Trump’s pardon world was already telegraphing how transactional the lame duck had become
By December 15, the Trump orbit was deep into the kind of clemency politics that made the presidency look more like a protection racket than a governing institution. The pardon chatter and lobbying environment reflected a White House where proximity, loyalty, and personal ties mattered more than principle. Even before the final holiday wave of pardons, the smell test was already bad.
First recorded Dec 15, 2020·Meaningfully updated Dec 15, 2020
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Trump’s pardon world was already telegraphing how transactional the lame duck had become
By December 15, the Trump orbit was deep into the kind of clemency politics that made the presidency look more like a protection racket than a governing institution. The pardon chatter and lobbying environment reflected a White House where proximity, loyalty, and personal ties mattered more than principle. Even before the final holiday wave of pardons, the smell test was already bad.
By December 15, the Trump orbit was deep into the kind of clemency politics that made the presidency look more like a protection racket than a governing institution. The pardon chatter and lobbying environment reflected a White House where proximity, loyalty, and personal ties mattered more than principle. Even before the final holiday wave of pardons, the smell test was already bad.
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