Trump Sinks To New Low......

[Hymie]

....in pardoning his pal Roger Stone. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said ‘Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else.’

When the American founding fathers gave the president that power, they believed any president using the power to pardon a convict who had assisted the president in a criminal endeavour would be immediately impeached – but they never reckoned on Trump.

[Buenchico]

While I'm not going to disagree in any way with the main theme of your post, I will point out that DT hasn't pardoned RS (which would have quashed his criminal conviction), he's only commuted his sentence (whereby the conviction still stands).

DT appears (unusually) to have listened to his advisers in not going as far as actually issuing a pardon.

[Mozz71]

Chris, does that basically mean that he's guilty of a crime but won't be punished for it because he's Trump's buddy?

That's even worse than a pardon.

[albaqwerty]

From what I gather (and probably mis-heard) is that Stone cannot even move forward with any of his 3 appeals because Trump commuted his sentence.

On the plus side, also because of Covid-19, California's governor is releasing 8000 prisoners, including rapists.
The U.S. is an odd country.

[DTCwordfan]

Wait until DT releases/pardons Ghislaine.

[DTCwordfan]

Not that Obama ever pardoned or commuted anybody....

'By the end of his second and final term on January 20, 2017, United States President Barack Obama had exercised his constitutional power to grant the executive clemency—that is, "pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve"—to 400 individuals convicted of federal crimes.'

And Clinton? 56 more than Oh-Bambam in his case - here's the list - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_Bill_Clinton

[Mozz71]

DTC, you do realise that almost all of those listed (there are a few exceptions) are old sentences that have already been served, at least partially. Hell, one of them was for desertion during WW2. Slightly different from this.

[Gromit]

DTC,
The obvious difference is that all the people Clinton and Obama stopped from being killed by the state, had long prison sentences instead, and were not personal friends.

Stone walks free even tough he is guilty. All those people who avoided the electric chair didn’t walk free.

[DTCwordfan]

there's enough controversial ones in there, Gromit.....in the last 30 years, every President has caused controversy over the use of their executive power.

[THECORBYLOON]

ALBA, had Stone accepted a pardon, that would have involved an admission of guilt on his part.

The commuting of the sentence allows him to carry on attempting to prove his innocence

[DTCwordfan]

Obama - Chelsea Manning or Oscar Lopez Rivera - Clinton - Mark Rich......

[albaqwerty]

TCL, hadn't heard the full report.
Did a bit of checking and you're right he can continue his appeals and even better for him (or worse for others, depending upon which side you look at it), Stone can plead the 5th if he's ever sub poena'd against Trump which he wouldn't have been able to do if he'd been pardoned apparently.
Trump's a smart cookie.

[Hymie]

House speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to introduce a bill to limit the ability of presidents to take such action – but critics point out that this will entail a change to the American Constitution (a prolonged and difficult task).

[Peter Pedant]

// DT appears (unusually) to have listened to his advisers in not going as far as actually issuing a pardon.//

thanks for posting this - I thought today would pass in the usual emphasis on subjects of import - does Boris wear any protection ( face mask that is! ) in bed. or why cant I say what I want whilst screaming others are inhibiting and threatening me ?

they say you can progress a commutation to a pardon - bearin mind that a pardon involves saying you did it

as for the founding fathers paragraph - I regard alleging what the founding fathers thought is contentious. I wonder if they thought a president would get up to this sort of thing

Lincolns successor was impeached on a whim, but no one worries as he was also an ex slave owner and working hard to roll back emancipation.

running on the Beeb now - midnight sat-sun
journos thrashing around again
"he has been pardoned but he was convicted innit?" - well yeah durrr - a pardon is for someone who has a conviction
Jesus

sometimes AB has better stuff

[Peter Pedant]

// a change to the American Constitution (a prolonged and difficult task).//

well it has been done - what? 24 times before....

when the gt FDR died 16 weeks into a four year term his fourth
they changed it pretty chip chop chap innit?

[Peter Pedant]

and hi campers
as I lay in my pit last night
I thought - hey Nixon was pardoned when he was ABOUT to be impeached

After Ford left the White House in 1977, he privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision that suggests that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and that acceptance carries a confession of guilt.

so anyone know what was going on
it was more like an indemnity

when it became obvious like you know everyone knew
that the Irish bombers were er not Irish Bombers
they were offered a pardon
and they turned it down on the grounds they would have to say they had done it
so the powers that were said - OK we will just let you out
and THAT was why the Irish non bombers said publicly that they wouldnt leave their cells and the bailiffs would have to come

sortta odd to talk about a prison cell like that innit?

[Spicerack]

How can anyone think Adam Schiff for brains has a shred of credibility?
I knew anti-Trumpers were generally low IQ types but strike a light, Hymie.

[Hymie]

Adam Schiff may or may not have a low IQ (I don’t know), but he makes a valid observation that ‘Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else.’

Even the political pundits were suggesting that Trump might pardon Stone immediately after the November election, or just before he leaves office in January next year. But Trump seems to have given up on any attempt to win over wavering voters – and so appears doomed in the November’s election.

[Hymie]

Personally I think once all the truth comes out – historians will rightly judge Trump to be the most corrupt person ever to hold the office of the President of the United States of America.

I’m also willing to bet that the Southern District of New York has enough evidence to jail him for some considerable time, for his wrong doing both pre and during his presidency. But they can do nothing until he is no longer president – I look forward to him losing the November election and what follows next year.

[mushroom25]

// historians will rightly judge Trump to be the most corrupt person ever to hold the office of the President of the United States of America. //

doubt it. even though he may be the worst in modern times, he's going to have to go some in his last few months to even get close to the likes of James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce or Warren Harding

[Hymie]

If only 10% of what Michael Cohen said is true, then Trump is in deep trouble – and only part of what Mr. Cohen had to say was heard in public.
Apparently Mr. Cohen was returned to jail for refusing not to write a tell-all book about his time with Trump.

My crystal ball has Trump writing his memoirs from in his jail cell, insisting it was all a witch-hunt and that he is totally innocent – or he might do a Maxwell and jump from Trump tower onto Fifth Avenue.