Day 183: Trump Wants to Pass Out Pardons Like Candy on Halloween
The Donald Trump presidency has had one consistent theme: bombshell story after bombshell story breaking at any time of day.
Last night, The Washington Post reported that Trump’s team is scrambling to do two things:
- Figure out just how broad the pardoning power is.
Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people. A second person said Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves.
2. Obstruct special investigator Robert Mueller’s investigation.
With the Russia investigation continuing to widen, Trump’s lawyers are working to corral the probe and question the propriety of the special counsel’s work. They are actively compiling a list of Mueller’s alleged potential conflicts of interest, which they say could serve as a way to stymie his work, according to several of Trump’s legal advisers.
A conflict of interest is one of the possible grounds that can be cited by an attorney general to remove a special counsel from office under Justice Department regulations that set rules for the job.
Of course, these two things could not be more incongruous. Trump wants to say both that Mueller’s investigation is a sham, but simultaneously pass out pardons to everyone he’s ever met. He’ll claim it’s to protect everyone from a witch hunt, and a decent chunk of the U.S. will believe him because it’s clear the rose-colored glasses aren’t coming off at this point. But, innocent people don’t get pardoned, especially en masse.
Mueller led the FBI for 12 years, getting special approval from Congress to serve the last two. He headed the FBI under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama and his character has earned universal praise from virtually everyone on both sides of the aisle. Trying to denigrate Mueller is craven, but Trump’s options are becoming more limited by the day, and Mueller’s investigation grows wider by the hour.
Trump is clearly terrified that Mueller’s investigation is not narrowly tailored and could extend to Trump’s finances and business actions he undertook initially unrelated to his campaign. Trump warned Mueller in an interview with The New York Times to not investigate his personal finances. Mueller, needless to say, is not heeding that advice.
Mueller’s task force is aimed primarily at learning how and why the Russians sought to influence the U.S. election. One of the mechanisms would be via blackmail or intimidation of certain individuals. Doing business in or with Russia is going to widen the target on someone’s back. It’s a natural place for the investigation to go, whether Trump likes it or not. And if Mueller discovers other unrelated illegal activities while searching for information on the Russia probe, that’s something that won’t be ignored.
It’s only been six months in the White House for Trump and he’s already considering pardoning family members, aides and even himself. (The latter of which is dubious at best as a potentially legal option and would almost certainly trigger a number of challenges. No federal pardon absolves one of state crimes, either.)
If Trump and his team are all innocent, what’s he so worried about?
183 days in, 1279 to go
Follow us on Twitter @TrumpTimer
