Trump pardons General Flynn

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Link

The president has granted a controversial pardon to his first national security adviser, General Michael Flynn.

It is certain to outrage Democrats and those who feel that Trump is preparing a long list of such pardons to give immunity to his family and loyalists.

But Trump's move will delight those on the American right who feel the 3-star General was a victim of a set-up by the President's political enemies.

Flynn admitted lying twice to the FBI and was initially convicted. But his trial has since become a legal quagmire as the Department of Justice changed its mind about whether he should have been prosecuted at all.

The Presidential pardon ends the whole controversial saga of a phone call that Flynn made to the Russian Ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, in late 2016.

It formed part of Democrats' accusations that Trump and his team were acting inappropriately towards an adversary.

The President saw the prosecution of Flynn as part of what he repeatedly called the "Russia Hoax." Now this is political payback - and a sign of gratitude to Flynn for his continuing loyalty.

Mueller recommends no jail time for ex-Trump aide after 'substantial' cooperation in Russia probe

Trump has already commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, another close associate.

It now raises the ultimate legal question: Will Trump try and pardon himself in a move designed to pre-empt any prosecution after he leaves office on January 20th?

Some experts already see Flynn’s likely pardon as a test case for the much bigger issue.

It’s the sort of issue that lawyers love to debate. Can a president pardon himself? If not, could he step aside for a day (under the 25th Amendment), get an acting President to issue a pardon, and then resume office?

The point is not entirely theoretical. Donald Trump loses much of his legal protection at noon on January 20th. Once he is no longer president, he is far more exposed to being charged with criminal misconduct.

In Trump’s case he could be investigated on charges of tax fraud. Court documents in New York indicate the Trump Organisation is being probed for "possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct,” which could include falsifying business records and insurance fraud.

It is also possible that investigators might uncover other crimes related to corruption or nepotism.

But most lawyers believe that the Supreme Court - even a conservative one - would never let a President pardon himself. That would be an admission that one man is above the law - the President. And America fought a revolutionary war against that concept.

In any case, a presidential pardon would protect Trump only against federal charges. He could still be prosecuted for state crimes.

Alongside the political theatre of Trump’s non-concession is the parallel drama of the President’s legal battles. And those are only just beginning

[Darth Yan]

Typical. And some jackasses are even saying that if you think Flynn pleading guilty is a sign of guilt than you must also think the central park 5 are guilty.

[Knife]

I'd be interested in the text of the pardon. Also, IIRC, Flynn originally took the plea deal he violated many times, to protect his son. I'm wondering if January 22nd young Mr Flynn gets indicted and with a pardon excusing Senior Flynn to back up the care of what they did?

[Tsyroc]

The Justice Department has been trying to drop the charges on Flynn for months now. It's only been held up by the actions of the judge who has gone above and beyond to drag this thing out. Essentially, if Trump had won the election it's likely the judge would have gotten around to letting the charges drop. Since Biden won, he got what he wanted by making Trump pardon Flynn.

Other than the behavior of the judge the case has been pretty interesting. More and more evidence was coming out about illegal activity within the FBI that led to Flynn being targeted in the first place. The YouTuber Viva Frei has a whole series on the Flynn case. Unfortunately it doesn't look like he has the playlist in chronological order.

[Rogue 9]

The Justice Department has been trying to drop the charges on Flynn for months now. It's only been held up by the actions of the judge who has gone above and beyond to drag this thing out. Essentially, if Trump had won the election it's likely the judge would have gotten around to letting the charges drop. Since Biden won, he got what he wanted by making Trump pardon Flynn.

Other than the behavior of the judge the case has been pretty interesting. More and more evidence was coming out about illegal activity within the FBI that led to Flynn being targeted in the first place. The YouTuber Viva Frei has a whole series on the Flynn case. Unfortunately it doesn't look like he has the playlist in chronological order.

YouTube makes arranging videos in a playlist a huge pain in the ass. That being said, taking a look at video titles rings immediate alarm bells. Scare words in all caps don't exactly inspire confidence.

And Judge Sullivan did exactly the right thing. Trying to drop charges on a case that had already gotten guilty pleas and was headed to sentencing is absurd and suspicious in the extreme. This reads like yet more of Trumpworld's ongoing attempt to discredit the Russia investigation and punish those involved in it.

[Tsyroc]

Does it help if I mention that the guy is a Canadian lawyer? He mostly likes the legal aspects of things. I will say that he is influenced a bit by some of his guests two of whom are Trump supporters. One of the others is not.

Sullivan might have a right to be suspicious but he's done some shady things in trying to prolong this situation. Introducing new evidence as the judge from his own source is pretty sketchy.

There are legal reasons why the justice department was trying to drop the charges. I don't think they fully get rid of Flynn lying but I think the basis of the argument is if he was lying it was irrelevant because the case should never have happened in the first place.

If they are moving forward with punishing people it's slow and I doubt it's going forward under Biden. Barr has had a lot of dirt for awhile and hasn't done much with it. There are more than a few members of the FBI that should be glad that Trump lost.

Even with Trump being out Carter Page might still have a decent shot at getting some payback via lawsuits though. That could be interesting.