Trump Commutes Sentence of Rod Blagojevich, Pardons Michael Milken, and Another Jackass

Wait until he does the same with Stone and Flynn.

That guy who ran a cult out of his daughter's Sarah Lawrence dorm room was Kerik's best man when he got married.

I don't know why politicians do all these pardons. I mean, I understand pardoning someone who may have been falsely convicted, but why pardon assholes who were obviously guilty?

He's pardoning and commuting the sentences of people convicted of the same crimes he is guilty of.

He will likely commute whatever sentence Roger Stone gets. This is a blitz to numb the public from that and say "it's not just about people who can help me politically!"

He is a repugnant crook and needs to be removed from office.

Incidentally the three senators who voted to keep him and not allow witnesses in his impeachment trial all got federal funding for pet projects for their districts within two weeks after his acquittal. Clearly bribed.

He's pardoning because he's an enboldened POS, that's why.

Who will he pardon next - Hitler?

Oh, and he's also doing it to give cover to Bill Barr. He's shifting the focus from Barr to himself because Barr is in serious danger at the moment and he doesn't want to lose him.

He did this after meeting with Barr for 15 minutes earlier.

He's an emboldened tinpot dictator and he's sending a message about what he'll let people (including himelf) get away. I'm just unsure about how well this plays to swing voters, if they matter to him. His base is stupid and shameless enough to believe anything, but these guys are bywords for corruption even in middle America. It's really going to go down well that he pardoned Michael Milken, poster boy for Wall Street malfeasance? Why would T-Rump even want to remind people of Michael Milken, let alone identify himself with him?

NORMALIZING CORRUPTION.

Welcome to Banana Republicanism, folks! DEMOCRACY IS OVER IN AMERICA.

Hot daddy Rod is back in business. Gay Chicagoans rejoice!

[quote] His choice of deserving people is a real disgrace!

Likewise his choice to give that award to Rush Limburger. Trump really Is evil, and he flaunts it. He has awful judgement.

Did he switch his Lego hair out?

[quote] Trump is just evil, and I don’t know how some people don’t see it. His choice of deserving people is a real disgrace!

People argue that most Americans who support Trump are ignorant. However, I argue that many Americans are also evil or attracted to Trump's evil, after having decades of such "leadership" rob them of affordable healthcare, net neutrality, their savings. If they're of a certain age they might not know any better.

Crooks have to stick together

Yeah R13 but these idiots keep voting for Republicans who won't give them affordable health and decent wages etc. This is on them. They are too stupid to realize it. And then there is the obsession with Jesus.

Ex Gov. Rod Blagojevich deserved to have his sentence commuted, he should be pardoned. That U S Senate seat was an appointment was so crooked. Wasn't there a black guy that deserved to be sentenced like Rod but wasn't? That whole thing was so underhanded but Blagojevich was the only one sent to prison with a much to long sentence. Congrats Rod you paid dearly.

r15 Could be. I have a very tough time telling the difference between malice and ignorance, especially when some US voter populations and "choosing not to vote out of spite" populations appear to have massive overlap of the two negative qualities.

What about Milken's partner in crime Ivan Boesky? Didn't Milken make 1 billion dollars and had to pay back 875 million dollars. I've read he is now worth 3 billion dollars.....hmmmm

Next to be pardoned: Weinstein. He hasn’t pardoned a rapist yet, I understand.

Yes, he has pardoned a rapist.

He pardoned himself.

The Blagojevich pardon is a bit weird, considering he was an IL governor. But he served 8 years of a 14 year sentence. Apparently by law he was required to serve 85% of that, or 12 years. So he took 4 years off. Not really that much.

The rest don't make any sense - they're not in jail. So he just cleared their records?

R13, I'm glad you made that point. I believe that many Trump voters enjoy cruelty, and are willing to be hurt themselves into to make others suffer even more. In short, they enjoy evil. Remember, countries like German, Italy and Japan were not full of meth-adddicted idiots. No, they went flying off the edge of the cliff despite having educated populations, powerful cultural traditions, and a reverence for the past. What Trump and other authoritarians have going for them is the fact that people worship of cruelty and power.

This sort of thing makes you realise the US is basically an 18th century elective monarchy, whose ruler can give his family government jobs with impunity, ignore conventions at his pleasure and pardon criminals on a whim. How is this appropriate in the modern world?

The Daily Beast's Noah Schachtman:

Nothing says "corruption fighter" quite like pardoning a slew of politicians and public officials convicted of corruption.

How are they covering this on Fox? It's not exactly Drain the Swamp material.

Rick Wilson:

All y'all clickservative Trump media hustlers better delete all those old tweets talking about how Blago was a corrupt villain and it reflected so poorly on Obama. Hustle up!

Rod appeared on The Apprentice.

Maybe he gave Trump the blow job of a lifetime for a seat at the table.

Posters here are insane. Blogojevich was absolutely the most retarded politician ever, so corrupt that he blew all the other corrupt Illinois and Chicago crook politicians minds. The most corrupt political district in the USA couldn't believe how corrupt he was. He actually made people bring briefcases and brown paper bags full of cash to his office and present them to him, like some kind of drug deal, WHILE explicitly making them talk about the exact nature and logistics of the kickback deal, influence, or scheme they were paying for. So many good long form articles to read that really cover this story. Americans are always shocked when their leaders actually go to jail, for real, that they can't stand the idea of them doing time like the rest of us would for much smaller crimes. He literally sold positions, like it was Craigslist or some kinda shit. Man people, read actual journalism, not just one paragraph propaganda by FOX or MSNBC. There is still some out there, even Vanity Fair had a very good expose at the time. Dude used to carry around garbage bags full of cash. Literally. All the time.

r16 That is ridiculous. Rod was the most corrupt governor we've ever had, and that's saying something. He deserved every year of that sentence.

Trump must be devastated that he never got the chance to pardon Epstein.

I'm old enough to remember when Senate Republicans acquitted Trump because he his Ukraine call was nothing more than a demonstration of his commitment to ferreting out and punishing corruption.

I guess Trump is trying to get everyone in the country to hate him? Milken? I hope Trump keeps cutting his own throat.

[quote]This sort of thing makes you realise the US is basically an 18th century elective monarchy, whose ruler can give his family government jobs with impunity, ignore conventions at his pleasure and pardon criminals on a whim. How is this appropriate in the modern world?

Nothing could be more appropriate to the wonderful age we're living in!

[quote] I hope Trump keeps cutting his own throat.

I hope so, too. Right up to election day.

Trump won't bother pardoning Stone.

His case calls for him to be Epsteined.

Timing these pardons for now sends a message to Stone and to the Judge that he can pardon, and he will pardon. Interesting that Fitzgerald who prosecuted either Milken or Blagojevich was a close personal friend of Comey's, and some of these investigations and prosecutions came out of the SDNY or the EDNY. Trump is a vindictive son of bitch. Consumed with it.

It’s all about the courts. The confederacy wants to stack the courts so that things like desegregation & the New Deal can never happen again. They’ll let Trump do what he wants. The media doesn’t matter because there are 783,345 media outlets nowadays. It’s not like the nation sits down to watch 60 Minutes on Sunday Nights anymore & gets collectively outraged at Nixon’s crimes,

"I hope Trump keeps cutting his own throat.

I hope so, too. Right up to election day. ------------------------------------------------------- His base loves this kind of stuff, and his base is over half the country, and some of them can read, but most aren't going to research who Milken was, or what happened with junk bonds in the 1980's, ask a Trump person under the age of 40 what the Savings and Loans crisis was all about. Rod Bloggo has "cool" hair like Trump. I think that is the main reason. And, in comparison, it makes Trump look somehow less corrupt? It's an insane strategy, but he's been doing this audacious stuff from the beginning, and people either don't care, or they lap it up.

Also, it reinforces his power, Trumps flunkeys can be assured they won't spend time in jail no matter what crimes they commit. Less likely to talk.

His base is not over half the country.

They think his and Blago's hair is "cool"?

I don’t see NYC or NY state going after Trump crimes & tax evasion. Nothing in federal court will ever touch Trump & he will pardon everyone. And well just hear “Well, NYC will bring charges....” and “NY state will bring charges....”: And....crickets. Nothing. Trump has committed m9ney laundering & tax evasion & 5gere are no charges being brought against him. He said in a deposition about Trump Soho years ago, “I’m worth whatever I feel like. Whatever mood I’m in that day.” And nothing happened.

Trump’s base is closer to 30% of the country. In the last election, his base plus others elected him with less than 50% of the vote.

At least Rob served 8 years...that is good. Lowlife, murdering thug, Flynn will serve no time.

Presidential pardon power is undemocratic. For every mercy pardon you get a donor pardon or similar and now this.

Ah, a confederacy of deplorables parading out of the pen. Fuck Trump. No one should pardon him. Ever.

[quote]So he just cleared their records?

Not even that. A pardon doesn't undo the original conviction. They're still guilty.

I honestly believe that Trump does things purposely to irritate people. It doesn’t hurt him to pardon a few creeps, and if it will irritate the libs, great!

If it occurs to him, after he loses reelection to a yellow dog, he very well might take revenge on all the people who failed him by pardoning ALL the felons in prison. He’s that batshit crazy, and vindictive (on society). His aides would have to tell him or requires his original signature on every pardon, which isn’t true, but might stop him. He’s so stupid, he might not think of it.

I wrote a couple years ago: Hitler claimed that the German people had failed him, personally, and therefore deserved the oncoming occupation and worse. I think Trump will be that way.

44.5 is doing a wonderful job,defecating on the American constitution!

Trump should not have pardoned Blago until he produced nude photos of the man.

Of all the vile and traitorous things Trump has done, this isn't even a minor blip on my radar.

All Presidents pardon and commute and abuse that power, I think this power should be taken away from the President and given to a bi-partisan commission, consisting three people one each appointed by the the Speaker of the House, The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the President, the decision to pardon or commute would have to be unanimous.

Some of you need to please try harder to understand the plan. The chatter is that Trump has this "base." He doesn't R41 is closer to the truth than many of you realize. The people who voted for Trump in 2016 are not the same ones supporting him today. Many have walked away from him. He hasn't grown his base and attracted new support. But they are giving American voters the mind fucking of their lives, and the media is either deliberately or inadvertently complicit. First they want to discourage you. So you hear a lot about how strong the economy looks. How invincible he is, etc.,etc., etc. Then we get the whole "Who can beat Trump?" The real answer to that question is Us. We can beat Trump. But they want to divide us so they, Trump people are pushing Bernie. Big time. And they're creating divisions all over the place. They have ACORN people out there disrupting fundraisers, heckling crowds and threatening and bullying people. They want to suppress the vote and negative campaigning suppresses the vote. They'll do anything they can to discourage turnout. They will fuck with your head. Throw up your hands and just surrender." Don't vote. Trump's re-election is inevitable."

R50 add the names of the Keating 5, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd to the Savings and Loan crash. Milken and Boesky went to the pen, the rest got pensions courtsey of the U. S. Taxpayer.

R50 should be r38.

I was going to argue that Trump should never have pardoned the pol who wore a denim suit in public. But I think I'm confusing crooked politicians. Does any fellow DLEG remember an infamously crooked politician showing up at a press conference or on the floor of Congress wearing a denim suit? Possibly he also was wearing a toupee that looked like a dead squirrel? Maybe he was from Ohio? Please help me before I lose my mind altogether.

Good for him. Obama was in on this all along. He threw G-Rod under the bus, just like his white grandma who reared him.

BUT OBAMA! is old hat, R54. I see you wear a red cap.

Yes.r54 It is Trumps duty to uplift whiteness and right the wrong of "a black " in the white house. It is his duty to restore all that is white in the world. The white house is white, white white. So is Jesus and so is POTUS. All is white in the world.

Trump's time in the oval office is intended to restore all that is white the world. It proves the worst white,the least accomplished,the least educated, the most compromised morally is a 1000 times worth more than the most accomplished black.

I believe presidential pardons should not be allowed. Obama pardoned 212 people and commuted 1715 sentences. Clinton - 456. Trump so far 19 pardons and 7 commutations.

[quote]I hope Trump keeps cutting his own throat.

I just hope he gets better at it.

"add the names of the Keating 5, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd to the Savings and Loan crash"

Here come the Republican conspiracy theorists

His daughters are rather unfortunate looking.

But Blago looks leaner after prison.

[quote]Does any fellow DLEG remember an infamously crooked politician showing up at a press conference or on the floor of Congress wearing a denim suit?

You're talking about James Traficant, from Youngstown. He was incredibly corrupt. He's dead now.

James Traficant also had even worse hair than Blago!

I would do Blago in a second!