“As President Trump prepares to leave office in days, a lucrative market for pardons is coming to a head, with some of his allies collecting fees from wealthy felons or their associates to push the White House for clemency.” nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/…
“One of the lobbyists closest to Trump and his administration, Matt Schlapp, who was tapped by Trump last month to sit on the trust fund board for the Library of Congress, has been lobbying for a pardon for a major Republican donor convicted of securities fraud in November.”
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“After stepping down as the president’s lawyer, Dowd marketed himself as a potential conduit for pardons because of his access to Trump and aides like Kushner, saying the president was likely to look favorably on petitioners investigated by federal prosecutors in Manhattan”
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“Trump has instructed aides not to pay Giuliani’s legal fees, and has demanded that he personally approve any reimbursements for the expenses Giuliani incurred while traveling on the president’s behalf to challenge election results in key states.”
“Trump was upset generally that virtually nobody is defending him — including press secretary McEnany, senior adviser and son-in-law Kushner, economic adviser Kudlow, national security adviser O’Brien and Chief of Staff Meadows, according to a senior administration official.”
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“One of Trump’s few confidants these days is Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.)
“Trump asked Graham to lobby fellow senators to acquit him in his eventual impeachment trial, which Graham did from Air Force One”
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“From the beginning the danger presented by Trump was obvious: an unfit leader driven by contempt for democratic norms.
“One of the confounding things of this era is how many otherwise intelligent people have been unable or unwilling to grasp the obvious” nymag.com/intelligencer/…
“Even after four years of Trump abusing power, fomenting violence, and actively attempting to rig the vote while claiming any prospect defeat must be fraudulent, his supporters denied any danger”
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“ ‘I have a lot more concern about Democrats accepting the results of a Trump reelection than Trump accepting results of a loss,’ argued Republican adviser Josh Holmes, ignoring the fact that the only candidate who had questioned the 2016 election result was Trump himself.”
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“The GOP attempt to overturn the election doesn’t pose an imminent threat to the Republic - Biden will be sworn in Jan 20 regardless - but it’s hardly meaningless. We’re watching another iterative stage in the party’s long evolution into authoritarianism” nymag.com/intelligencer/…
“Trump’s authoritarianism is a combination of his unique sociopathy and worship for authoritarians, and a tendency to accept it in his party. The Democratic Party as it currently exists could not produce a Trump. Nor could have the old Republican Party until perhaps the 1990s”
“Conservatives inclined to lay the blame on a lone madman president, should mull over the fact that their two most respected leaders from a quarter-century ago, Newt Gingrich and Kenneth Starr, have both thrown themselves enthusiastically behind Trump’s abuses of power.”
“One episode foreshadowed much of what we’re seeing: Republican reactions to the mostly successful introduction of Obamacare.
“The act, Republicans claimed, would drive premiums sky-high, fail to reduce the number of uninsured and have a devastating effect on employment.”
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“None of it happened. Millions gained health coverage. Job creation continued, w/3-M jobs added the following year. Obamacare may have fallen somewhat short of its sponsors’ hopes, but from the beginning it helped many Americans. Nothing like the disaster opponents predicted.”
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