I think I've mentioned in passing that the Trumpist superpower is shamelessness. Richardson, in the course of her recap, mentions the increasing understanding of just how Trump is abusing his pardon power. There really is no restriction on the pardon power, though there is a prohibition on bribery. It seems that there is more than a little smoke in regards to bribery for pardons.
On December 23, Rebecca Ballhaus, Josh Dawsey, and C. Ryan Barber of the Wall Street Journal examined Trump’s use of the president’s pardoning power to cash in, with “lobbyists close to Trump” saying that “their going rate to advocate for a pardon is $1 million.” Some of those eager for a presidential pardon have offered lobbyists as much as $6 million if they succeed.
The Justice Department’s former pardon attorney, Liz Oyer, was fired in March. She told the Wall Street Journal reporters that Trump “appears to be considering political, personal and financial interests and not the interests of the American public,” subverting the pardon process.
Trump sees everything as a business deal. Everything is a transaction that he either "wins" or "loses." We cannot be surprised if he is simply accepting bribes in return for pardons - or that the corrupt legions around him are doing so. If you are a Trump Loyalist, you can freely accept bribes knowing that Trump will pardon you on his way out the door. Given the near impossibility of their being 67 votes in the Senate to convict under impeachment, Trump knows he's immune.
The evidence of that corruption is therefore not likely to result in criminal charges. All that is left is the public shame of being a corrupt hack...but if you have no shame to begin with, then the final measure of consequence and thus of reining in their criminality is removed.
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