Trump Pardons Bannon Hours Before Leaving Office

[Still Sensible]

Source: New York Times

The president made the decision to pardon Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, after a day of frantic efforts to sway his thinking. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said the mob that stormed the Capitol “was fed lies,” referring to President Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

President Trump has granted clemency to Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who was charged with defrauding people who supported building a border wall that Mr. Trump supported, White House officials said.

The president made the decision after a day of frantic efforts to sway his thinking, including from Mr. Bannon, who spoke to him by phone earlier on Tuesday.

The pardon was described as a pre-emptive move that would effectively wipe away the charges against Mr. Bannon, should he be convicted.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/19/us/inauguration-day-biden

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Surprised, NOT!

[Jon King]

1. He stole money from Trump supporters...

You can not make this stuff up. Bannon tricks Trumpers to send him money for a fake wall. Then he steals it and Trump pardons him. Trumpers are true masochists.

[NYC Liberal]

9. Probably used some of that money to secure the pardon, too.

[hibbing]

12. Deplorable dupes n/t

[Diraven]

14. Does he get to keep the money?

I don't think a pardon covers that

[Botany]

23. "He stole money from Trump supporters..."

Yup! Trump supporters have to be the dumbest people in the world. They watch old Walker Texas
Ranger shows and are shocked when Chuck Norris kicks the bad guy in the head.

[turtleblossom]

2. The swamp they are.

[NotASurfer]

3. So when do they haul him in to testify under oath about Individual 1's criminal activity?

The stuff the FBI maybe knows he knows, now that he can't plead the 5th and he doesn't have somebody dangling a pardon to reward silence or lies?

[pbmus]

4. The fly at their meeting heard Bannon say this...

‘’YOU BIG DUMB MF, IF YOU DON’T PARDON ME, I WILL WRITE A TELL ALL BOOK THAT WILL INSTANTLY PUT YOUR ORANGE ASS IN JAIL FOREVER...’’

[cstanleytech]

5. Wait a minute!! I thought clemency only applied to the sentence portion? If so then the trial should

still continue.

[RockRaven]

6. I've said this before and I'm doing it again... Fine! *Now* interrogate the fuck out of him about

every person remotely related to every. single. thing. covered by his pardon. There are other criminals touching almost all of his criminality. He's done nothing in a vacuum, so force him to turn on them, or burn himself with new crimes.

ANY non-cooperation or lying should be doggedly pursued for criminal contempt, obstruction, or lying to federal agent charges as appropriate. And if he does none of that??? Great! So you're saying he's a reliable witness?!? Make him testify EXTENSIVELY against every. last. defendant. in any case in which his testimony applies.

[Still Sensible]

7. And I am waiting to see all the others we have been told

would be coming tonight.

The way this president has abused the pardon power is astonishing! I have to believe the rest that will come in the next 12 hours will be an incredible collection. He has worked the pardon power to benefit his friends, friends of friends, or (gasp) we'll probably identify some that have been outright sold.

Drain the swamp my ass!

[turtleblossom]

8. The pardon power makes Tяump feels as if he's God.

[James48]

10. Twelve hours.

That’s all that remains of Trump’s pardon power.

Surely Bannon must have violated some state statute in all of that.

Twelve more hours of the greatest danger to democracy, and the criminal conspiracy coconspirator will be finished.

Tick-tock

Tick-tock

[Progressive Jones]

11. Maybe Bannon will die soon. He looks like he's not too healthy. nt

[badboy67]

13. Imagine if the hamburglar were a real person ...

[SeattleVet]

15. So was it a pardon, or clemency?

They are VERY different things.

Even the original article at the NYT flips back and forth, using the terms.

[ancianita]

16. Katyal and Weissman say it's a pardon. But things might change in the next 11 hours.

You just don't want those two out in the same free air together. Bad things happen.

[SeattleVet]

17. Look like a full pardon...now posted on the White House website

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-executive-grants-clemency-012021/

(Long list!)

Stephen K. Bannon – President Trump granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon. Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project. Mr. Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.

[PatrickforO]

18. These people are slime.

And Bannon is among the worst of the worst.

[Warpy]

19. Will Bannon accept it?

A pardon in this case is the same as a full confession of guilt, which is not going to serve him well in civil court when the people he bilked come looking for the money he and his cronies stole.

The Erickson and Broidy pardons are just as offensive.

[C Moon]

20. Yeah, I think Bannon found enough money for his pardon.

[duforsure]

21. By giving him a pardon, and him accepting it,

trump is saying its ok to defraud his supporters ,and steal their money. Bannon by accepting it is accepting guilt,and a ripe target for prosecutors to go after a treasure trove of incriminating evidence against a lot of people. .Bad move by trump, he will tell the truth rather than go to prison

[Ford_Prefect]

22. The pardon only applies to his current indictment. Whatever he has done with or for Putin is not.

Bannon and Miller both need to face the music over their crimes against humanity. These are also not covered in the pardon.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Notice that co-defendants Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea didn't get pardons

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/21/politics/kolfage-badolato-bannon-shea/index.html

So it's not that Trump is claiming this was not a significant crime; it's that he lets his cronies get away with crimes.

[intheflow]

25. Fuck, can we do away with Presidential pardons?

I do not understand why this was embedded in the Constitution to begin with, except of course, rich white men protecting rich white men.

[mdbl]

26. Vomit!