Think what you will of Trump& #39;s action. But unprecedented? Romney was apparently excepting GWBush 2007 commutation of Libby sentence, which 2007 Romney defended as & #39;reasonable.& #39; (Romney would probably say Libby was not trying to & #39;shield& #39; Bush.) 2/10
But does anyone remember Susan McDougal? Bill Clinton Whitewater partner was convicted of fraud, more. Independent counsel Starr raised possibility of reduced sentence if McDougal testified against Clintons. 3/10 https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/byron-yorks-daily-memo-a-president-a-big-investigation-and-the-pardon-power">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/b...
Starr asked McDougal one question: & #39;To your knowledge, did William Jefferson Clinton testify truthfully during the course of your trial?& #39; McDougal went to jail for contempt rather than answer. Demanded prosecutor resign. Never answered. 4/10
On Clinton& #39;s last day in office, he pardoned McDougal. By next year, she had published memoir, & #39;The Woman Who Wouldn& #39;t Talk.& #39; Then was star of documentary, & #39;The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton.& #39; 5/10
Bill Clinton himself attended premiere of documentary. Susan McDougal was there. Clinton called her & #39;an American hero& #39; for refusing to testify against him. 6/10
Clinton pardoned others. As @andrewcmcarthy notes, three convicted in Starr probe. Marc Rich. His CIA director. HUD secretary. Eight in Agriculture Dept investigation. 7/10
In those pardons, Clinton acted in large part because he believed the investigations into his administration and White House had been unfair. Does that sound familiar? 8/10
Fact is, Trump Stone commutation fits pattern of presidents granting clemency to those caught up in investigations targeting their administrations. (GHWBush did it too; in late 1992 he pardoned six convicted or pleaded guilty in Iran-Contra affair.) 9/10
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