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PostPosted: 02/18/20 3:38 pm • # 1 
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Trump commutes sentence of ex-Illinois Gov. Blagojevich in rash of clemency orders
BY BRETT SAMUELS


President Trump on Tuesday granted clemency to almost a dozen individuals, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and ex-New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, sparking criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

"I did commute [Blagojevich's] sentence. So he’ll be able to go back home with his family after serving eight years in jail," Trump told reporters in reference to the disgraced Illinois governor who had served roughly half of a 14-year sentence on federal corruption charges. "That was a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion, and in the ....

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PostPosted: 02/19/20 1:19 pm • # 2 
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At least he did 8 years. But he sure didn't sound like he learned anything.
I don't know how Faux News can sell this ( all 11) to the base though... these are exactly the kinds of people the base wanted drained from the swamp.
And about rooting out that corruption in Ukraine...


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PostPosted: 02/19/20 2:03 pm • # 3 
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If anybody can empathise with the corrupt it's Donald Trump.


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PostPosted: 02/19/20 5:10 pm • # 4 
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At least he did 8 years. But he sure didn't sound like he learned anything.
I don't know how Faux News can sell this ( all 11) to the base though... these are exactly the kinds of people the base wanted drained from the swamp


Fox doesn't have to sell anything. If Trump says it, it's good enough for them. In fact, it won't be long before the base is blaming the Dems for being sol hard on these guys. They will become the victims of a leftist plot.


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PostPosted: 02/20/20 4:25 pm • # 5 
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And Roger Stone just got off with 40 months. :puke


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PostPosted: 02/20/20 8:01 pm • # 6 
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Trump’s Pardons Are Meant To Normalize White-Collar Crime
Stephanie Sarkis

Today President Trump pardoned seven people and commuted the sentences of four others. Most were white-collar criminals. Trump is normalizing pardons and white-collar crime so it won’t be such a surprise to the public when he pardons people like Roger Stone. It also gives a message to the public that white-collar crime is just the “price of doing business.” This is by design.

One commutation was of impeached former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevitch. Blagojevich was the subject of a five-year FBI investigation titled “Operation Board Games,” where hundreds of hours of recordings were made of Blagojevich committing corrupt acts. He was found guilty in federal court on 18 counts of corruption, including trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. He received a 14-year prison sentence, which he started serving in 2012. Trump claims he doesn’t know Blagojevich, even though Blagojevich was on “The Celebrity Apprentice” for four episodes — recorded while Blagojevich was awaiting trial.

The majority of the eleven are white-collar criminals; their convictions include racketeering, fraud, and extortion. Edward DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, was pardoned. He pled guilty to gambling fraud, including paying $400,000 in cash to a former governor of Louisiana in exchange for a riverboat casino license. He was fined $1 million and served two years probation.

Why are Trump’s pardons concerning? First, the U.S. Department of Justice vets potential pardons through a rigorous protocol. Trump did not follow this protocol. Instead, he pardoned or commuted these eleven people through “recommendations” from non-government entities — including friends, executives, and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

Another concern is the severity of criminal activity that Trump is pardoning. Many of George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s pardons and commutations included people convicted of drug offenses, including Bush’s December 2005 pardon of Harper James Finucan. It is customary around the winter holidays that presidents give pardons, in the spirit of mercy. Finucan was sentenced in 1980 for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and was imprisoned for over a year and a half, with five years of parole.

Three others that Bush pardoned at that time were convicted of running moonshine. One such case was Carl Cantrell. He was arrested at his moonshine still without ever selling any of it. He was convicted in 1967 of violating federal liquor laws and received three years probation.

Obama’s pardons were largely people who were convicted on drug charges. Many had received excessive and sometimes mandatory sentences as a result of the U.S. “war on drugs.” One such pardon was Lesley Claywood Berry Jr. He was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture, possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of marijuana. He was sentenced in 1988 to three years in prison. Another of Obama’s pardons was Ricky Dale Collett, who was convicted of aiding and abetting in growing 61 marijuana plants. He was sentenced in 2002 to one year of probation.

Do you see a difference between the majority of people that Bush and Obama pardoned and the majority people who Trump pardoned today? Granted, presidents have in the past pardoned or commuted the sentences of some white-collar criminals. But in comparison to Bush and Obama, Trump pardoned several white-collar criminals in one day — and not during the holidays or near the end of his term. Nor were they vetted through the Department of Justice’s protocol.

Not only is Trump normalizing pardons, he is normalizing white collar crime. The total severity of the crimes Trump pardoned generally outweigh the convictions that other presidents have pardoned. In addition to Blagojevich and DeBartolo, Trump pardoned Michael Milken, who plead guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy. He was ordered to pay $600 million in fines. Trump also pardoned Judith Negron, convicted of Medicare fraud to the tune of $205 million. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Trump appeared to pardon people he believed received unfair convictions and/or sentences, regardless of the amount of concrete evidence against them. Trump said of Blagojevich’s sentence, “That was a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion.” This goes along with his mantra that he has been wrongly accused, declaring “witch hunt!” often on Twitter. He has, in effect, lined up a group of people of whom he can say that he is somehow similar.

If we are surprised by some of these pardons, that surprise will wear off by the time more pardons are given by Trump — and that is the point. If the public gets used to pardons as a usual occurrence, they won’t say much or even notice when even bigger pardons go through. It’s possible Trump is paving the way for future pardons, such as for Roger Stone. This is what gaslighters do — engage in unexpected behaviors so you won’t notice their other violations of social norms later.

Trump is also sending the message that white-collar crime is “no big deal.” Minimizing is another gaslighting manipulation technique. The message Trump gives is that if these people who defrauded or bribed others were given too harsh of a sentence, the crime must not be so bad. Again this goes back to Trump’s eventual pardons of Roger Stone and other associates gradually being seen as more acceptable by the public. This is a calculated move.

The purpose of gaslighting is to make you question reality. As a country, we have become accustomed to this reality show style of leadership, where “anything can happen,” such as giving Rush Limbaugh a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address. Trump’s behavior has been normalized.

It’s important to remember that none of this is normal.

SOURCE


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PostPosted: 02/20/20 11:00 pm • # 7 
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of course that is what it is.


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