So Trump is about to pardon Libby, on DiGenova and Toensing's advice, as an object lesson that presidential firewalls will be taken care of.
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Libby was Bush's firewall bc he was ordered--by either PapaDick or Bush--to out Valerie Plame as an object lesson to CIA people pushing back on their shitty Iraq case.
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Libby risked prison, didn't flip on Cheney or Bush, but avoided prison time w/commutation. While PapaDick pushed hard for pardon it didn't happen, bc Bush had far better lawyers than Trump has.
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Here's some of the difference: 1) Both Manafort and Cohen are facing state pokey, in addition to federal (even ignoring how the Russian mob may treat them). 2) Libby was the bottleneck witness. You needed him, or you got nowhere. Not so w/Trump.
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3) Trump commuted but did not pardon Libby, then refused, against PapaDick's plaints, bc (smarter lawyer) lawyer counseled that'd be obstruction. Trump CAN'T pardon, for same reason: bc these witnesses will lose 5A.
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4) Di Genova and Toensing (who are not good lawyers but pound tables well) haven't figured out that this won't be a one-off: This won't be one (Manafort) or two (Cohen) people Trump has to pardon. And THEY DON'T KNOW the full scope of who Trump would have to pardon here.
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And finally, here's the race: 5) Mueller Will Label Dangling Pardons as Obstruction of Justice Just as He Drops More Conspiracy Charges https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/04/12/mueller-will-label-dangling-pardons-as-obstruction-of-justice-just-as-he-drops-more-conspiracy-charges/ …
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Trump has already fucked this up. Table pounders can't purify his pardon authorities. Plus, hell, I'm not sure Pence is ready to play Gerald Ford here. Why would he?
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So we're on a bit of a race. Non-zero chance we wake up to a Rosenstein firing. How many indictments does Mueller have banked? I'm betting 2-4. DiGenova and Toensing are not able to factor those in. Do those 2-4 change perceptions?
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And how many people will Meuller get indicted by end of day (I expect Stone will be one). As I said, Cohen charges can be punted to NYS, even before the civil case where he just plead guilty.
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There are just too many moving parts for table thumpers like DiGenova and Toensing to understand in time to manage this.
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End of conversation
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Exactly
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Right, so you’re not getting pardoned but you’ll spend not a single day in jail- sign me up!!
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