Donald Trump has already demonstrated an extraordinary willingness to use his pardon powers to excuse his allies of any wrongdoing. He has pardoned racist former Sheriff Joe Arpaio for charges of contempt of court. He dipped back into a former round of Republican wrongdoing to pardon Scooter Libby on multiple counts of perjury. He pardoned far-right propagandist Dinesh D’Souza for a conviction for campaign contribution fraud. He even pardoned newspaper magnate Conrad Black, whose fraud conviction had just been upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court, after Black wrote a flattering biography of Trump.
Trump has not been subtle about putting a short, fat thumb onto the scales of justice. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Trump appears to be putting pressure on a judge even before sentencing takes place.
As The New York Times reported on Monday, in obtaining a conviction against Stone, prosecutors carefully outlined that his crimes had not been a one-off event. The man who had been describing himself as a “dirty trickster” for decades had, unsurprisingly, been involved in dirty tricks just as long. And when his connections to WikiLeaks came under scrutiny, Stone engaged in a multiyear scheme that included “a relentless and elaborate campaign to silence.” That campaign involved threatening not just to injure or kill a witness, or to send thugs to take him out; Stone even promised that he would kill the witness’ dog.
Stone’s attorneys have argued for a sentence of just over a year—well below even the minimums that guidelines provide for his crimes. But based on the signals Trump is sending, it’s unlikely to matter. Whether he’s sentenced to one year or 10, Roger Stone is likely to be back in the buffet line at Mar-a-Lago by the end of the month, chuckling over the idea that he, or any of Trump’s friends, is subject to justice.
Source: http://feeds.dailykosmedia.com/~r/dailykosofficial/~3/miCsfKKCdX4/-Trump-already-threatening-to-pardon-Roger-Stone-even-before-the-dirty-trickster-is-sentenced