...]

D’Souza, Trump said, was shocked to hear from him. “He almost had a heart attack.”

D'Souza's wife on Twitter gave credit to Sen. Ted Cruz for the decision, saying he put a pardon on Trump's "radar." Cruz, retweeting D'Souza's wife, called the pardon "a terrific day for Justice."

[...]

There’s been some speculation that Trump’s pardon of D’Souza — like his earlier pardon of Scooter Libby — could be a signal to others that he’s willing to use his power to help people he deems “unfairly” treated, especially people who might be in the sights of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Well, that's just crazy talk.

[A] former official said he doesn't think Trump is playing "the sort of three-dimensional chess people ascribe to decisions like this. More often than not he's just eating the pieces."

Very likely. But sending constant reminders as to his pardoning powers, and particularly noting the types he pardons, isn't three dimensional chess. It's a typical Trump move. More like Uncle Wiggly.

D'Souza's account of the pardon:

My wife and I had dinner with Sen. Ted Cruz about a month ago and he told me he was going to press for a pardon. Then he called me a couple weeks later and said he spoke to the president and he was very receptive. There needed to be a legal review but he told me I should expect a call from the White House. I got that call midday yesterday and spoke to Trump for 10 minutes. He told me that it’s done and I’m tweeting it out in the morning.

He said I was a great voice for America, then he says: “You were screwed,” his word. He said these people went after you for a mere technicality, I’m going to set that right and clear your record so that you can be an even more visible voice for the country than you are now.

[...]

He was with (chief of staff) Gen. Kelly calling from the Oval Office and we just spoke about when the pardon would take effect and when it would be public.

He knows it was politically motivated. I don’t want to put words in his mouth because I don’t remember exactly what he said, but he said: “They went after you, and they shafted you.” Why would they do this? Obviously because I made a movie critical of Obama.

  Hollywood Reporter

Obviously.  It's the Kenyan's fault.

No American has been prosecuted, let alone locked up, for doing what I did. There’s a very clear record of this that my lawyer put into a legal brief a few years ago. Prosecutions occur under two conditions: When a donation is corrupt and the donor is seeking a quid pro quo from the candidate. Like a political appointment or tax break. The second time is for repeat offenders, like Rosie O’Donnell, who admits she did it five times. But for a single offense for a person with no prior record? To go after them for a felony and essentially try to destroy their life? That’s unprecedented. It’s like going 90 miles an hour on the freeway and being sentenced to five years in prison.

[...]

In the old days, a guy like Jimmy Carter would no more want to lock me up than George W. Bush would want to lock up Michael Moore. But there was a gangsterization of America under Obama where he’d punish dissidents. If they’re going to do it to us, then we should do it to them. That’s the only way this will stop. In a world where Dinesh is prosecuted for one violation, why isn’t Rosie prosecuted for five?

It was an overnight confinement center in San Diego. It was eight months and I’ve already done that. What’s still ongoing is five years of community service and I’m on probation, so I have a officer visit me and I need permission from a judge to travel outside the country. The pardon brings all this to an end and, most importantly, clears my record. So I can vote, own a firearm, all my rights are restored.

[...]

People who plead guilty voluntarily are not doing so “voluntarily.” In my case they filed a charge that carried a maximum penalty of two years and another that carries five years and said they’d drop the second charge if I pled guilty to the first. So the whole thing is a sham. They positioned it like a show trial where I broke down and confessed when actually I was bludgeoned.

[...]

I have a somewhat providential view of life and look at things as if they serve a purpose. I’m a better man for it, so in that sense I don’t regret it. But it’s been an ordeal and emotionally painful and financially expensive.

He can own a firearm now!

So now he knows how the system works with pleas. Maybe he can work for prison reform with Kim Thong Un. But, poor baby, he's had an emotional hurt. Can we lock him back up for being a fucking idiot?



God, this asshole is disgusting.  No wonder Trump likes him.



 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:



Bingo.