It has been widely reported this week that Trump’s (former) Attorney, Frank Dowd, floated the idea of blanket pardons for Mike L(LockHerUp) Flynn and Paul W(WorksForPutin) Manafort, although he denies it.
A blanket pardon for both Manafort and Flynn… how warm and fuzzy, but I think they should have their own, incase they don’t get to share a cell. Why doesn’t the prison provide blankets anyway?
They do? Well then… that isn’t… a blanket… okay relax, hold on.
Google says a blanket pardon refers to the fact that the president has the authority to pardon any and all crimes, from treason, to tax fraud, to money laundering, to sex trafficking, even murder, at any point before or after conviction.
As with everything pertaining to Trump, there is a big butt—
- Butt, Trump can not pardon himself.
- Butt, any pardon he issues at this stage of the game might be seen as witness tampering or obstruction of justice. (Which is why Dowd denies having considered it.)
And the biggest butt of all…
- Butt, Trump’s “absolute authority” doesn’t protect said traitors from state charges.
Money laundering charges in the state of New York could put Manafort away for life. Flynn, Don Jr. and Kushner all committed crimes on the state level as well.
The fact that Mueller has only brought forward one set of charges, mostly financial crimes committed prior to the campaign, is a hint that he might be (he is), saving other charges for prosecutors on the state level. Like what? Maybe… tax fraud, soliciting stolen goods, soliciting or conspiring to hack computers, I don’t know.
Mueller has met with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York district attorneys on many occasions, and it would be safe to assume they are coordinating efforts, since a person can only be charged once for the same crime.
It is no secret there is no love lost between New York States Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Donald Trump. (Does anyone in New York like Donald Trump?) My point is, while Trump May control the GOP Congress, that capacitation will not extend to New York.
Trump’s public contemplation of what his power to pardon means to anyone who might be tempted to accept a plea deal, is not taking state charges into consideration.
Trump can not bribe witnesses, with the promise of a pardon, to not take a plea deal from Mueller. Hopefully Trump will find an attorney who can explain this to him in monosyllabic English.
Blankets might not be a bad parting gift.
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<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/frantic/”>Frantic</a>,
A lot from Lydia 
Oh, what a tangled web . . . .
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