President Swamp Thing
The would-be outer of whistle-blowers and stern demander of personal loyalty to himself beyond all else was, of course, recently acquitted by a partisan Senate on charges of abusing his authority in the realm of foreign policy. Has he learned his lesson, as several intimidated Republican senators have suggested? Not a chance.
Now he has thrown caution to the winds and once again indulged his fondness for abusing his constitutional power of executive clemency, this time on a larger than normal scale. This is the guy who campaigned in 2016 on a promise to "drain the swamp" in Washington despite his own history of questionable ethics, shady deals and dubious associations.
Now that he's in the White House, he's displaying a disturbing fondness for pardoning his sleazy associates or sleazy characters who have friends who are close to him.
He's commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for trying to sell President Obama's Senate seat, The president feels Blago's phone call offering to sell a seat in the U.S. Senate was no big deal, though he hasn't explicitly said that Blago's call was "perfect."
Rod Blagojevich is Donald Trump's kind of guy. He may be a Democrat, but he says that now he's a "Trumpocrat." Well said, Governor. You certainly are. Blago is the corrupt product of the corrupt political machine I spent a great deal of my young adulthood fighting. The Daley Machine differs from the Trump Administration in two respects, though: first, Mayor Richard J. Daley was much smarter than Donald Trump, and secondly, even though I was not necessarily an admirer of Mayor Daley's moral compass, at least he had one.
Crystal Munoz, who was convicted on drug charges, Tynice Nichole Hall, who was convicted on weapons and drug charges and Judith Negron, who was sentenced for Medicaid fraud and money laundering, also had their sentences commuted.
The president also pardoned former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerick (who didn't pay his taxes but did contribute to Fox News), as well as convicted felon Eddie DeBartolo, junk bond king Michael Miliken, computer uber hacker Ariel Friedler (Chris Christie lobbied for that one), tax cheat and Trump contributor Paul Pogue, GOP lobbyist, lawyer, and justice obstructor David Safavian.
All were well-connected to the Trump administration and/or campaign. All managed to get taken care of due to patronage people close to our most corrupt president.
Since only Blago actually walked free as a result. it wouldn't be fair to say that the president has drained the jails. But he's pardoned the swamp- or, in the case of Roger Stone, saved a step and had a sentence reduced with the prospect of an ultimate pardon still on the table.
Most of these never requested clemency. But it's the least that a commander can do for a good soldier.
Look for more pardons as the Trump term drags on, and a whole lot of them- likely including a pardon for himself, as Mr. Trump's time in the White House comes to a close.
This is the president who pardoned the brutally racist Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who arrested people for looking Mexican and in whose custody several prisoners mysteriously died while being held in what amounted to concentration camps, and war criminal and ex-Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, whom Mr. Trump essentially freed of accountability for murdering a prisoner in cold blood, thus undercutting military justice more or less the way he's currently undermining his own Justice Department by overturning sentencing recommendations. In both cases, the responsible authorities reacted with understandable anger.
Donald Trump likes bullies. They, too, are his kind of guys.
When you elect a con man with a reputation for questionable ethics and shady friends and connections, this is exactly what you ought to expect. But those who supported Mr. Trump, for the most part, didn't know about his shady past, and still refuse to believe the facts even as the inevitable sorry story plays out.
Mr. Trump, who promised to "drain the swamp," is himself the swamp personified.
ADDENDUM: Here's a full list of the recipients of the Godfather's friendship.
It's a good thing for them that none of them did anything really terrible, like spending a lifetime faithfully serving their country and then obeying a lawful subpoena, like Col. Vindman.
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