Trump issues 26 new pardons, including ones for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner

[demmiblue]

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening announced 26 new pardons, including ones for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's father, Charles.

The pardons of Manafort and Stone reward two of the most high-profile and widely condemned former advisers of the President, both of whom were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, went to trial and were convicted by juries of multiple crimes.

Manafort, who is serving home confinement, initially agreed to cooperate with Mueller then lied to prosecutors, while Stone never cooperated after lying to Congress to protect the President. Manafort spent close to two years in prison for bank and tax fraud, illegal foreign lobbying and witness tampering conspiracies before being released because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while Stone's sentence for obstruction of Congress and threatening a witness was commuted by Trump earlier this year days before he was set to surrender.

Charles Kushner, meanwhile, had been prosecuted by then-US Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie in the early 2000s for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics/trump-pardons-stone-manafort-kushner/index.html

[David__77]

4. I thought so too.

Apparently that was clemency. It just spared him from the sentence. This wipes out the conviction.

[Midnight Writer]

5. He commuted his prison sentence. At the time, Stone did not want a pardon because

he felt it implied admission of guilt.

Stone has since changed his mind, and has been going on Right Wing media lobbying for a full pardon.

[hlthe2b]

6. He issued a commutation since Stone didn't want to admit guilt. Now he has to.

[George II]

8. He commuted his sentence. The conviction still stood, until today.

[soothsayer]

2. Paul Manafort, an agent who worked for Kremlin over a decade to rob and destroy Ukraine, attack Amer

Link to tweet

?s=21


Olga Lautman
@OlgaNYC1211
Paul Manafort, an agent who worked for Kremlin over a decade to rob and destroy Ukraine, attack American elections, and conduct ops for Putin in several countries has gotten pardoned. I am sick beyond belief that a Russian agent was allowed to operate for so long and is now free.
7:25 PM · Dec 23, 2020

[turbinetree]

21. +1

[CatMor]

3. In other words he's pardoned all the crooks associated with him.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Charles Kushner is Jared's father.

Chris Christie must be seething now. He prosecuted Kushner and put him in jail.

[LizBeth]

13. You have a clue how long in prison? I would think he would be out by now.

[OnlinePoker]

14. He did two years.

The pardon cleans his record so he can do whatever he likes now.

[LizBeth]

16. Ok, that is what I was thinking happened. Appreciate it.

[Canoe52]

9. All the best people.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. The Swamp pardons.

[mdbl]

11. nice to know a big Effing crook can become president and pardon all the other big Effing crooks.

What a shit system. Something needs to change this.

[msongs]

12. they are STILL convicted criminals and ought to be referred to as such nt

[WVreaper]

15. So now they can all testify against you!

Can't claim the 5th when you have been pardoned.

[procon]

19. Does Trump not understand that these pardons

are a double edged sword? Is he really that stupid, or does he think he's untouchable?

The state AGs are going to use all these pardoned crooks to take down Trump. It will be a wonderful.

[COL Mustard]

17. OK, Is Anyone Really Surprised?

I thought he would have pardoned Manafort and Stone much earlier.

Look for another wave or 2 or 3 or 4.

[dalton99a]

18. What happens when a mob boss rules the United States

[dhill926]

23. exactly this....

nauseating. C'mon Jan. 20th....

[bdamomma]

33. exactly

tRump is probably going to ask them all for monetary funds to support his ass.


to all of them.

[Calista241]

20. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, when nobody is watching the news.

So I imagine we'll have more pardons coming in the next couple days.

[Rebl2]

22. Think it's

time to reign in the power of president’s ability to pardon. I thought they had to be submitted to a committee first, but guess not. Anybody know?

[NYC Liberal]

24. Pardon power is unlimited for federal crimes.

There is no review or approval of any kind required and they are solely at the discretion of the president.

[Rebl2]

25. That's unfortunate

[maxrandb]

27. Those are just rules, standards and norms

that only apply to Democratic Presidents.

I'm pretty sure any Dem pulling the shit we've seen over the past 4 years wouldn't be described by the press as "just being unconvetional".

[Grimelle]

36. He bypassed the DoJ

[TomCADem]

26. Fox, Newsmax, Etc. Should Not Even Be Allowed to Say "Hunter"

Until we get to the bottom of the hundreds of corrupt Trump actions, including those of Trump's kids who have actually been deployed as WH envoys.

[turbinetree]

28. Maybe they will all be taking a plane ride out of the country on Trumps B757....to the motherland

[bdamomma]

34. Yes let them all go

bastards all


all white men too.

[cstanleytech]

29. Well this will make it hard for them to plea the 5th in any investigation

by the feds into Trump.

[spike jones]

30. Accepting a pardon will deepen their shame. n/t

[moreland01]

31. Question

Does this pardon restore these felons' voting rights? I sure as hell hope not.

[LudwigPastorius]

38. Generally, yes.

But, it is up to the state in which the felon resides.

[bdamomma]

32. tRump

once a thug/criminal always a CRIMINAL.

They can all go to hell.

Lawless, and throwing it in our faces.

What fucking criminals.

[DeminPennswoods]

35. Now they can all be brought before a GJ

with no 5th amendment rights and we can find out what Trump really did.

[hadEnuf]

37. A criminal pardoning criminals. What a game.

Although this is not unexpected from a filthy slimeball like Trump, it still does make a mockery of the law.

Trump should be branded as the criminal who was placed in the White House by Putin and pardoned murderers and treasonous felons on his way out.


The only upside is that outrageous actions like these just serve to further polarize Trump and the vermin who still support him.

[LudwigPastorius]

39. This was how Trump's reign of terror was always going to end.

...with him handing out "Get Out of Jail Free" cards to his cronies & family like party favors.

The lack of judicial review of the presidential pardon power is just one of the ways the founding fathers fucked up, IMO.

Unfortunately, they relied too much on impeachment to remedy the corrupt use of the powers they granted the executive.

[AngryOldDem]

40. And people were outraged over Clinton and Marc Rich.

Presidential pardon powers is a topic worth revisiting.

This is flat-out abuse of that power.

Next up — Donny Jr., Eric, and Ivanka. Wait for it.

Merry-effin-Christmas!

[Dopers_Greed]

41. The presidential pardon needs to be taken away

And all of Trump's pardon's reversed

[Lulu KC]

42. Ugh, ugh, and more ugh