Why? Well, boyhowdy and shit, Monday next is Christmas. He’s gonna shoot that holiday right in the fucking neck. There won’t be a family dinner in the country that’s not dominated by incandescent rage and, if you’re unfortunate enough to have Trumpsters in your famiglia, there'll be knock down drag outs that’ll make the Battle of Gettysburg look like a wee, schoolyard squabble.
If you’re not a Christmas reveler (I’m not), it’s a quiet, wonderful, don’t gotta do nothin’ day. I spend it indulging in my beloved Chinese food and silly movies. Christmas is a total, happy holiday for me. I don’t have to work or play nice with folks I'd rather take a shiv to. The gym’s shut and I can’t run errands since most everthing’s closed. There’s a Zen-like quality about the day and I cherish it.
If the Orange Menace fucks with this holiday, well, I imagine he’ll have expedited the receipt of his Go To Jail. Go Directly To Jail. Do NOT Pass Go card. Sadly though, I don't think we'll see him led away in the silver bracelets. When that happens, it'll probably be done off stage and that gives me a sad. Hell, I'd pay to see that perp walk. It'd be a great fundraiser for charities and other fine non-profits like the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, Planned Parenthood and the Southern Poverty Law Center (to name just a few). Don'cha think?
Knowing he and his crime family are as guilty as The Dapper Don, John Gotti, Trump wondered if he could pardon himself. Laurence H. Tribe (Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law). and other smart, experienced legal beagles say no.
The Constitution specifically bars the president from using the pardon power to prevent his own impeachment and removal. It adds that any official removed through impeachment remains fully subject to criminal prosecution.
Other than an impeachment case or a self-pardon, the power of a president to pardon is extremely broad. There is nothing in the constitution, for example, that would prevent a pardon of all the Trump children for federal crimes. (Not that we think Barron and Tiffany have any liability at present. The other three — Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka — potentially are another story.) (source)Truth BUT he can only pardon federal crimes NOT state crimes. Were any state laws violated while the Trump crime family was holed up in their NYC Tower? I’m betting on it.
Holy moly, that's what he's going to do. It's the perfect egomaniacal move. Fire him next Friday, to guarantee that he's the center of talk all of the long Christmas weekend. Then he can appear on TV talking about how much he loves Christmas. Hell, maybe he can even do a Christmas address to the nation in which he celebrates that blessed event in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago and then casually drop in the firing. It's what I would do if I were an evil dude who loved throwing political and media bombs.
ReplyDeleteIt's the narcissistic thing to do so, yep, I'm betting that's just what he'll do. I hope I'm wrong though – I REALLY want a peaceful holiday.
DeleteHe says he's not going to fire Mueller. Maybe someone in his inner circle made him realize doing that would make "the Russia thing" blow up in his face ten times worse than before. Even a lot of Republicans in the Senate have made it clear they wouldn't back him on such a move.
ReplyDeleteWere any state laws violated while the Trump crime family was holed up in their NYC Tower? I’m betting on it.
Mueller has been working with the NY state AG to make sure state charges are available for the people he's working on, to outflank any possible pardons. The guy knows his stuff.
It's so damn hard not to be in 24/7 panic mode right now.
DeleteTrump is stupid but that doesn't mean he isn't without a low-grade cunning. I don't think he'll fire Mueller, but my Spidey senses were tickled when I learned from a National Guard buddy that scuttlebutt has his unit being deployed to South Korea for one year. He and the unit have months ahead of them ramping up to the actual deployment but that still puts them in country before the midterms.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, there is nothing directly saying that unit is going to South Korea. But scuttlebutt has a way of being fairly accurate. Secondly, I've been retired for 10 years but year-long deployments to South Korea sound very unusual to me.
Oh fuck! And EEEEEEK!
Deletelow-grade cunning That, is what I've been looking for. Clever, quite clever even, doesn't quite sum it up. Shifty, sneaky, three card monte, not quite intellect all wrapped together as low-grade cunning.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of something out of an old Robert Howard novel. Something not quite human.
Yeah, I can see trump as some 19th century traveling snake oil salesman who also does cheats at poker. Which Howard novel were you referring? He's an author I need to reread.
DeleteI've not read Howard at all. What's a good one for me to start with?
DeleteAnd, yeah...not quite human.
The original Conan series. Really quite good, for the nineteen-thirties. Fantasy noir before there was "fantasy".
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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