Each time a Trump co-conspirator is about to go down, Trump tries to con them into thinking they’ll be pardoned, by pardoning someone else (in this case DeBartolo).
The media says “he’s laying the groundwork!”
Then he never does pardon his co-conspirator.
Stop being gullible.
The media says “he’s laying the groundwork!”
Then he never does pardon his co-conspirator.
Stop being gullible.
The media has spent three years trying to keep you glued to your television by inaccurately painting pardons as magic wands, and then convincing you that Trump is about to pardon everyone at any moment. But it never happens because pardons are complicated and don’t work that way.
Trump is aware that MSNBC and CNN use pardon hysteria to keep you tuned in. And he knows that if he pardons some random crook at the right time, the media will do his job for him by insisting the pardon is proof that he’s about to pardon his own co-conspirator(s).
Trump is counting on the media’s ratings-driven pardon hysteria, and your fatalist pardon hysteria, to con someone like Stone (Manafort, Cohen, Flynn before that) into believing that if they rot in prison for a minute, he really will pardon them. Then he never pardons them.
There’s a chance Trump could pardon Stone, who surely has even worse dirt on Trump than the others do, and could seek ugly revenge. But if it does happen, it’ll be the first time the pundits have ever been right about a Trump pardon in three years – and then only by coincidence.
If Trump pardons a co-conspirator, it’ll trigger a legal battle over the scope of pardon power, which could result in Trump being blocked from trying to pardon himself and his kids on his way out the door. Is Trump so afraid of Stone’s dirt, he’s willing to risk prison himself?
Trump can also only pardon federal charges. Stone has a secondary residence in NYC, which was raided when he was arrested. If Stone is pardoned, New York can bring state charges against him, even if Florida won’t. So Stone’s pardon might not even him out of prison.
And if Stone’s pardon does ultimately leave him with no criminal liability, and then Trump loses the election and is arrested, Stone would be required to testify against him (no 5th amendment). Trump would unwittingly turn Stone into a future witness against him by pardoning him.
Pardoning co-conspirators is complicated. High risk, low reward, unpredictable consequences. It’s why Trump has never pardoned any of his co-conspirators over these past three years. Trump would harm himself badly by pardoning Stone. He’ll only do it if he feels he has no choice.
But of course this is all far more esoteric, and far less ratings-friendly, than the simplistic pardon hysteria you hear on TV.
I could double my page views right now by playing into the pardon hysteria, and scaring many of into reading it each day. But that would be wrong!
I could double my page views right now by playing into the pardon hysteria, and scaring many of into reading it each day. But that would be wrong!
