I’m not sure about that. Can you imagine anyone, even him, wanting to be “that guy”?
The best he could do would be to prevent his name from becoming more prominent in this episode of US history than donalds own. I just don’t think this is the way to do that.
Ibid
Carter pardoned every draft dodger from the Vietnam War with the only provision being that they had to request one.
I’m too young to remember. Did anyone ever try to challenge Ford’s pardon in court for some reason? Or was everyone just happy to let Nixon go away and drink himself to death?
I can’t remember where I’ve said this - but I honestly don’t think that Donald has any intention of going away if he pardons himself. He certainly won’t admit to doing anything wrong. And he’ll fully expect to keep on doing whatever it is he’s doing, because he’s pardoned now, so he’s free from all sin, eternally.
Its the money. The Russians are a distant second, its his money. Even if his crimes are pardoned, investors who think they’ve been had can still sue. Don’t think you can pardon back-taxes. We already know the man’s a crook, look at Trump University, total scam from the git-go. He doesn’t care about his reputation, or history, or anything else. His money.
It’s probably the most relevant example. Why do you just hand-wave it away?
Trump can, and probably will pardon his close friends and family members before a conviction, and indeed before the investigation can go much further. He is desperate to stop Mueller from delving into his family finances.
Yes, it presumes guilt. This will not matter to the Trumpists. The investigation will then be closed, and Mueller fired because "there is nothing left to investigate- everyone has been proven innocent by “The Pardon”
We now know that Junior met with an alleged Russian money launderer and a Russian lawyer who has defended money launderers. What are the chances that they sent some dirty money toward the Trumps?
My comment above was to drad dog****
100%. And Trump is shit-scared that this is going to be revealed, leading to a term of 40 - 100 years in a federal cell.
Don’t care, don’t want him in Club Fed. (Actually know people who have been there, its like Summer Camp but your Mom can’t come get you. Also, shitty wine list…)
Don’t care where he goes, so long as its away.
Congress passed a bill to limit Trump’s ability to change Russian sanctions. Now the question is whether he will sign it.
Doesn’t look like the bill has actually passed yet. But it appears that it will, easily, and it seems like there will be a veto-proof majority, too.
I have to imagine that few presidents would willingly sign such a bill, but again with a veto-proof majority that’s kind of moot. But then, there are signing statements to be dealt with and this might end up in the courts if Trump presses things.
Well, he can nominate an AG that would have to make various assurances and pledges to the Senate in order to have a chance in hell of being confirmed.
It’s increasingly looking like he’s going to do the usual “accuse the enemy of what we’re guilty of” and frame it as: *Clinton, the Dems and “the LSM” were complicit in introducing foreign subjects into our precious body politic without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice! 
*
Yep, see, they did everything they’re being accused of in an effort to protect our democracy from being hijacked!
(Bolding mine)
It’s been said before, but perhaps should be repeated: Trumpists will not care if he’s guilty because what those snowflake liberals are talking about is really no big deal, and all they want to keep Donald from making America great again. He would have accomplished so much if only he didn’t have to keep tweeting about those petty accusations!
Ice cream, voltaire, Donnie’s ice cream.
You contradict yourself in one sentence. If there are pardons then there is an admission of wrongdoing. Pardons do not exculpate anyone. They will further Muellers investigation. And it’s even harder to claim 5th amendment. To top it off you will be written down in history with Quisling and Arnold, and you will be at the top of that list.
I have asked for other examples. Is it only Nixon and then all the vietnam era evaders? It seems to me that there’s a couple of excluded middles in this.
I’m not writing this script yet. It’s going to be different to try and do this under current conditions. Have you ever asked for a pardon and got it? It’s not like the grantor is God. It’s a tangled web, and Donald is not a mastermind, nor are his lawyers.
So how will the govt run after this event?
Unless, of course, Trump fired Mueller.
You’re assuming there’s a foolproof way to catch Trump; there isn’t. Trump could in theory simply pardon everyone, have Mueller fired, and that’s the end of it unless he’s impeached. No matter how you design this scenario, no matter what hypothesis you put forward, it can always be funneled towards impeachment.
Do you believe Republicans will vote to impeach and convict Trump? I don’t.
Caspar Weinberger is another example. He was indicted but it didn’t get to trial.
I’m sure that Trump has committed some state crimes in New York that Mueller can uncover.
He’s probably committed crimes in all 50 states.
If he fires Mueller then we are in terra incognita, for me, you and the congress. You are really going to predict stuff like that after the last year?
What do you mean by “catch trump”? And can you define “end of it” ? You mean congress will never impeach donald? I am not so dystopian as you are.
It sounds like you believe donald will hand out ***blanket prospective ***pardons to a whole host of people and himself like it’s Halloween. And life will just go on? It will be a constitutional crisis to say the least.
There are many many competing interests in situations like this.Donald is not the only one who will be making decisions, statements, tweets, leaks, accusations, taking care of their family, their fortune, their health, and their reputation/posterity. Are you just waving all this away?