Trump's pardon blitz

[99explorer]

Michael Cohen suggests Trump may have already secretly pardoned himself and his children.

https://news.yahoo.com/michael-cohen...081949116.html

I suspected as much. See comment #3 in this topic.

[99explorer]

Those pocket pardons will soon be in the Smithsonian.

[FirstBubba]

"... So much for healing the country then, let’s just keep partisan politics as usual. ..."

There can be no healing. Liberals don't want healing.
Liberals aren't satisfied just with Trump's defeat, their desire now is to destroy and annihilate, not only Trump, but the Constitution, our Constitutional Republic and conservatism.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

So much for healing the country then, let’s just keep partisan politics as usual.

I see Marco Rubio and his pals are now worried about "throwing gas on the fire" with an impeachment trial ... but they have been tossing Molotav cocktails left and right the last four years. What a phoney! There is only one way to start healing and that is to officially debunk the voter fraud myth and permanently discredit its author. Trump could have started the healing by admitting it was all BS and that he at least "erred in judgement" during his speech to the rioters. Instead he warns everyone "I'll be back." Wow! That translates to me as I've done nothing wrong and I'll do it again if I get a chance. We need to make sure he doesn't have that chance ... because he doesn't deserve it. Any president who openly advocates sedition and violation of the Constitution deserves to be impeached. Just that simple. And I see new evidence has emerged today confirming Trump was trying to sack his Attorney General and install some lackey who, he thought, would be able to suspend the election in Georgia (totally out there in space with that strategy - he was clearly out of touch with reality). I mean, sedition is a slam dunk and that is definitely impeachable. No question. Of course, Trump didn't know that. He's too stupid. Too many syllables in impeachment. Look at what he said in that recorded phone call to Georgia. Would anyone with half a brain go on record saying that?

If the Democrats and sensible Republicans back off now, Trump will just claim to his flying monkeys that it was all just another failed bogus "witch hunt." You know that's what he'll do. It's what he always does. And his flying monkeys who were stupid enough to buy into the voter fraud myth, the birther BS, and the QAnon spoof will all line up again to buy tickets to his next partisan acrimony fake reality show. So how will that heal anything? We need to shut the door for good on this phoney crap and that nutty loser. THEN we can move on to a more statesmanlike future of productive government interaction between grownups. Trump needs to get the message that he will NEVER again be in a position to breed that kind of hatred and social division. The country needs mature leadership ... from both political parties.

[fitch270]

Trump is done. End of story. Time to move on.

[99explorer]

Lesson learned: Let's never elect as president a popular television star with a huge fan club.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Trump is done. End of story. Time to move on.

Sure, just forget about it because he's gone. And what kind of message does that send to future presidents? Do whatever the hell they want. No need to worry about being accountable for anything they do. Failing to impeach him this time is giving others a license to do the same thing ... or maybe worse. Congress has an obligation to impeach him. The Constitution gives them that power for a very good reason - to protect our democratic liberties. And the founding fathers expected them to use it, especially in clear cases (yes, plural!) of seditious acts. The Senate will be setting a precedent no matter what it does. It can be a good precedent ... or a bad one. For the long term future of the country, the good precedent is conviction for valid offences. Send that message loud and clear to the next generations. The bad choice would be to ignore those offences for some perception of short term "healing." Any possible healing is a crap shoot at best. As I indicated above, given the denialist nature of Trumpism, ignoring his offences will only encourage him and his crowd. And it will encourage future presidents who may think they are above the law. I definitely see the long term cons outweighing the unlikely short term pros associated with the "let's forget it and move on" option.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Lesson learned: Let's never elect as president a popular television star with a huge fan club.

Really? That Apprentice show was "popular"? I watched about fifteen minutes of one episode once. Even for a reality show it was incredibly dumb.

[99explorer]

Honker -
Good post.
Even if the Senate fails to achieve the super majority vote necessary to convict, they will surely get the majority vote to prevent Trump from holding political office in the future.
Plus the impeachment trial should make for great theater, like Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.
And Trump cannot dare take the stand because of the perjury hazard.
Fun days ahead.

[crm3006]

From honk the phony: " The Constitution gives them that power for a very good reason - to protect our democratic liberties."

honk the phony again displays his abysmal ignorance, of both the Constitution, and our representative republic.
The Constitution provides for impeachment and that he shall be removed from office if convicted in an impeachment trial for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” This, in Article II, Section 4. The impeachment of an out of office president is an extremely dubious legal proposition. Not that the Constitution seems to matter to demoncrats, but that is the law of the land.
Now, honk the phony, for your general elucidation and enlightenment, we do not live in a democracy. Our nation is a republic, something that you must have missed in your 30 minute perusal of Cliff notes, which is where you must have obtained your miniscule knowledge of the Constitution, and the representative Republic which it governs.
Quit posting on the subject, honk the phony. Your rants are boring and you lack of knowledge is embarrassing, mostly to yourself.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Honker -
Good post.
Even if the Senate fails to achieve the super majority vote necessary to convict, they will surely get the majority vote to prevent Trump from holding political office in the future.
Plus the impeachment trial should make for great theater, like Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.
And Trump cannot dare take the stand because of the perjury hazard.
Fun days ahead.

Are you kidding? Chains and an anchor couldn't keep Trump from testifying. Can't be any grand theatre without him being centre stage! He can't abide that. Perjuring himself is of no concern to Trump. He simply believes anything he says is the truth. It is the nature of his mental illness ... which may very well be the hinge pin for successful defence. Can he be convicted of doing something wrong if he was convinced it was right and simply did not - or cannot - know better? Therein lies the key. If White House staff corroborate he had been advised that this course was seditious and that the potential consequences could be impeachment and he still pursued it anyway, then his defense is dead in the water. Pure and simple. If Trump was smart, and we all know he's not, he would plead stupidity or impulsive recklessness. But again, the nature of his illness will not allow him to do that. He is a classic infallible psychopath. Yes, he will be on the stand. You can count on it. Let the meltdown begin. By the time Trump has finished rambling his usual contradictory pathological lies, a whole lot of vacillating GOP senators will be seriously rethinking their game plan. THEY are the ones who need to keep him off the stand. Good luck with that! Might have been accomplished ... if Trump hadn't blown both Georgia GOP senate candidates out of the water. The Democrats will be more than happy to let him self-destruct. It is their obligation. And hey, the Trumpists whined about no witnesses in the House impeachment hearing. Which means they are stuck listening to witnesses in the Senate trial and have to shut up about it. And Trump is clearly the key witness. He could plead the Fifth. That is a very real possibility and of some slight concern to me. He would do that if he was smart. If he wasn't mentally ill. But I simply cannot see him admitting he has something to hide that could incriminate him. Not Donald Trump. I don't believe he could do that even if the threat of conviction meant prison. He will simply recreate reality as needed. It's what he's always done. However, pleading the Fifth might be a convenient escape for everyone involved, including the gullible Trumpists flying monkeys who believed his stolen election BS. Yes, that might be a viable solution ... for everyone but Trump. I can't see him buying into it.

[crm3006]

More derangement and ignorance, honk the phony? You have no conception of how utterly stupid your writing makes you sound.

[crm3006]

This from whiny nine, political ignoramus: "Even if the Senate fails to achieve the super majority vote necessary to convict, they will surely get the majority vote to prevent Trump from holding political office in the future."

If the Senate fails to convict Trump on the one weak charge the "impeachment" is based on, and they will not find him guilty of inciting an insurrection, then, QED, they cannot vote to forbid him from ever holding political office again. Somebody tell the bandicoot that he needs to get off yahoofake news, and get psychiatric help.

[99explorer]

Can Trump be disqualified if he is not convicted by the Senate?

"This is uncharted legal territory, and there is no clear answer, scholars said.

Paul Campos, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Colorado, said he believed a vote to disqualify Trump can be held even if there are not enough votes for conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the Senate has wide latitude to determine how it conducts a trial, he said."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...future-office/

[FirstBubba]

This from whiny nine, political ignoramus: "Even if the Senate fails to achieve the super majority vote necessary to convict, they will surely get the majority vote to prevent Trump from holding political office in the future."

If the Senate fails to convict Trump on the one weak charge the "impeachment" is based on, and they will not find him guilty of inciting an insurrection, then, QED, they cannot vote to forbid him from ever holding political office again. Somebody tell the bandicoot that he needs to get off yahoofake news, and get psychiatric help.

The FBI has already investigated and clarified that Trump "DID NOT" incite the riot.
They (FBI) have evidence that the siege was planned several days ahead of Trump's speech.

Bet "Commie" Swalwell & Co blindly forge ahead!

I do have a question though!

Why would you "impeach" a private citizen?