US POLITICS: Bannon Busted!

[dewline]

HELLS YES!!!

That atrocity-whisperer has been BUSTED!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bannon-trump-charges-1.5693359

Comments

[autopope]

Not so fast: it's a federal charge.

If he pleads guilty, Trump could pardon him on his way out the door. Unless the trial is dragged out until Trump runs out of time.

[dewline]

Noted, but I plan to enjoy the moment while I can!

Also, the trial process can indeed get dragged out that long. By both prosecutors and defence.

[moon_custafer]

And it was mostly the Post Office Inspectors who took him down!

[dewline]

That irony has not escaped my notice either!

[yourgirlfriday]

https://youtu.be/rY0WxgSXdEE

[sabotabby]

Beautiful!

[thewayne]

But as demonstrated by Trump's pardon of "America's Toughest Sheriff", Dimebag Joe Arpaio, a pardon is still scored as a conviction.

I read today that Bannon's media company, valued at $300mil, is also being investigated as he failed to issue valuation certificates to investors to show them how much their investment was worth.

Also read today, a commentator said last night that there's a very good chance that one of the other three people charged in this case has excellent incentive to flip on Bannon for reduced charges....

I do not know if Our Beloved Leader can pardon people who have been charged but not convicted yet. There's no way a trial can be wrapped in five months.

[dewline]

Reminder re: Watergate history: Nixon didn't even have to be charged for Ford to pardon him.

[thewayne]

Good point. There’s a lot of back and forth whether a (hopefully!) President Biden’s DoJ should further investigations into Trump as it sets a bad precedent of an administration investigating past presidents. Regardless of felonious activities, it reeks of retaliation. Now, if states do that, that’s another matter as Our Beloved Leader is under investigation by a few.

The Wikipedia article on the Ford pardon of Nixon is quite interesting. It also talks about the Supreme Court decision from 1915 that implies that the issuance of a pardon is an implication of guilt and the acceptance is an admission of guilt. The pardon was issued a month after Nixon resigned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon

In another lovely bit of news, Trump is now in typical fashion, doing his “I don’t know Steve Bannon” routine. HuffPo may be having problems with their servers, but ultimately this link should work - it’s flaky for me right now.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-steve-bannon_n_5f3ea6d9c5b697824f95caf1

[dewline]

It may well reek of retaliation, but I am thinking that letting Nixon get the pardon and walk away - tacit admission of guilt or not - set the stage for this go-round with Trump. There are people alive today who still hold grudges against any effort that was made back in the day to hold Nixon to account for anything he did at all. An example should finally be made of people who succumb to such temptations, as well as of those who dare insist that, pace Nixon, "if the president does it, that means it's not illegal".

That doctrine must not be allowed to survive past this year.

[dewline]

It really was beautiful!